2000 Lincoln LS Start Problem

[JohnBurns]

This is the 2nd time this has happened it previously happened January 22, 2007.

I go out and get in the car and it just doesn't start, like there is no battery connected. I then jump start it with cables to my other car and it starts fine, making me think the battery has gone down. I then drive it to the dealer which is about 10 miles, and when I shut it off there and try to restart it, it starts fine, same as on January 22.

When this happened before, the dealer ticket read as follows: "74895 Batt low charge due to weather - ran diagnostic charge on battery - trickle charged for 1.9 hours, verfied battery cells good, alternator charging good, verifed no corrosion on starter.". After that service, I had no problems with starting until today - about two months later.

The service advisor today told me that with all the electrical devices on the car, this happens fairly often - even to cars on their lot. According to his input, when you operate the car for only short trips over a period of time and then let it sit several days, it is likely to happen, because the alternator doesn't get a chance to recharge the battery properly, etc. etc. I should include here, both times, I had driven the car very little and only on short trips, etc. then let the car sit for about a week, so his theory made some sense to me. (I hadn't told him this).

Today, again the circumstances were the same, except for the cold weather. I had only driven the car on short trips for the prior couple of weeks and then it had not been started for about a week.

I'd just like to run this whole scenario by you, hoping someone might have some knowledge if this is a resonable explanation - or if anyone else has experienced this type thing and found out the cause for the problem. Appreciate any input or suggestions. Thanks.

 

[LUVMY03LS]

well it seems that the theory is most likely true so i suggest stop going on short trips and see if it happens again then if it does you can eliminate that theory. go for a longer ride and enjoy the car. take the long way home lol. but till then we will never know.

 

[chainsawpreachr]

Sounds like that could be the issue. My mustang was eating up batteries left and right because it has a pretty big stereo system in it and whenever I drove it I had the stereo pounding. The battery never had a chance to get charged properly and eventually died.

 

[eL eS]

IIRC the the 00's had some fault with the radio that continued to pull power from the car well after shutdown. If you have a multimeter and some spare time you might be able to ID the faulty circuit.

All you have to do is shutdown, wait about 2 minutes, hook up the multimetet to the battery set it to measure amps and pull fuses 1 by 1. You will be looking for about a 1 amp gain on the meter. I forget the reference amperage during shutdown.

The wait period could be longer I posted on this a long time ago but essentially the LS hold power to the ECM for a period of time after shutdown. The reason is to have previous AF configs from previous run so the car cann be ready to drive faster. I think it helps get heated oxygen sensors in closed loop faster.

 

[Hawk03]

I had a starting problem as well and it went on for about six months. One day it would start fine and the next it wouldn't start at all just like the battery was dead although when checked the battery and charging system checked out okay. There was no pattern to the intermittent starting. It ended up being a loose wire behined the fire wall on the passenger side(inside the wheel well). You may want to check the connections inside the car and on the other side of the fire wall to see if the power wire which is ran from the trunk into the engine compartment is loose. There is another positive wire ran along the drivers side also. Here are some posts:

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=21622

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=20242

 

[rickztahone]

i had this problem as well. it would'nt start up on me randomly. took it to my mechanic and he told me it was a relay and he changed it. it's been good ever since

 

[Quik LS]

Hawk03 - is the connection in the wheel well, passenger compartment or engine bay?

in one of your posts you mention - "There seemed to be a loose battery cable behind the front passenger fender well plastic cover."

 

[Hawk03]

Hawk03 - is the connection in the wheel well, passenger compartment or engine bay?

in one of your posts you mention - "There seemed to be a loose battery cable behind the front passenger fender well plastic cover."

It was in the wheel well, I was told by the dealer. I checked in the passenger compartment myself and it was not loose at that connection. Took it in to the dealer several times and thier conclusion was a loose connection at the junction box on the passenger side.