Lincoln LS Electrical problem

[deandre]

Hi, i just joined the website and i had a question for everyone... I purchased a 2003 Lincoln ls v8 a few months ago and a two weeks ago it slipped off the road into a deep ditch. The ditch filled up into the floorboard in the cabin and under the hood a little before being pulled out and i thought it wasn't going to start again. After about four days i tried to start it and it didn't start/ nothing was working. After charging the battery, Everything started working again (windows, alarm, locks, starting) and the car started right up. The car experienced a few glitches like "Gear Selector Error," Instrument cluster flickering off and on with the gauges also flickering, and the battery dying after sitting for more than a few hours. I was going to sell the car, but after sitting for a few more days, all the problems have gone away except for the battery being drained if left more than a couple hours. The battery was tested to be working fine btw. My question is does anyone know what could be the problem here, or how i could help it get back to normal.

PS. I will be leaving the car at my mechanic in about two weeks for a couple days so he can test it so i was just trying to get a few opinions. Thank you and sorry for the long post.

 

[LS4me]

The battery is definitely NOT fine. Was it load tested? The alternator could also be on the way out.....

 

[chocolat1701]

how old is the battery have it load tested and also have the alternator tested aswell.

 

[deandre]

I am not sure because my mechanic has not looked at it... It was tested at autozone and they said it was a good battery. Not sure how old the battery is because i've only had the car for three months, but it looks fairly new.

 

[deandre]

On the information panel, it says the system is charging fine and i have no problem while it is running w/ the lights on... Only when it is off for more than a couple hours.

 

[fudge12]

Was there water involved with this incident? Sounds like a parasitic draw due to a short. Time to whip out a multimeter and start testing for electrical draws. Try to do this when the car is in sleep mode (approximately 5-10 minutes after you lock the doors.)

 

[joegr]

On the information panel, it says the system is charging fine and i have no problem while it is running w/ the lights on... Only when it is off for more than a couple hours.

You could have a bad battery, and/or you may very well have a parasitic load caused by water and mud getting into one or more of the electronic modules. You might still be okay if you can locate it (or them) and take them apart and clean them up really good.
(BTW, your battery probably is toast now. It only takes a few deep discharges to damage the battery, and it sounds like yours has already had several.)

 

[deandre]

Thank you guys, my mechanic also said it may be a parasitic draw, but it has stopped so he said he can't test it if it stopped and to make note of what is on before I turn the car off just in case it happens again... I haven't had any more problems out of my car though