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Grand Marquis starting nightmare

13 messages,  Last post on Mar 08, 2012 at 12:42 PM

You are in the Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis Forum.

What is this discussion about? Mercury Grand Marquis, Engine, Sedan

Messages Page 2 of 2

#9 of 13 bizarre electrical issue by 2kredss

Dec 17, 2009 (7:13 am)

i have a 97 grand marquis 76K miles and a possessed electrical system! we got the car in aug 04 with 25K miles and within a year it developed this most unusual problem. what happens is the voltage spikes and drops - sometimes very rapidly - and the lights flicker in concert with the varying voltage. the problem developed slowly. it first started in the fall and would only do it occasionally, a day or 2 at most and then be ok for weeks. it would stop in the late spring, be fine all summer and start up again in the fall. i have tried many things to fix it (i'll list them later) but nothing has any permanence. it is now a daily occurance and the issue has escalated to the point where it now activates the red battery warning light which flashes in time with the oscillating voltmeter. the voltage spike is quite high - approaching 16 volts. in fact sometimes the red batt light issue an audible clicking.
there's a list of what i've done in an attempt to fix the problem:
replaced all fuses, circuit breakers and relays
replaced the starter (thinking the soleniod could be the problem)
replaced the alternator many times (on the 3rd one since april)
added several ground straps
added new wire directly from alternator to battery, removing the existing wire from alternator to starter (i have read the this wire is a fusable link)
replaced sepentine belt ( this made the problem worse)
replaced the battery twice ( just a few days ago - car great great for about 50 miles)
opened and cleaned every connector i can find
 
cleaning the connectors had the car run good for almost a week. a second cleaning had not effect
i desperation i went to my local mechanic ( i worked for him many years ago). he had the car for a day, told me it was fixed (the stator wire connection) charged me 40 bucks. as soon as i drove away it acted up again. his opinion is to rebuild the alternator though him or "keep going to advance. sooner or later you will get a good one from them"
 
i had advance check the alternator on the car. voltage high 15's - 75 amps, battery was good but low on charge(this prompted me to replace the battery a week ago)
they replaced the alternator. made no difference in the problem.
i called ford and even discussed the problem with a local ford dealer's service manager but they were of no help. they claim they have never heard of any cars with this problem. i just cannot bring myself to take this to the dealer.
 
so, can ANYONE out there help me? i am at my wit's end and really dread the thought of turing this over to a dealer.
thanks everyone

#10 of 13 Re: Grand Marquis starting nightmare [marquisman] by shlbycindy

Jan 05, 2010 (9:17 pm)

Replying to: marquisman (Mar 12, 2007 11:09 am)
I had the same problem and no one could figure out what the problem was. The local Ford dealership wanted to charge me $70 to hook it up to check the computer but said it was probably the fuel pump or fuel pump sensor. My Mercury is a 1999 model with 74,000 miles on it. It is a one owner car and has received excellent service. My parents gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago when they bought a new car. They bought it new. Anyway the dealer was going to charge me an additional $300 for that. They told me all this without even looking at my car. I finally took it to an automotive shop that hooked it up and it wasn't the fuel pump. It was the computer. My car sounded like a car that was out of gas when I tried to start it. To see if this is your problem turn the key enough for the radio to come on, leave it on about 10-15 seconds then try to start the car. Mine would start that way after 2 tries. The mechanic said the computer is responsible for the fuel pump sensor and if it is not functioning no fuel will be released to the engine but it will release enough for the car to start if you do the key the way I said earlier. Also I had to take both keys to the mechanic when they replaced the computer because they have to be reprogrammed to the new computer. I hope this helps. My car runs like new again and I'm happy. I'm not an elderly woman but I love this car. I'm a woman that knows little about cars but I do know enough to look on the internet to get advice and when that fails I go to my dad. : ) I hope this helps.

#11 of 13 Re: Grand Marquis starting nightmare [marquisman] by eudorab

Jan 14, 2010 (3:53 pm)

Replying to: marquisman (Mar 12, 2007 11:09 am)
What ended up being the problem with your car?
 
I have a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis that has the same extact issue!

#12 of 13 To Marquisman by shlbycindy

Jan 14, 2010 (5:08 pm)

They ended up replacing the computer on my car and now it starts every time without hesitation. The other day it was 12 degrees here and it started right up. It cost about $500.00 for everything. I ended up taking it to a local mechanic who sent it to an electrical shop that was able to find the problem. It was the part of the computer that controls the fuel injectors. The funny part is there was a car from the local dealership there that had the same problem only the dealership couldn't figure it out. I'm betting the owner of that car paid a lot more than I did. Once the shop replaces the computer they have to reprogram it and your keys to your car. So, you can't just buy one and replace it yourself. The Ford place wanted to replace the fuel pump which was going to be around $700.00 and wouldn't have helped at all.

#13 of 13 Re: 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis Odometer/speedometer problem [19cami57] by johnny109

Mar 08, 2012 (12:42 pm)

Replying to: 19cami57 (Dec 13, 2009 11:13 pm)
I also have a 1996 Grand M and have had both problems. The intyake manifold will be plastic whether it was replaced or not. The issue with this is there are no metal inserts molded into the plastic at the fastening screws and under pressure the plastic cracks. The replacement intakes have those metal inserts. When mine blew ( steam and water out the back of the car on the highway) I called Ford Motor and was told that it was not subject to recall, although at the time, it was under consideration. I seem to recall that they said that if the car had survived a certain amount of time (or mileage), which mine was past, they would not help. This was 10 yrs ago or so and it cost me $800. If you don't do work on your car, a mechanic should fairly quickly be able to get in there and tell you whether you have a replacement manifold. Rmoving one of the hold-down screws and looking into the hole should show a metal insert or not. Also, Ford may have a history on the car and be able to tell you.
 
As for the speedometer, a few years ago I noticed that my needle was hesitating and then jumping up and around. Some time later, my odometer quit working, but my speedometer still works and no longer jumps. I took this as a sign that a gear inside the dash unit that drives the odometer had failed, temporarily interfering with the other gears. I have not had it fixed but I imagine that removal of the speedometer assembly and replacing the gear would be necessary. I don't know about the smoke situation but I also had a heater core failure that causes leakage of fluid inside the cab and produces a filmy smoke that gums up the windshield and stinks. Since I live in Florida, I just disconnected the heater hoses to the engine and plugged the connections on the motor. Hope this is of some help to you.

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