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Maintenance & Repair Electronic Gremlins: Electrical Problems That Are Driving You Crazy
1085 messages, Last post on Oct 29, 2009 at 11:41 AM
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Replying to: jadoremercedes (Apr 12, 2006 10:47 pm) I don't see any reason you can't get the oil changed at the quick lube place. Again, oil changes are the same as on any other make on the market today. The advantage of having it done at the dealer is that they are aware (or should be anyway) of maintenance and service problems on your specific model and can advise you of possible upcoming service and repairs, but of course there's a price for that type of service. As for your fuel use, if your really getting only about 140 miles out of a FULL TANK,then there must be something wrong. That model holds 16.2 gallons, and is rated for 19mpg city and 26mpg highway, so you should be doing better. I believe that model should run on 87 octane, but I'm not 100% sure. |
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Replying to: cdonovan (Mar 21, 2006 11:53 am) While I had been instructed after the first time to shut it off immediately to let the computer "reset", I did not on this third time until it had down about a dozen failures over a 30 min period to the point where nothing electrical worked inside, and there were 3 warnings: ABS Failure, Check Engine, and Airbag Servicing. Then I parked it for an hour. Started it up, the warnings were still there but all the electric was back on. The dealer said: "Brake control module was fried and the battery needed to be replaced." I can't help but think its another symptom and the real problem has not been found. Does it make sense for a faulty brake module to only act up when your hours into a highway drive?
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the battery went dead on my 96 ford exploer the place i had battery tested said it was to small so i had purchased the right batt. a day later the batt. went dead, and so they replaced with a new one. i put it in and started to not charge. so thinking that a wire was loose i grab the neg. side and got a pretty good shock. any answers why? louis
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Replying to: lrichmond (Apr 14, 2006 10:46 am) P.S. You need better mechanics. |
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Replying to: bolivar (Apr 14, 2006 6:34 pm) i believe the sequence lowers the likelyhood of getting shocked. there may be other reasons... you could be wearing shorts and hanging over the vehicle and making contact with the body of the vehicle with some other part of your body than a hand.
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Replying to: user777 (Apr 15, 2006 3:50 am) |
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Replying to: bolivar (Apr 14, 2006 6:34 pm)
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Replying to: lrichmond (Apr 15, 2006 5:26 am)  think about it, if this weren't the case, then anytime anyone took a wrench to one (either) of the battery terminals to loosen the nut and remove the connector, they would get a shock. this is not the case. you unknowingly had some path connecting the positive and negative legs of the battery through your body for a current to flow - plain and simple as that. otherwise, maybe you experienced a "shock" from static charges built up in your body discharging to the vehicle, much like when you get out of your vehicle and touch the body of the car... that is the only thing I can think of here. now then, yes there is a way to find a short or drain in your electrical system. you could use a multi-meter set to volts and measure across the battery. as you remove fuses from your fuse holder one at a time and replace them, essentially pulling the fuse from the circuit with the short (or higher than normal parasitic drain) will result in the measurement of the voltage across the battery terminals to make an uptick. now some ckts like the ECM or other probably always have a little draw through them, but what you are looking for here is a significant step change in voltage across the battery when the faulty circuit is isolated by pulling the associated fuse to that circuit. another way, is to pull the negative lead from the battery, and use the multimeter in AMP/Current mode with the multimeter in-line with the negative terminal of the battery and the negative cable wire. be careful not to exceed the current ratings of the multi-meter probes. again, as you pull and replace fuses one at a time, when you pull the fuse associated with the excessive draw/short, you will see the current flow from the battery (measured in amps) take a down-tick as less current flows when the draw is less. does this make sense to you? if you believe you got a shock from touching only one leg of the battery without providing a path to the other leg with your body, then this sort of diagnostic exercise might be too troublesome and potentially dangerous for you to perform. i'm not being flippant or sarcastic. an independant or someone a bit more familiar with basic electronics could help you out here. a book on the subject or googling the subject might help as well give you the background you need to do this diagnostic work yourself. it isn't rocket science, but you need to do it in a knowlegeable and safe manner. i hope this helps you.
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The turn signals on my '97 LeSabre have recently stopped working. When I engage a turn signal, it gets stuck in the "on" position, but the rear tail lamp turn signal does not light up. Stranger still, occasionally the turn signals will return to working properly. My brother thinks that a fuse may be failing, but not fully blown. Any thoughts? [I doubt it's related, but I also have sporadic trouble with my fuel gauge (apparently) shorting out on me, going all the way to full or empty and settling there for awhile. Additionally, two of my power window switches (front passenger and rear left) only work occasionally.] |
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Replying to: user777 (Apr 15, 2006 7:04 am) |
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