1984 lincoln continental keeps dying

[mdcwjen]

1984 lincoln continental keeps dying My84 continental goes thru stages. Seems its good for 3 weeks then all of a sudden it doesn't want to start. The last time it was about 14 degrees out. Car started fine and I went in the house to let it warm up. Went back outside after 10 minutes and started to back up. It stalled and then wouldn't start again. Just clicked. No engine lights were on but the clock and date was o.k. I jump started it and it started right up. I went to town shut it off it was fine, went to the store it was fine and on my way home the blinker wouldn't work and the radio wouldn't go off and I couldn't get any channels. I couldn't shut the heat of either. I shut the car off and tried to start it and it just clicked but radio and clock still worked. After a few hours it started right up again. This has happened for the last 6 months or so. I have taken it to at least 3 different garages including the Ford garage and they say everything checks out. I disconnected the air suspension thinking that was it but it wasn't either as it still did it. No one has any answers and it is very frustrating. I just love that car but don't know what else to do. Hope some one out there might have some ideas. Thanks, Cliff

[aristo1963]

the very first thing i would do is remove the battery cables and clean the battery posts until shiny and clean likewise for the cable clamps.a poor corroded post clamp will do this.also have the alternator battery combo checked,autozone will test it for free.if these all fail check all of the ground straps.
john
ps just because you dont see corrosion doesnt mean it isnt there

[mdcwjen]

Originally Posted by aristo1963

the very first thing i would do is remove the battery cables and clean the battery posts until shiny and clean likewise for the cable clamps.a poor corroded post clamp will do this.also have the alternator battery combo checked,autozone will test it for free.if these all fail check all of the ground straps.
john
ps just because you dont see corrosion doesnt mean it isnt there

Thanks for replying but I got a new battery and brought it back once already. The posts have all been cleaned. The garages say it has to be mechanical and could take hundreds of tests I guess. They say the basic tests they do it comes out fine and nothing wrong. I just thought this might be something common with other Lincolns as a young girl told me her grampas car did the same thing and he did what I do. I have cables in the trunk and have to use it quite often. The alternater is supposedly good too. Sure wish I could find out what's wrong. Thanks for the input. Cliff

[Towncar]

Originally Posted by mdcwjen

..The garages say it has to be mechanical...

When you get this "click, click, click" and a jump gets her going, I'm going to suspect a defective Starter Solenoid or connections thereto.

The added amperage of Two battery's could be what's needed to get passed a failing Solenoid.

What size battery are you using? I'd recommend 900 to 1100 CCA for that monster!!

[mdcwjen]

Originally Posted by Towncar

When you get this "click, click, click" and a jump gets her going, I'm going to suspect a defective Starter Solenoid or connections thereto.

The added amperage of Two battery's could be what's needed to get passed a failing Solenoid.

What size battery are you using? I'd recommend 900 to 1100 CCA for that monster!!

Hi and thanks for responding but I do have a big battery and when it clicks and clicks like that the battery is then dead. It seems to work for about 3 weeks and then it does it again. You can almost count on it. Thanks again. Cliff

[peppermrj]

Md, do you then charge the battery or just jump it and thats all. If the battery. alternater and associated wiring is good I would start looking for a draw on the battery (light in the glove box,trunk,hood,etc). Also did you address the ground wires Aristo mentioned. Not just on the battery but the grounds to the frame,engine and body. they wii drive you nuts with signals and such,

[mdcwjen]

Originally Posted by peppermrj

Md, do you then charge the battery or just jump it and thats all. If the battery. alternater and associated wiring is good I would start looking for a draw on the battery (light in the glove box,trunk,hood,etc). Also did you address the ground wires Aristo mentioned. Not just on the battery but the grounds to the frame,engine and body. they wii drive you nuts with signals and such,

Thanks peppermrj for responding. Yes, I do put it on the charger and it says the battery is dead once I just waited for a few hours and it started up tho. Yes it is driving me nuts trying to figure this out. I am no mechanic at all but where I work the head mechanic looked at it and is baffled too. I had this problem in the summer too so it is not only with the cold as I live in Mi. We shut off the shock levelers for a while and it still happened so that is one thing it is not. Sometime going down the road the dashboard lights will start flashing and I can't shut off the heating or the channels on the radio go goofy, it will start dying out right on the road and when I coast to as far as I can go sometime there isn't even a click, click but just dead!!!! I give it a jump and it starts and get it home, start it and she starts right up. I of course put it on the charger but it is just baffeling. I sure appreciate all the help everyone is giving here. Thanks, Cliff

[Towncar]

Cliff..
Looking over these replies and your comments, I'm not going to fully retract my concern for the solenoid 'cause I'm thinking you have multiple problems at this point. All of us suggested that you MAKE SURE all your connections are sound, do that, you might even consider adding heavier battery cables, both of them, and additional ground straps from the frame to the engine/transmission, cant hurt and will be better for the entire charging/starting systems.

* Somethings killing your battery, period.
* The problem is definately intermittant (non-constant).
* The other symptoms are also battery (lack of power) related.
* There's only one thing that can do this, Alternator&Regulator.

It's either overcharging, shorting, undercharging or all these, at different intervals. What's this doing to your new battery's? It's killing them!!

Now you're at the point where you have an alternator&Regulator problem, and a battery problem. The battery wont take that kind of abuse, it trys like hell to keep up, then it quits.

What's this doing to your Starter and Solenoid? Killing them too!! Lack of available amperage will kill these two devices quicker that white on rice, solenoid contacts get abused, starter is overstressed.

So, take that piece of shit alternator & regulator out, throw them damn things as far as you can, buy another new battery, replace/add battery/ground cables/straps, buy a name brand replacement alternator&Regulator, and live stress free

IMHO

[mdcwjen]

Originally Posted by Towncar

Cliff..
Looking over these replies and your comments, I'm not going to fully retract my concern for the solenoid 'cause I'm thinking you have multiple problems at this point. All of us suggested that you MAKE SURE all your connections are sound, do that, you might even consider adding heavier battery cables, both of them, and additional ground straps from the frame to the engine/transmission, cant hurt and will be better for the entire charging/starting systems.

* Somethings killing your battery, period.
* The problem is definately intermittant (non-constant).
* The other symptoms are also battery (lack of power) related.
* There's only one thing that can do this, Alternator&Regulator.

It's either overcharging, shorting, undercharging or all these, at different intervals. What's this doing to your new battery's? It's killing them!!

Now you're at the point where you have an alternator&Regulator problem, and a battery problem. The battery wont take that kind of abuse, it trys like hell to keep up, then it quits.

What's this doing to your Starter and Solenoid? Killing them too!! Lack of available amperage will kill these two devices quicker that white on rice, solenoid contacts get abused, starter is overstressed.

So, take that piece of shit alternator & regulator out, throw them damn things as far as you can, buy another new battery, replace/add battery/ground cables/straps, buy a name brand replacement alternator&Regulator, and live stress free

IMHO

Towncar, thanks for all the suggestions and you gave me alot of info. Will try to do them one by one and hopefully it will end my madness!!!!! Thanks again, Cliff

[Towncar]

Originally Posted by mdcwjen

Towncar, thanks for all the suggestions and you gave me alot of info. Will try to do them one by one and hopefully it will end my madness!!!!! Thanks again, Cliff

Cliff...
Keep in mind, that's exactly what you've been doing, "..one by one..".
That approach isn't working. You should consider treating the entire problem at once.

* New, solid cables and ground straps.
* New Alternator, if regulator isnt integral....
* New Regulator.
* New Battery.

Hopefully when these are replaced, the starter and solenoid will behave without replacement too.

This problem, as you describe it, dosn't sound like an accessory draining the battery, it sounds more like Alt/Reg killing the battery.

You mentioned that your a bit dependent on mechanics, which makes matters worse, these are really simple replacements with basic tools.
Shops would just add big $$ to these replacements, where if you could do the work yourself it'd be around $200 for everything.

* Battery cables around $10 each
* Ground straps around $7 each
* Alternator around $70
* Regulator (if external) around $20
* Battery, as you know by now, $50 to $70 unless you can get a pro-rate swap, or warranty replacement cheaper.

Adding 30% to 50% to that price tag for labor and it gets quite expensive. Finding a shop that willing to do exactly what you want is another problem.

IMHO