I am desperate. My 85 Mercury Cougar’s battery has died on me five times in the past month. I took my car in for a full diagnostic on the first occurrence, and replaced my three-year-old battery with a brand new one for $80 (overcharged?). Four days later, the new battery was dead, and all I did was drive it three miles down the road for my weekly grocery. This time the mechanics did a thorough check for any electrical shorts and found nothing. They kept the car at their shop for another three days just to make sure everything was fine. I took the car back, and the battery died again in two days. I had made damn sure I did not leave the headlights or any other electrical appliance on because I was already paranoid. Now the mechanics were dumbfounded. They charged my battery up and take my car out for a spin, and boy did they take it for a spin; the odometer had an extra 120 miles on it when I got my car back in a week (!). So I brought my car back home, and yes sir, the battery died in four days. I hauled my car back to the shop and the mechanics decided to charge the battery up and let it sit a bit longer this time. They checked the battery a full week later, and it hadn’t lost one bit of juice. Again, I took my car back and the battery was dead in three days. Now my car is parked at the car shop again, and it’s been there for the past week and a half. They’ve checked for leaks all over again, drove it around, and then let it sit. The battery is in top condition.
So, what gives? Do I have supernatural powers that kill car batteries? Is someone sabotaging my car? Is my car sentient and evolved hatred toward its owner?
The mechanics at the car shop have code named my car the “Ford From Hell”, and they all shiver in fear whenever I call them up. Short from hiring a voodoo witchdoctor, they tell me they’ve already done everything within the limits of their powers. They have not charged me a dime after the first battery replacement and I even got a free pair of wipers, so I don’t think they’re trying to rip me off.
Now I come to ask for you help, 'o might dopers. Please have mercy on my soul and save my car. Surely you have a solution with all your infinite wisdom…
p.s. Getting a new car is not an option. My car is old, but it’s been in perfect condition for the last two years up until now. Besides, I can’t afford to get a new one
Sorry, that should have been: Prior to the first incidence of the battery going dead, was anything added or serviced with respect to the car’s electrical system?
Geez, I spend one lousy night with SqrlCub, and I do mean lousy…
Try another repairshop. There is no such thing as a car from Hell. If your mechanics can’t find the problem it just means they’re not good auto mechanics.
If you want my opinion; one word:
Alt-ter-na-tor!!!
If this word has not come up in your discussions with your mechanic, they haven’t checked the most obvious culprit.
Nothing was added to my car since I got it two years back, and I am the only one with the keys to my car.
As for the alternator, I’ll ask them about it this time, but I’m pretty sure they must’ve checked it too. The chances of all 5 of them mechanics to miss that seems pretty slim. I’m not sure if other repair shops can help, especially since my mechanics actually called them up for help before. Anyawy, I’ll be sure to let someone else take a look at my car if the battery dies again…
Mechanics have to be cautious about replacing anything, even about suggesting something be replaced. When I worked at an electronics service shop, the following presentation was given to technicians by the Vice President of the service division (and he brought along the videos of the tv broadcasts).
Several years ago, Sears Auto Service shops were stung by well-meaning consumer protection groups. Cars were brought in with various alleged problems. Some of the shops gave costly estimates to the vehicle owners and then had to explain themselves on national television when Hard Copy showed up at their door telling them that there was in fact nothing wrong with the car. (or of there was something wrong, it was an easy fix like a disconnected wire, etc.)
Because of this, Sears got a lot of bad press and probably lost a lot of business. The reason we were being told this by the VP of service was to justify his implementation of an integrity audit program. here’s how it works: several times a year, devices with no troubles would be placed in my workload. If I performed repairs on these items, I would be hauled into a conference room the next day and asked to explain myself. If I couldn’t, I would be terminated. They were that worried about a possible sting on the service division and the resulting loss of business.
I understand the need for some kind of audit program, but I was working on commission and it was nothing but stressful to wonder if each and every symptomless device in my daily workload was “planted” by the audit team, or a real unit with a symptom that just didn’t happen to be occurring at the moment. So I had two choices: send the unit out NTF (no trouble found) and piss off the customer, or try some preventive repair based on the customer’s complaint (hmmm, it’s an electrical problem, so let’s tell Zor that his or her alternator is shot and that’ll be that!) and put myself at risk of flunking an audit. Of course, I had to cover myself and I sent each and every unit out NTF if I didn’t see any symptoms.
Of course, they could cover themselves by saying “we don’t see a problem but we’ll be happy to replace your alternator if you’d like”, but what is any layman supposed to say to that? “You’re telling me that you guys don’t know what’s wrong so you want me to finalize a diagnosis?”
Now you know why service professionals can be skittish sometimes.
It looks like the shop has had the demon car for a month all together, and if that full diagnostic and thorough check didn’t include a two minute test on the most likely part, I’d sue.
Your inference that they haven’t performed this basic check is akin to saying that somebody has been in the hospital for a month with some mystery illness and it hasn’t occurred to any of the doctors to take the patient’s temperature.
Zor, tell us they’ve run a basic check on the alternator… please?
Does your repair shop have any ties to a used car dealer? Do any of the mechanics own or drive demo derby cars?They might be trying to get you to trade or just say Oh to hell with it.Good demo cars are hard to find. you should hear some of the stories I’ve heard about how they are aquired.
Maybe it is time for you to get DAMN mad and tell them so.
a few things I’ve seen that caused the same problem:
Is the ignition turned off completely when you remove the key? When the lock cylinders get old they develop quite a bit of “slop”. When you turn off the ignition it may not actually be off. Remove the key and wiggle the cylinder back and forth a few times to be sure its actually off (this car was also a Ford).
Are the brake lights staying on? If the switch at the pedal is mis-adjusted they could be staying on.
Under hood, glovebox, or trunk lights may be staying on because of a bad switch or short. Remove the fuses on these circuits and see if the problem goes away.
Do you have power locks or power windows? The points where the wiring harness transfer from the body to the doors are notorious for electrical faults. Again, remove the fuses.
It may still be an alternator/regulator problem. I’ve seen a shorted diode that wouldn’t show up on a diagnostic. It tested fine but the battery slowly drained anyway. I’ve also seen a broken lead that wouldn’t allow the battery to charge above a certain ambient temperature. It worked fine for short drives, but when the underhood temperature got to a certain point, it quit charging.
Finally, you’re not leaving your cell-phone/laptop/radar detector/whatever plugged into the cig lighter are you? (hey, you’d be suprised how many times I’ve seen this one)
Good luck. These problems can be really frustrating.
Demo car? Woah… my car may be old, but it still looks great. There may be two scratches and a dent on the bumper all in all. What are the requirements for demo cars anyway? They hadn’t mentioned anything about buying or trading my car though…
As for “a full diagnostic”, that was what they told me anyway. Again, I’ll be sure to ask about the alternator tomorrow; not that I actually know what it is
I’m pretty sure my ignition and break lights go off as they should. There’s nothing in the cigarette lighter, but I haven’t checked to see if there’s a leak there. The glove box and trunk lights go off too if I push the switch (the obvious ones at least). Now that thing about the battery not charging above a certain temperature does sound like something that would be hard to catch. I’ll have to ask if that 120 miles they put on my odometer was there in one drive.
I do have power windows, but I don’t know how to check that leak. I’d have thought leaving my car at the shop for over a week would’ve let them caught the problem, but I’ll ask about it anyway. This goes back to the heart of the problem. There may be a slow leak, but how come the battery dies on me in a few days when it stays up fine at the shop for over a week? Every time I’ve came back, I park my car, pull the emergency breaks (I asked about that one already), double check all the lights, then leave. I just don’t get it…
Anyone of you happen to know a good car shop in the Cambridge/Boston area?
No insult intended.
They like the pretty ones .the fans like to see them turned to trash .Some kind of neanderthal throwback ,I think.
Intermittent electrical problems are hard to find. thats why I suggested the anger approach. The mechanics know that it will take time and at $35.00 +++ an hour it is hard to justify the bill.
They are probably paid commission too.
See the manager and blow your top
When you say the battery dies, you mean you get up in the morning and try to start the car and it doesn’t crank, right? Or does the car die during the day between or during trips? I think the former indicates a current drain in the car, and the latter an alternator or charger problem.
There was a similar question on Car Talk that turned out to be the mercury-switch activated light under the hood which was turned on by the inclined driveway, but that’s pretty far-fetched.
I’m with Ursa, this happened to me with an '85 Ford Elite. We went through three batteries (they were saying they did ‘all’ diagnostic testing too) before taking it somewhere else, and sure enough, it was the alternator. Good luck, I know it is frustrating AND expensive.
“It took something like this to make the Miss America Pageant look good to me.” Patricia Ireland on the TV show 'Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire?"
Aha! Something I know about! I have the answer.
Why? Because I have long driven Thunderbirds, which are all but identical to Cougars … particularly when you are talking the mid-80’s. I know ALL about such electrical gremlins.
Your problem is in the VOLTAGE REGULATOR. (Repeat after me: VOLTAGE REGULATOR.) Hie thee to thine mechanic and insist that he replace your VOLTAGE REGULATOR at once (Actually I’d find another mechanic; if your current one is not hip to the electrical problems so typical to the mid-80’s Cougars and T-Birds, he don’t know dick). Your VOLTAGE REGULATOR is kaput! You need a new VOLTAGE REGULATOR.
'kay? VOLTAGE REGULATOR!
When my battery dies, it’s just all quiet when I turn the keys. The dashboard lights up, but that’s it. I used to have some problem with the neutral safety switch (so my mechanic and the AAA guy said). If it weren’t for the battery, I could always get the engine running if I shifted to neutral and tried to start again.
I think in four out of the five incidences, I couldn’t start my car in the morning, and it has always been the first time I try to drive it after I’ve gotten the car back. Once I got it running at noon, drove it a couple of miles down to the supermarket, and the battery died with a trunk load of grocery in it :rollseyes: Lucky it was a cold day, and I ended up jogging a mile to the car shop and got a booster pack to fix things up. Could it be the cold weather that does strange things to my car’s electrical systems? I’d have thought they aren’t that susceptible to temperature fluctuations…
:::takes notes:::
Alternator, voltage regulator, and new mechanic Don’t know why I’m not pissed at them yet… maybe I’m just too nice?
Heat kills batteries, but the problems show up when it gets cold (starter needs more current in cold weather). Since you’ve got a new battery, I wouldn’t worry about that though.
This is going to sound wierd, but has your starter been checked? I have seen a bad starter mimic a charging problem. (it’s a long shot. I’ve only seen it once in 15 years, but it was a Taurus.)
BTW, the neutral safety switch thing is pretty common w/ Fords. Easily fixed, but IMHO more trouble and expense than it’s worth (even when adjusted, it doesn’t stay that way long). I usually recommend just shifting to N to start.
So far, just about every answer that I’d suggest has already been mentioned: the alternator and voltage regulator would be the first items I’d test. The starter could indeed be the culprit. A trunk-glovebox-underhood light staying on could also be causing the problem. If it was a neutral safety switch, the car wouldn’t start even after a charge. Ford products also have a “black box” that controls the vehicle’s electronics, but when it goes out, nothing will work.
Does your Cougar have a ballast resistor? If so, that’s usually a cheap and easy fix.
Has anyone added water to the battery since you bought it? If so, was it tap water? You should only add distilled water to a car battery. Try disconnecting your ground wire after getting home for the night, and reconnecting it in the morning before you head out. If the car won’t start, this could indicate a frozen cell: take the battery back and get a replacement.
Years ago, I had the same problem with a '73 Lincoln. More luxurious vehicles have more options, and this one had rear interior lights on each side that could be turned on by a switch on the armrest. One of mine was on, and I didn’t even know it. If you only use the car during the day, you might not realize that one of these lights is on.
It might be a short in the wiring. Or, perhaps your power or ground wire (or both) is corroded.
Since this is an electrical problem, you might instead take the vehicle to an auto electric shop. They specialize in wiring problems, and should be able to isolate and fix yours.
“A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. You think when Jesus comes back, he ever wants to see a cross?” – Bill Hicks
As you have seen from the other posts, there are a number of things that can cause your problem.
Note that none of them should pose much of a problem to a competent mechanic.
The “leak” issue for example requires connecting an ampmeter in series with the battery cable. Takes maybe five minutes and doesn’t require an overnight stay in the shop.
I think I would find a better set of mechanics. Doesn’t seem like all five add up to one good one.
Don’t know why I’m not pissed at them yet… maybe I’m just too nice?