94 Aerostar electrical problems

Hope someone can help, I have never seen this before. One morning the battery was dead. Assumed the battery was bad(6 years old). Picked up a new one and the van started right up. Later that evening, my wife noticed the interior lights were on. I assumed I had turned them on when the van wouldn't start earlier. Turned the headlight switch to turn them off but they stayed on. I pulled the bulb so it wouldn't drain the battery. Next morning I noticed the courtesy light for the sliding door was on and pulled the wire connections to kill it. Now I have a problem that amazes me. The speedometer is out, the odometer is out, the radio is out and the tranny will not shift into the OD range. I noticed when I left work that the speedo needle wiggled for a short while and just a glimmer of the odometer numbers showed for a short while and the radio worked for just a few minutes but all died out in a matter of a couple of minutes. I was going to check the fuses but you need the owners manual to decifer what the numbers mean on the fuse box and I have no idea where it has wandered off too. If anyone can help with this, PLEASE, contact me. I have hit a wall with this and need help with this problem. Thanks, Swede

HEY!! Sorry about all your problems. BUT I can deffinitely relate to you. I COMPLETELY understand!!! I have a 1991 Ford Aerostar.A couple months ago, I did the same as you, went to start it up, wouldn't turn over, figured old age went out and bought a duralast gold (with an 8 year warranty) it cost $89.00 but let me tell you worth every penny, and you will understand why momentarily. I have been having the dome light come on and off couldn't figure out why or how and also the idiot light for the "door ajar" was on. So the problem as I could tell was coming from the back hatch. I got to magazines folded them in half and crammed them in the jam of the door. This did stop the dome light from coming on for a while. Well now the lovely thing started coming on again and one day when I was two hours from home at a dr.'s appt. my aldenator died from the strain and extertion of running the vehicle for so long. I had a helpful person jump the van and I drove it to Autozone (so I could get an aldenator) right as I pulled into the parking lot, the battery also died. SO the battery was replaced with a brand new one, because it was still under warranty thank god. I got the new aldenator got home and got it put in. Then I pulled the dome light, the light under the glove box, the light by the van door and the cargo light all out and I now carry a flash light with me. OTher problems that you might want to look out for..... My drivers window has quit working it will not roll down the driver or passenger side window. Also If you live where there is any snow, take a heavy weather proof tape and go around your tail light wires inside your tallight covers. I know it is a lot of work, and a pain in the butt, however, my driver side tail lamp went, I got stopped by NYS trooper, went and bought the bulb changed it, it worked, went to work, got stopped again, it had quit working, went and bought bulbs and fuses, then when i took off the covers and got down to the wires and realized that it was corroded so bad there was no save to it, and I was going back to Autozone to buy special tape, yeah you guessed it, Lucky me, I got stopped again, that's right 3 tickets in 52hrs. isn't that nice! Anyways, I bypassed power from the right taillight to the left taillight just so I would quit getting stopped, OH and because the $1100.00 price tag to have it "properlly fixed" was kind of a punch in the gut. Well good luck to you. And if anyone else writes back to you and has any valuable advice, like how to actually correct the problem, please let me, I would be ever so appreciative. Thank you so very much! Take care!


Hope someone can help, I have never seen this before. One morning the battery was dead. Assumed the battery was bad(6 years old). Picked up a new one and the van started right up. Later that evening, my wife noticed the interior lights were on. I assumed I had turned them on when the van wouldn't start earlier. Turned the headlight switch to turn them off but they stayed on. I pulled the bulb so it wouldn't drain the battery. Next morning I noticed the courtesy light for the sliding door was on and pulled the wire connections to kill it. Now I have a problem that amazes me. The speedometer is out, the odometer is out, the radio is out and the tranny will not shift into the OD range. I noticed when I left work that the speedo needle wiggled for a short while and just a glimmer of the odometer numbers showed for a short while and the radio worked for just a few minutes but all died out in a matter of a couple of minutes. I was going to check the fuses but you need the owners manual to decifer what the numbers mean on the fuse box and I have no idea where it has wandered off too. If anyone can help with this, PLEASE, contact me. I have hit a wall with this and need help with this problem. Thanks, Swede[/QUOTE]