Diane2010

I have a 1990 ford taurus, V6, 3.0. Yesterday I was driving down the road
and the RPMs werent going up as I pressed the gas and the battery light
was on and as soon as I stopped at a red light, the whole car shut down.
The alternator is good and so is the battery. It was running a little
hot, but not dangerously hot. What is the problem? Is there a shut off
switch when it does run hot? Please help! It is running fine this
morning.

Happy Traveler

Not aware of any shutoff switch, but sounds like your vehicle needs
attention to the overheating problem. Are you low on coolant, perhaps? If so
the gauge may be misleading, and the engine running hotter than you think.
Some damage might have already been done...

Your description of yesterday's adventure is too vague to give much advice.
Did the engine just die, but you still had electrical power (radio, dash
lights)? If so, it could be the infamous TFI (ignition) module. It's a $50
part and a 15-minute job to replace (Ford may even pay for it, under a class
action settlement). Or did you lose electrical power altogether? By the way,
how do you know that the alternator and battery are good?

I hesitate to say this, but given the potential overheating problem and the
fact that you do not appear to have a lot of automotive knowledge, it may be
time to put the car in the hands of your trusted neighborhood mechanic, to
give it a good glance over. Hopefully he will tell you that it's worth
keeping.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Diane2010" <lburton2010@bellsouth.net>
> I have a 1990 ford taurus, V6, 3.0. Yesterday I was driving down the road
and the RPMs werent going up as I pressed the gas and the battery
> light was on and as soon as I stopped at a red light, the whole car shut
down.
> The alternator is good and so is the battery. It was running a little
hot, but not dangerously hot. What is the problem? Is there a shut off
> switch when it does run hot?