Silver_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
What will they do when they find his car sleep walking? er.. or rolling...
My Lincoln dealership is full of idiots. What should my plan of attack be?
- Thread starter iamyourdemize
- Start date
iamyourdemize
LVC Member
So got a call and they still have no idea what is wrong with it.
He asked if he should keep it another day to try some more tests or if I wanted to pick it up. Why would I want a car that will die someplace in a week's time?
So I am at a loss at what to do here. I guess I can take it someplace else but then I am out all that money and time for absolutely nothing.
Thoughts?
He asked if he should keep it another day to try some more tests or if I wanted to pick it up. Why would I want a car that will die someplace in a week's time?
So I am at a loss at what to do here. I guess I can take it someplace else but then I am out all that money and time for absolutely nothing.
Thoughts?
Andrizzle
Dedicated LVC Member
#1 most knowledgeable on the forum. If he left, nothing would get done around here. lol
valuable members make a forum like this one, ideal.
That sucks. I hope its not something right in your face easy but they missed. Thats worse than it being something more serious because they just wasted all that time and your money on nothing. Bummer man.
I think joe would school the engineers that made the ls, he would just walk all over them. Joegr :Beer
I think joe would school the engineers that made the ls, he would just walk all over them. Joegr :Beer
Willow9238
Active LVC Member
iamyourdemize, first question is was it really cold when these problems occurred? I had this same problem when its get really cold. I did some research and found that another LS owner was having that same issues and claimed that he was working with an engineer to figure out what it was. He found that a connection in the steering column was coming apart/separating, making a weak signal for the Pats system. The bottom line is if you keep the inside of the car warm, it would probably start. I have a place heater that i plug in and leave in the car, lol. I plug it in when i know that its going to be cold. this is not a fix, but it gets me through the winter.
Oh yeah and the reason why it started at the dealers is probably because the car probably warmed up or warmed outside.
Oh yeah and the reason why it started at the dealers is probably because the car probably warmed up or warmed outside.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
I would have them check/tighten all the major electrical junctions. I don't think this is a PATS issue because of the other symptoms, like the alarm going off.
Cold would be a factor with loose electrical connections. Most likely the dealership parked your car inside, so it stayed warm enough for the problems not to show.
Cold would be a factor with loose electrical connections. Most likely the dealership parked your car inside, so it stayed warm enough for the problems not to show.
iamyourdemize
LVC Member
It has been cold every time its done that but no colder than 25. I don't think its that connection you mentioned Willow because every time the car won't start, the battery is dead. Something is either drawing power from it when it shouldn't (he said there is nothing) or its not charging correctly.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
You can buy voltmeters that plug into the cigarette lighter. Maybe you should get one and drive around with it to verify that the alternator is charging correctly. It should stay around 14 volts. If it goes to 15 volts (or higher) or goes below 13 volts, then you have a charging problem. I don't think that you will find a charging problem, but you never know. It sounds like a current drain while the car is sitting. This could (oddly enough) be caused by a loose connection (because it wakes the electronics up) or by defective electronics.
Here's a small horror story for you. I had a Grand Marquis under factory warranty that started killing the battery. Fortunately for me, there was a big clue in that the power locks would stop working before the battery was drained.
I took it in the first time - diagnosis: Replace battery, no fault found.
I took it in the second time - diagnosis: Locks weren't working, but they started working while they were testing it, so nothing done.
I took it back the third time and told them the the Driver's Door Module was experiencing CMOS latchup and that it was the problem. I pointed out that you could even feel how hot it was getting. Their troubleshooting procedure said to pull the fuse to the module and test the current. They did this, and it reset the latchup, so they again claimed there was nothing wrong.
I couldn't take anymore of this. I borrowed an ESD gun and zapped the DDM with 15000 volts, and now it was completely dead. I took the car back in, they replaced the now dead DDM, and I never had any more trouble with locks failing or the battery going dead. (Much later the intake manifold cracked, but that's another story.)
Do you where this connection is?
My remote start will not start the car when it is cold outside and this may help find the fault. It will crank but acts as if something is stopping it from completely starting. The remote start works every time during warm weather.
Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
drag214
Well-Known LVC Member
Does the red light on the center of your dash flash when it's cranking? If so , then your may have the same problem as Willow. I beleive the connection he is refering to is a connector going to a small black box mounted on the ignition cylinder.
Your situation may be a little different. In order for the car to be started without a key inserted into the ignition, you need to have a key close to or in contact with that little black box that I mentioned. That's why they always ask for the spair key. your key may have just dropped down. I would just pull off the kick pannel. You may find the key. You will still need to pull the ignition cylinder to put it back on.
I've done it so many times, I could have it out ing 15 min.
Willow9238
Active LVC Member
drag214 is correct that is the problem i have.
drag214
Well-Known LVC Member
Have you tried putting some dyelectric grease on the connector? That may help.
iamyourdemize
LVC Member
I haven't heard anything from them since Wednesday. I am going to call them tomorrow to get an update and demand a loaner. I HAVE to have a car as I am leaving for the next three months and have a lot of stuff I need to get done.
Can the dealership say they can't fix something? Are they allowed to do that?
Can the dealership say they can't fix something? Are they allowed to do that?
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Under warranty, no. Not under warranty, yes they can.
iamyourdemize
LVC Member
This is seriously unacceptable now. I have received one phone call from them since I had it towed in last Monday. I spoke to them one other time because I called. Between yesterday and today I left 6 messages for somebody to call me back. I'm about to go ape :q:q:q:q crazy on these idiots.
toomanyfumes
Well-Known LVC Member
I can see an independent guy saying it's beyond what he can fix but the dealer should be the experts and be able to fix anything. That's why you pay them the premium.
DUVALINCOLN
Active LVC Member
I actually had a few problems with the Lincoln Dealership in my town a few months ago and I pretty much kept going up in the chain making complaints and taking names until they assigned a specialist to me to see taht all my needs were meet to my fitting. Pretty when you have to follow-up like that but money and time is precious these days.
605RezlifeLS
Well-Known LVC Member
I have a similar problem, I had my battery checked and it was kicking out the right amount of voltage, but if I leave something on it dies, then when I try to start it the alarm goes off and the lights are very faint, I was told it was the alternator but I have to know for sure before I spend.
chocolat1701
Dedicated LVC Member
if they cant fix then demand your money back that you already paid and go to another dealership.
I can't see the red light on the dash, its under the dash molding, I have the alarm blue light in place of it.
This morning the car would not start, with the key. It cranked like hell but did not turn over. I wasn't able to mess around with. I have a month old battery, which is not the problem, it had plenty of juice.
I'm thinking it could be the loose connection that was mentioned and I'm hoping that the car will be warm in a few hours when I try and start it. It was 9 degrees this morning.
Any other suggestions?
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Sorry, no suggestions, but I would like to try and clear up some terminology.
Turn over = the starter turns the crankshaft over.
Start up = the engine starts and runs.
I think that what you are really saying is that it's turning over, but it won't start up.
djknowledge
Dedicated LVC Member
how can the almost 4000 lb LS turn over like crazy but not start!!!! thats insane!!!!
I don't know but it's driving me insane.
I can't find any thing that will warm up the cabin to test the loose connection theory. The red pats light flashes when the car turns over but I get no start. I live in an apartment and its not close to any outlets. I tried plugging in a small heater into a power converter from my gf's car but that was a no go.
Its gonna have to wait till tomorrow. I'm tired of messing with it.
After reading more posts on starting issues I'm beginning to think it is the fuel pump.