Electrical Problems, Flashers Problem - 99 Windstar

[dariem]

Last night my wife was driving our 99 Windstar home when the lights starting going off and on. Eventually the engine just quit. When she tried to crank, it just made a loud clicking noise. When I got there I was able to jumpstart it, but the rest of the way home the lights kept going off then back on. After we got home and turned it off, it wouldn't crank - just the clicking noise. I'm charging the battery now. Any ideas?

2nd problem: turned the flashers on for the ride home, but then they wouldn't turn off even though I pressed the switch several times. Thanks for any suggestions!

[12Ounce]

Sounds very much like just a loose battery cable ... or power conductor somewhere ... even a ground connection corroded or loose. Easily found with a voltmeter ... and especially with wiring diagram.

[scubacat]

Swing by advance auto or another auto parts store and get the battery and alternator tested, too. Could be a bad alternator.

[dariem]

Thanks for the responses. Had battery & alternator tested - alternator appears bad. Am going to replace it. Thanks, again.

[scubacat]

That's what it sounded like to me but it's not a bad idea to get it tested. If you have a voltmeter, you can test it yourself at the battery with the car running. See if it holds ~14V when turning on stuff like rear defogger, high beams, a/c, etc.

It's really easy to swap, and life will be good again. Good luck!

[dariem]

Originally Posted by scubacat

That's what it sounded like to me but it's not a bad idea to get it tested. If you have a voltmeter, you can test it yourself at the battery with the car running. See if it holds ~14V when turning on stuff like rear defogger, high beams, a/c, etc.

It's really easy to swap, and life will be good again. Good luck!

Thanks for the good info. Replaced the alternator and seems to have fixed the problem.