This morning we got into our 2002 Ford Taurus (~90K miles) and turned the key i n the ignition, just like always, and just like always it went on, and then I turned on the windshield wipers and went to power down the windows because they were all fogged over–and–they wouldn’t budge.
So I asked my wife to try her window button, and–same result.
So I turned the door lock button on and then off (I know, I know), and moved the mirror a little (I know), and still nothing.
So, okay, if a computer does this kind of thing you restart it, so I restarted–and this time the car wouldn’t go on at all. All the various lights on the dashboard came on, and it made a noise like the battery was not very happy, but the engine did not go on.
So we took the other car and left it in the driveway.
Three hours later I came back, tried it just for yuks, and it went on. And the windows went up and down just as smooth as you please. And I left it running for a little while, then came back and restarted, so to speak, and–no problem again.
Best guess–a one-time glitch, or the beginning of something nasty?
First thing that comes to mind is the ignition switch. However, just to rule out a more basic potential problem, I’d remove the battery cables from the battery, clean them well and re-install. Might get lucky.
Flip a coin heads battery, tails ignition switch.
Personally based on experience I vote battery but a quick test at anyplace that’s sells batteries will tell for sure.
Thanks for the suggestions. Took it in and found that the battery was “not dead, but low.” It has been replaced and hopefully that will be the end of it!
The technician had no idea about the windows, though. So that will remain a mystery.
I have to disagree with a quick test.
I was told by a very experienced technician that a quick battery test will not prove a battery good. It will prove a bad battery bad, but for some troublesome battery’s it takes a full charge, then a period of several days and then another load test then the test can be less than perfect if there is a mechanical problem(broken connection) internal.
I test with both a Red-Neck tester (Carbon pile) and the newintellectual testers. Being as I resemble the Red-Neck tester that is the one I use most.
Now as for my $.02 for the OP,
I will go with the ignition switch, and for that matter, might the switch have stuck in the “Crank” position? In that position every other electrical feature is cut out for engine starting.
First thought was, Were the wipers and windows froze?
Well since I taught starting and charging for a car maker and wrote classroom manual for the class I think I know a bit about the subject.
A carbon pile load test takes 15 seconds plus connection time, so maybe a minute overall from the time you get the VAT 40 to the car. A Midtronics type capacitance type tester also takes under a minute.
The advantage of the capacitance type tester is that the battery does not have to be as near to fully charged as a VAT test. IIRC it will test accurately down 5.5V.
Anyway you look at it performing two industry standard tests and completing in under 2 minutes is what I would call quick.
So give me two minutes and I will be happy to give you state of charge, open circuit voltage, voltage under load, calculated cold cranking amps, and a condition report.
Give me oh say another 10 and will throw in starter draw, both positive and negative cable voltage drops, alternator output, alternator AC ripple, alternator voltage drops, and scan for relevant fault codes.
Still pretty quick.
As far as the op goes, the reason I said battery is that batteries fail a lot more often than ign switches. I was playing the odds.
I’d vote for sticky ignition key also. As it happened to me a few months ago, the key got stuck in the crank position and the indicators wouldn’t work. I dare say there were other things not working, but the indicators were all that I tried to use.
I thought it might have been a fuse and so I headed home to check it out, not realising that my starter motor was still engaged. In my defence it’s a very well sound proofed car with a very loud radio!
I got about 3 miles down the road before the dashboard lit up like a xmas tree and every possible warning bleep started going off. The starter motor had turned into a generator and was pumping extra voltage into the system which the car really didn’t like.
I pulled over and switched it off and back on again and it wouldn’t crank. I lifted the bonnet and got the unmistakeable whiff of burnt electrics. Luckily it was just the starter that burnt out and it didn’t do any damage to the rest of the cars electrics.
Rick,
I absolutely do not intend to underscore your knowledge and experience. But I do test battery’s at the local CarQuest and we get a lot of battery’s come back that are good battery’s. We will never warrantee a battery until we do a complete charge and an overnight sit.
On another note I bought a used 4D (large Cat) battery from a mining supply. They offer used heavy equipment battery’s and a load had just came in. They did a quick carbon pile test and i got one of 3 that tested good. These came from large mining equipment where a bank of 4 ea 4D’s are changed out wholesale. Some have duel banks of 4 ea.
I was going to use this large storage battery to run my lighting at my hunting shack. I had it in the back of my pickup until the weekend and before the weekend my daughters car went dead. Well I had the jump battery for that job and when I connected the cables, Nothing! I then had her turn on the lights, nothing! After checking all connections I connected a dead short across the big battery and it was stone dead. I then charged it up and for the next 7 days I ran a carbon pile test on that battery without charging it between and after 7 days of testing GOOD, I recharged it and took it to the hunting shack. I used it all fall(I have a couple small solar panels also) then one day during deer season it was dead, so I put my generator w/12V 15A (I believe) charging circuit to work and within 20 min. my charging circuit was burned up and that battery was then scrapped.
