bhasson

I just purchased a '03 Escape. After just a couple days it died, took a jump, ran for a short distance and had to repeat the jump process until i got it home. I had the battery checked and it was "bad" so i replaced it. It ran fine for just another day and then the battery was dead again. I assume the alternator is bad but the weird thing is, with a fully charged batt hooked up, the horn beeps and the hazards flash like the antitheft system is engaged and the hl relay under the hood is clicking. What the heck is going on?

Bert

Have you tried hooking and unhooking the battery to see what happens? How about the remote, have you tried to shut it off with it? It must be an aftermarket alarm? Lot's of them will do that and you have to hit the remote to shut it off.

__________________
Bert

hurk

I have no idea if this will be of any help, but something you can do is try to use the cluster diagnostics mode.
You could use it to see if the battery voltage changes - engine OFF or engine ON.
The bold topic below has related links.

Quote from Ford Self-diagnostic Mode topic:
Since about the 2000 model year, Ford has incorporated a handy feature into most of their vehicles, including the Escape.
It is a digital self-diagnostics mode that uses the odometer display & instrument cluster to show vehicle information.

Insert the key into the ignition switch but don't turn it (just slide it in).
Press & hold the odometer trip/reset button.
Turn the key to the accessory position while continuing to press the button, but don't start the car.
(alternatively, you can go ahead & start the car while pressing the button).
The odometer display will change to something that looks like LESL or tESt.
Release the button when LESL appears (actually, it's TEST in an LCD font).
When you release the button, the display changes to GAGE & the gauges will sweep to their maximum positions,
then return to their starting points.
Push & release the button to cycle thru the 50 or so different display modes.

Included in the list are battery voltage, engine rpms & coolant temperature.
(note: I believe bat is the battery).

If you chose to access the diagnostics mode without starting the engine, you can go ahead & start the car and continue to cycle thru the various display modes at any time: this would be handy for checking the battery (Engine-OFF/Engine-ON) & to verify that the alternator is charging it. Something you could try is to turn on all of the electrical accessories to see how well the alternator keeps up (hi-beams, wipers, rear wiper, A/C, etc.) Also, if the car seems to have an erratic idle, you can see the actual rpms displayed; go ahead & rev the engine to see a higher rpm. You could also check the engine/coolant temperature - engine OFF or engine ON. Just some neat stuff to goof around with that may provide some useful info.