HELP! HUGE MAJOR problem with 99 cougar!

[Sealgal]

I am VERY frusturated! I have a '99 Merc cougar... and last Saturday on my way home from work, the whole car went nuts on me!
First, my battery light came on... but it was flickering. I decided I had better take it in to have it checked on to make sure nothing is wrong. About 5 minutes later, my ABS, parking brake, and traction control light all came on at the SAME time! So then I started panicking b/c I had no clue what was going on.. I just wanted to get home asap to see what was going on! So I kept on driving along.... then about another 5 minutes later, my air bag light came on! Then after another few minutes, all the lights on my display got dimmer, dimmer, dimmer and then all went out, then my head lights went out, my radio was shutting itself on and off (so I just shut it off)... then next thing I know my spedometer went down to 0 (and I was doing about 55 trying to hurry and get my car home!)... my gas gauge went down to E... and then my car just quit working and died, right there on the street!

Has anyone else had this problem? Or know what to do about it? My boyfriend and I have been testing EVERYTHING... we have pretty much ruled the alternator out, we have tested all of the fuses, the battery seems to be fine, although it's not holding a charge properly b/c there is a drain coming from someplace. We think it may be a ground? Anyone know where the grounds are, how to lcoate them and see if they are loose or need to be replaced??? Thanks in advance!

Or.... any other ideas????????????

[fordman123]

I wouldn't rule the alternator out until I checked the charging system to
verify proper voltage output from the alternator.
It should read somewhere around 14 volts.
The only occurences that I have run into personally by the details
that you are describing have been the alternator and/or battery.

I would get a reading with a voltmeter on the alternator still.

Good luck!

Fordman

[dutchboy]

if the alternator is toast and the battery dies while driving then the car will also die since it needs power to run the Fuel injection...

i would test the alternator...
how many miles on it?

you cant judge a alternator by what it looks like...it should deliver at least 14.5volts to the battery while running ...otherwise it isnt working proper..

sounds like the alternator to me...thats the reason the battery light came on.

[jimjam187]

[jimjam187]

:smoker2:

[upastdue]

Hello, I went through the same problem, it freaked me out, I took it into a friend that is a mechanic and tested everything and found out the alternator was working but not enough, I replaced alternator and sure enough, it was the problem, and by your description I gurantee that your alternator is bad.

[beyondloadedSE]

Originally Posted by upastdue

Hello, I went through the same problem, it freaked me out, I took it into a friend that is a mechanic and tested everything and found out the alternator was working but not enough, I replaced alternator and sure enough, it was the problem, and by your description I gurantee that your alternator is bad.

anytime the CEL is flickering, it indicates a misfire. But from the symptons you explain, its sounds like your alternator has been on its way out. I had the same thing happen to me in my new 2003 focus. Only had it for about 5 days and I was driving and my battery light came on. The next day, I was making a 2.5 hour drive from Canton MI to Fort Wayne IN on Christmas Eve. The light wasnt on in the morning, but about 25 minutes onto the highway, the battery light came on, the airbag light came, and all the sudden, my gauge needles just fell and everything just turned off as i was driving. Turned out to be a toasted alternator and as a result, a now drained battery.

[pro standard]

Take a look at the alternator housing and see if it is cracked. The best way to see this would be by using a hoist and look up underneath. I work at a Ford dealership and we have had many come in with this problem. A new alternator will fix your charging problem, but I don't know about the case problem. We have not had any come back. Also listen to see if it is making a humming noise. Hope this helps.

[CavalloItaliano1]

.......well.....i wouldnt even bother takin it to a machanic....if i were u, i would take it to an exorcist cause the car sounds possessed to me....i never in my life heard anything like that b4 and i have seen just about everything that could possibly be wrong with a car....and NEVER nothin like that.....i think its possessed.....but no, take it to a good machanic ASAP

[WS6er_02]

My girlfriend HAD that same problem. First her battery light came on and off for a month and her lights would dim alot. Then we were going through downtown in rush hour and all the electronics went on and off and flickered the the engine started knocking it got real slow then died. So after i pushed it across three lanes of traffic we got a tow truck and took it to a mechanic who said it had something to do with a fuse for the computer that controlled some relays or something. Long story short she bought a new truck not long after that incident, and she had a few problems in the past. So ur not the only one.

[jason76431]

I personaly have not had this problem, yet i work on a manufacture line for mercury and this is a common problem in fact, usualy the problem only happens in the cold. its cause by a faulty relay on the computer board that freezes in the winter, anyways the relay is in conjunction with the charging circut, thats why your battery light came on first. during the malfunction it ruined your alternator and fried the battery. now explaining why every other light came on and the reason your car died and probably doesnt start. during all of this it completely ruined the cars computer system which is another reason your lights went off and you speedometer stopped cause it is a computer controlled unit. easy yet very expinsive to fix. its not total value so its more smart to just fix it. Mercury offers a newer computer system for the 2001/2 cougar that is very much compatable. cost, 578$ altenator, 250$ for a 90amp battery, 65$ total cost is 893$ plus tax. now instalation your looking at another 1000$ electrical problems are always the most expensive to fix.
good luck and if you have any more problems just email me. [email protected]

[Bethk0119]

I also own a 2000 Mercury Cougar and have experienced the same problems. I have my car in the shop now. After a lot of research I have come to find out that the Mercury Cougars go through ALOT of alternators. I was coming home from Tennessee to Florida when my car's speedometer and tach and gas gauge all just dropped to nothing. I was able to keep driving it like that to get it off the road and then it just died. About 5 minutes later it started again and made it about 1 mile. We had it towed to a dealer and he told us he could find nothing wrong with it. Amazing, huh?I bought the car in August and since then all kinds of misc. lights come on. The lights dim and flicker all the time. It looks like a strobe light in the interior at night. If you find a good solution let me know.

[cougar4life]

i would have to guess the alternator. b/c it is a very common problem with the new cougars.

[jaazzy]

you might want to check the voltage regulater and the wire that runs from the voltage regulator to the alternator.my friend had a car that would just die like that and the wire running from the voltage regultar to the alternator was burnt in half. we changed the wire and no problems since

[xav8terx]

Originally Posted by jaazzy

you might want to check the voltage regulater and the wire that runs from the voltage regulator to the alternator.my friend had a car that would just die like that and the wire running from the voltage regultar to the alternator was burnt in half. we changed the wire and no problems since

Is the voltage regulator connected to the alternator or separate in another area of the engine? I know this question sounds stupid since your reply indicates that it isn’t connected but I have had several people look at my 99 cougar and I am getting mixed messages...some say it is part of the alternator and some say it isn’t. The reason I ask is because this Sunday I think I might be pulling the alternator off...which from what I have found is quite the job. I would like to rule out a bad regulator if at all possible (one of the few people who looked at it pointed to the regulator as being the problem...I tend to trust his experienced opinion but he is also one of the people that said it was part of the alternator).