I kind of have a mystery problem with my 95 v6 mustang. I went out of town for a week and when I came back the engine wouldn't start up, and the battery quickly died. So I figured it was a bad battery (it was about that time), so Ireplaced it and when I reconnected the new battery everything worked fine.

The next day, I try to crank it and it won't start again. After a few days of trying different things, I find out that if I disconnect the battery and then reconnect, it will start up fine. Let it sit overnight and it stops working again. I guess it is some kind of electrical (wiring or computer) issue, but I don't know even know where to look. At the shop that I took it to, they said there were no error codes on the scanner when it wouldn't start. All of the mechanics there were baffled.

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this or have any ideas? Also, is there any danger to my car if I continue to start it this way, or am I bypassing some type of safety mechanism that I shouldn't? Thanks in advance!

 

Sounds like you don't have a ground wire properley attached somewhere, that would drain your battery over night. Have you done anything that involves disconnecting wires latley? Also check your battery terminal ends, if they are old and crappy then they might crack and cause connection issues.

 

Yeah, I checked the ground wires, they all look fine. But the battery isn't even draining over night, it reads 12V with a meter, and the alternator charges fine. The battery is brand new and I cleaned the terminals and the connection before putting it in.

I haven't disconnected any wires, but I had an overzealous AAA mechanic boosting my car initially, any chance that could have fried something? Better yet, if so, is there a way to check what that might be?

 

Any last ideas before I have to take it to the dealer?

 

you have a short, more than likely a ground wire loose or sumthin, but that first shop you took it too absolutely sucks, of course it wont pull a code. problems like these are hard to find though, but usually its cause something changed. you have the right cranking amps on the battery, right? this isnt a computer issue. the wires can "look" fine, they need to be tight, one of the culprits can be the ground to the starter