TCS, LOW brake fluid, Parking brake lights illuminated PLEASE help
07-12-2010, 12:46 PM
#11
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Your issue does sound like an alternator,but I had to replace my positive side battery terminal connector. I went and got a good one from autozone and cut the factory one off.. Had many issues with getting contact before that, the car would act as you described, the cd player going through its 1st time power process, etc.. It was always tight, just didn't connect right for some reason, replacing that part fixed my problem with that. Before replacement I could tap on it when a wrench and it would sometimes connect enough for me to start the car. It did not involve any CEL's though.
07-12-2010, 11:06 PM
#12
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It's funny you say that about the battery terminal connector as that thought crossed my mind tonight when I got home and noticed that my Battery Tender still hasn't charged up the battery after 24 hours. I'll be sure to check it out later this week.
07-13-2010, 11:18 PM
#13
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I had some time tonight to look at the battery connectors. They had a little corrosion on them so I cleaned them both along with the cable from the alternator. While I was there, I decided to clean up the three grounds that I saw - one on the p/s shock tower, the one behind the d/s headlight (Steeda really needs to roll the egdes of their CAI baffle - I was too lazy to take it off so cut my hands three times!), and the one that goes to the cowl behind the d/s valve cover.
When I started the engine, everything was fine - no issues with the Message Center giving those warning about the oil pressure, etc. Gauges all worked fine and no CEL's showed in the short time I ran it.
I attached a voltmeter while it was running and got 13.94 volts at low idle and 14.04 from idle up to 3000 rpm. So I guess my next step is the current draw test but I won't be able to get to that for a few days.
Oh, and I checked the p/s footwell for any dampness but it all seemed dry. I'll pull the kick panel and look around to see if there is any evidence of corrosion anywhere there.
If anyone has any advice, I'm willing to listen.
When I started the engine, everything was fine - no issues with the Message Center giving those warning about the oil pressure, etc. Gauges all worked fine and no CEL's showed in the short time I ran it.
I attached a voltmeter while it was running and got 13.94 volts at low idle and 14.04 from idle up to 3000 rpm. So I guess my next step is the current draw test but I won't be able to get to that for a few days.
Oh, and I checked the p/s footwell for any dampness but it all seemed dry. I'll pull the kick panel and look around to see if there is any evidence of corrosion anywhere there.
If anyone has any advice, I'm willing to listen.
07-14-2010, 01:22 AM
#14
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Sounds like your on the right track to me.. The voltage seems a little low from my experience. I would expect to see 14.5 volts or so with the car running but I could be a little off on that, I'd check mine for comparison but my multimeter has decided not to function anymore..
07-14-2010, 07:02 AM
#15
6th Gear Member
With a weak battery, the alternator output will typically be a bit lower than the mentioned ~14.5 volts. But I agree that you're on the right track and doing some fine troubleshooting.
07-15-2010, 01:01 AM
#16
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I drove my car around after the new brake pads... The error lights are all staying illuminated and not ever turning off.. I get them as soon as I turn the key on. I unhooked for several minutes to attempt at clearing the codes but they still come on as soon as the key is turned on. Maybe I have a bad sensor somewhere.... this problem is getting old!!
07-15-2010, 12:03 PM
#17
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Lance: Could your battery be on it's last legs? It seems to me that my problem might be that I have a parisitic drain on my battery and when it gets low, these crazy things happen. As I mentioned, I put my Battery Tender on the battery both times it has occured, and both times, there wasn't enough power in the Battery Tender (1.25 amps) to overcome the drain.
The other night when I disconnected the battery to clean the connectors and the few grounds I could get to easily, after I hooked it back up, my warnings were gone. Also, I put the Battery Tender back on and it had already charged it up to within 80% of capacity by the morning. When I got home yesterday, it was fully charged again. That's why I'm figuring something is draining my battery - could be the radio as I usually don't shut it off before stopping the engine - though I did on Tuesday night. I only have the Shaker without the big amp in the trunk but I guess the amps for the door speakers on this system can also stay energized. I need to run that draw test this weekend! Also, I will check the voltage that the Alternator is putting out now that I know the battery is fully charged. Ford says the Alternator is good if the voltage is between 13 and 15 volts but my experience is 14.3 to 14.7 volts on a good Alternator.
Lance, can you try leaving the connectors off overnight and maybe running a charger on your battery to be sure it's fully charged? I like the Battery Tender because it's small and good for when I have to store the car over the long New England Winter. In the Spring, the starter cranked it right up with no problems. I even pulled the Fuel Pump Fuse so the engine would crank for 20 to 30 seconds to bring up the oil pressure before I actually ran the engine. Amazon sells it for $46.99 delivered. I have a big charger, too, for those times when you need to put a lot more juice into the battery like I did when this problem happened to me the first time when my battery was dead.
Did you check the other grounds under the hood, just to be sure they were OK? I still need to check the one on the lower part of the engine block near the starter. And I think I should look for as many as I can find to see if any more are corroded.
Do you have a tune in your car? I've only had my car since last September. Up to the point where I installed my first tune from American Muscle in May, I never had any issues with the car - at all. It did sit for about 3 weeks in December before I put it to bed for the winter when the battery was too low to start it - I hadn't started using the Battery Tender at that point. But an hour on the charger and it started no problem.
When I installed my CAI and first tune, I did have a day when the Computer went into Fail Safe Mode but it only happened that one time. I spoke with the AM tuner and he said it might have been related but didn't think it would recurr - which it didn't. I did get a different tune from them for 93 octane and shortly after I installed that, I had this problem for the first time. Again called and they didn't think it was related but if I continue to have the issue, they would try to do something for me.
And Nuke: Thanks for the advice and I appreciate your kind words about maybe being on the right track. I sure hope I am...
Sorry for being so long-winded. I should have been an English Major!
The other night when I disconnected the battery to clean the connectors and the few grounds I could get to easily, after I hooked it back up, my warnings were gone. Also, I put the Battery Tender back on and it had already charged it up to within 80% of capacity by the morning. When I got home yesterday, it was fully charged again. That's why I'm figuring something is draining my battery - could be the radio as I usually don't shut it off before stopping the engine - though I did on Tuesday night. I only have the Shaker without the big amp in the trunk but I guess the amps for the door speakers on this system can also stay energized. I need to run that draw test this weekend! Also, I will check the voltage that the Alternator is putting out now that I know the battery is fully charged. Ford says the Alternator is good if the voltage is between 13 and 15 volts but my experience is 14.3 to 14.7 volts on a good Alternator.
Lance, can you try leaving the connectors off overnight and maybe running a charger on your battery to be sure it's fully charged? I like the Battery Tender because it's small and good for when I have to store the car over the long New England Winter. In the Spring, the starter cranked it right up with no problems. I even pulled the Fuel Pump Fuse so the engine would crank for 20 to 30 seconds to bring up the oil pressure before I actually ran the engine. Amazon sells it for $46.99 delivered. I have a big charger, too, for those times when you need to put a lot more juice into the battery like I did when this problem happened to me the first time when my battery was dead.
Did you check the other grounds under the hood, just to be sure they were OK? I still need to check the one on the lower part of the engine block near the starter. And I think I should look for as many as I can find to see if any more are corroded.
Do you have a tune in your car? I've only had my car since last September. Up to the point where I installed my first tune from American Muscle in May, I never had any issues with the car - at all. It did sit for about 3 weeks in December before I put it to bed for the winter when the battery was too low to start it - I hadn't started using the Battery Tender at that point. But an hour on the charger and it started no problem.
When I installed my CAI and first tune, I did have a day when the Computer went into Fail Safe Mode but it only happened that one time. I spoke with the AM tuner and he said it might have been related but didn't think it would recurr - which it didn't. I did get a different tune from them for 93 octane and shortly after I installed that, I had this problem for the first time. Again called and they didn't think it was related but if I continue to have the issue, they would try to do something for me.
And Nuke: Thanks for the advice and I appreciate your kind words about maybe being on the right track. I sure hope I am...
Sorry for being so long-winded. I should have been an English Major!
08-02-2010, 06:10 PM
#19
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 117
Damn Lance!! That has to be so disheartening. I hope you can get it figured out!! Here's what I've done on mine lately...
A few weeks ago, I checked behind the kick panel for any moisture coming from the windshield base but it looked fine and saw no evidence of a leak there in the past. Didn't see any obvious corrosion.
I also check my current draw according to the Ford procedure and only saw 24 milliamps. Since it was in spec, we didn't start pulling fuses, but just for giggles, we did pull the radio fuse in the BEC under the hood. When we did, the draw went down to less then 10 milliamps. Since my last episode, I've been keeping the Battery Tender connected fairly often to keep the battery up.
This weekend, I decided just to replace the battery since I went and bought the Optima some weeks ago. My son drove the car Saturday night and Sunday and reported no problems when he dropped it off last night. We decided to let it sit without charging for now to see if any of the problems come back. With an alternator putting out 14.04 volts at idle to 2000 RPM - and that's checking at the battery, not the back of the alternator - I'm going to sit on it and see what happens. It will be sitting for several days so I'll be interested to see what happens when I start it up in about 1-1/2 weeks. I have been shutting down the radio and HVAC controls before shutting off the engine. We didn't check voltage or draw again bit will if there is another episode.
A few weeks ago, I checked behind the kick panel for any moisture coming from the windshield base but it looked fine and saw no evidence of a leak there in the past. Didn't see any obvious corrosion.
I also check my current draw according to the Ford procedure and only saw 24 milliamps. Since it was in spec, we didn't start pulling fuses, but just for giggles, we did pull the radio fuse in the BEC under the hood. When we did, the draw went down to less then 10 milliamps. Since my last episode, I've been keeping the Battery Tender connected fairly often to keep the battery up.
This weekend, I decided just to replace the battery since I went and bought the Optima some weeks ago. My son drove the car Saturday night and Sunday and reported no problems when he dropped it off last night. We decided to let it sit without charging for now to see if any of the problems come back. With an alternator putting out 14.04 volts at idle to 2000 RPM - and that's checking at the battery, not the back of the alternator - I'm going to sit on it and see what happens. It will be sitting for several days so I'll be interested to see what happens when I start it up in about 1-1/2 weeks. I have been shutting down the radio and HVAC controls before shutting off the engine. We didn't check voltage or draw again bit will if there is another episode.
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