96 escort 1.9 auto, major electrical??

[furnishu]

hi,

i have a 96 ford escort lx, 1.9 auto.

the car now has about 111,000 miles on it with no major incidents.

im in minneapolis and we just had our first big freeze. today i go to driev my car (didnt warm it up long) and as im driving i notice all the inside and outside lights are going dim, then the radio shut off, then the heater stopped working, then the car died when i was driving on the street. before it dies, it started doing that beeping thing (by the radio) and whenever i would hit the brakes the beeping thing would happen too.

we sat there for about 15 minutes, then the car restarted but nothing electrical seemed to work. i drove the car home in the dark with no lights or anything! ack!

im hoping this may be something as simple as a battery, what do you guys think it could be??

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by furnishu

hi,

i have a 96 ford escort lx, 1.9 auto.

the car now has about 111,000 miles on it with no major incidents.

im in minneapolis and we just had our first big freeze. today i go to driev my car (didnt warm it up long) and as im driving i notice all the inside and outside lights are going dim, then the radio shut off, then the heater stopped working, then the car died when i was driving on the street. before it dies, it started doing that beeping thing (by the radio) and whenever i would hit the brakes the beeping thing would happen too.

we sat there for about 15 minutes, then the car restarted but nothing electrical seemed to work. i drove the car home in the dark with no lights or anything! ack!

im hoping this may be something as simple as a battery, what do you guys think it could be??

either battery or alternator both will go in the cold. Id say the alt. Go to autozone they will test the whole charging system free

[jdking101674]

Won't be your battery, because the car restarted. Sounds like a altinator or a ground issue.. J.king

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by jdking101674

Won't be your battery, because the car restarted. Sounds like a altinator or a ground issue.. J.king

I have always seen batterys that on on thier "last leg" in the cold kinda recharge themselfs if you let them sit for a while. But either way if they can take the car to an autozone the store will test the battery, alt, and connections by checking the whole charging system.

To the original poster Do you have an ohm/volt meter?

[furnishu]

thanks for all your responses!

come to find out, it was a bad battery cable/connector also he had to rig the alternator as well since i couldnt afford FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS for a 96 ford escort alternator!

car has been good for a few days now.

merry christmas!

ps the mechanic said that running SO many things at once in the cold is not good. also, make sure you have everything OFF (radio, defroster, etc) before you power down your car.

he said the defroster uses more energy than any other electrical thing on the car!