96 Taurus electrical pls help

[ephishant1]

This car developed major electrical issues and has been sitting for nearly a year now because of them, any real help would be appreciated. It started with the door ajar warning light staying on and the interrior lights not going off, then when i would put the car in reverse i would hear a clicking noise in the dash the interrior lights would go out but so would the power steering, until i put it back in drive, the lights would come back on, as well as the door ajar warning, the power steering was back. I checked fuses wires relays replaced anything that could not be tested, still the problems continued...and got worse when i refused to drive it any longer it had all the same problems as above(still) and now the windows stopped working but i hooked them up to a direct power source and they worked then so the switches are good the motors are good the windshield wipers work when they want to and the radio seems to have a mind of it's own as well.

Like I said I've tried relays fuses...etc nothing seems to help does this sound like the computer itself is the problem?

with the low amount of miles on it (78k) it's really got a bunch of life left in it if i can just get the damn elec figured out.

[way2old]

Try replacing the MLP(Manual Lever Positioning)sensor. Also called a TP(Transmission Positioning)sensor. it is located on top of the transaxle just below and in front of the master cylinder. Cost is under 50$.

[andrewscars]

hi, new today so duno wat im doin really, feel free to correct me. one of my taurai (1996 ghia, same as mercury sable as far as spec and headlights etc is concerned) has a very similar problem. The radio and intermittent wipers cut out when its in gear and various instrument lights go on and off randomly. most annoying is the inability to use the electric windows. like you i have tried all the fuses and such. havent had any of your major mechanical failures yet, although occasionaly the starter motor whirrs when its in reverse. my guess is its got something to do with water because its not got a garage at the moment and it rains a lot over here in middle earth, especialy in july.
anyway did you try the mlp sensor? because im no computer whizz and im pretty lost so usd$50 is really cheap to fix. i find that the taurus is one of the hardest cars to do anything to, because ford dont want you to do anything to it yourself and everythings packed in. even the oil change is a mission. please reply to me about this
thanks

[way2old]

Hello andrewscars. And welcome to the forum. Not really sure, but usually if there is no answer to a post, we consider it a "fix". So look at the idle Speed on your vehicle too. Good luck. I mean the MLP. Sorry, I got confused.

[andrewscars]

thanks il giv it a go

[andrewscars]

took my taurus to a local auto electrician the other day, turned out that it wasn't the transmission positioning sensor at all. the seals had worn around some part of the computer and it was full of water, affecting the signals etc, someone else can elaborate on the technical bs. but yeah, not expensive to fix, and the mechanic said that the problem was a design fault with some tauraii.