1991 Ford Escort battery drain

TIM S

MEMBER
1991 FORD ESCORT
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
169,000 MILES

I have a problem with my car restatring after driving. I think their might be a short somewhere in the wiring harness and it may start with the turn signals. I noticed that while driving using my turn signals the radio went dead and came back on after a few seconds. This happened a couple of times, after arriving to my job I tried to restart the car and no luck. The car will start fine if I jump it and will stay running fine but will not always restart. When trying to restart car it sounds like the battery has been drained down. I have checked the alternatar and it checks out fine, I have checked the connection to the starter and thats fine. I'm not to good with the elec. Part of a car, what do you think.

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 AT 10:58 AM

1 Reply

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

Get an analog voltmeter remove the negative battery cable, attach the Black lead to the battery post, Red lead to cable end, then pull fuses one at a time, make sure there are no accessories or lights in the on position, Key off! Close the door after each fuse and check meter, when you pull the fuse for the bad curcuit, the meter will drop to 1 volt or so. Check all fuses, even under the hood. If meter does not drop, remove the battery connection from the alternator, if it drops now, the diodes are bad in the alternator. Put the fuse back in were it goes as you go so you don't forget which fuse goes were! In your case try the turn signal fuse first. Then unplug the flasher.

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Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 AT 11:04 AM