My wife and I just bought a 97 Ford Taurus (6v 3.0L) that's in great shape. Mechanically everything appears sound, but we started experiencing a number of intermittent electrical problems after the first couple of weeks. We do have a warranty so we can bring the car back, but it was a bargain, so I am willing to put some money into it before it comes down to returning the vehicle.
First thing we noticed about the car was that the washers didn't work. After attempting to diagnose the problem with a multimeter (testing all the fuses and relays), I found that we can only get the washer to come on while indicating to the left. I put this down to some possibly bad wiring.
Next thing that started happening, is that the radio would mute randomly, for random amounts of time.. Sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for the entire journey. The radio is still getting power, the display stays the same. Just the sound goes out. This one annoyed me, but again, not something I was going to worry about.
Recently, while driving along, the seatbelt light came on. Just briefly. Then a few days ago, it flickered on and off rapidly. I could hear the relay going mad inside the fuse box when this happened. This worried me quite a bit. As all these electrical problems are a nightmare to diagnose normally.
Now, here came the serious problem. Today, the power steering went out for a second at the worst possible moment almost causing us to loose control of the vehicle completely.
Now I don't know a whole lot about cars. I'm more of a computer guy, so I understand a little more on the electrical side. Since all the fuses and relays appear to be working correctly, my first thought is to check the alternator/battery. I started the car and removed the negative battery terminal so that the alternator was powering the car alone. Turning on the lights at this point, caused a lot of stuttering which almost stopped the car completely. Though after a second, they stayed on and the engine ran fine. Is this normal behavior for an alternator running without the assistance of a battery?
Anyone had any similar issues? Could a bad alternator/battery cause the issues I've mentioned? The voltages seem fine (12v from battery, 14v while running), but my multimeter isn't rated high enough to measure the high currents, so I've not had a chance to test that yet.
Thanks for any help you guys can give me. It's the only car I have to drive, so I need to get this thing back on the road soon, and I don't want to risk it while the power steering is playing up.
First thing we noticed about the car was that the washers didn't work. After attempting to diagnose the problem with a multimeter (testing all the fuses and relays), I found that we can only get the washer to come on while indicating to the left. I put this down to some possibly bad wiring.
Next thing that started happening, is that the radio would mute randomly, for random amounts of time.. Sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for the entire journey. The radio is still getting power, the display stays the same. Just the sound goes out. This one annoyed me, but again, not something I was going to worry about.
Recently, while driving along, the seatbelt light came on. Just briefly. Then a few days ago, it flickered on and off rapidly. I could hear the relay going mad inside the fuse box when this happened. This worried me quite a bit. As all these electrical problems are a nightmare to diagnose normally.
Now, here came the serious problem. Today, the power steering went out for a second at the worst possible moment almost causing us to loose control of the vehicle completely.
Now I don't know a whole lot about cars. I'm more of a computer guy, so I understand a little more on the electrical side. Since all the fuses and relays appear to be working correctly, my first thought is to check the alternator/battery. I started the car and removed the negative battery terminal so that the alternator was powering the car alone. Turning on the lights at this point, caused a lot of stuttering which almost stopped the car completely. Though after a second, they stayed on and the engine ran fine. Is this normal behavior for an alternator running without the assistance of a battery?
Anyone had any similar issues? Could a bad alternator/battery cause the issues I've mentioned? The voltages seem fine (12v from battery, 14v while running), but my multimeter isn't rated high enough to measure the high currents, so I've not had a chance to test that yet.
Thanks for any help you guys can give me. It's the only car I have to drive, so I need to get this thing back on the road soon, and I don't want to risk it while the power steering is playing up.