Shortly after a series of repairs on my mercury sable, the dashboard began to misbehave. The turn indicators failed intermittently even after changing bulbs and fuses.
The radio turns on and off at will, the dash doesn’t always light, and sometimes when driving, the car emits random dashboard noises(like the sound when you leave the lights on the keys in the ignition). It’s really more annoying than spooky.
A mechanic has suggested that this could be
1. time to buy a new radio.
2. time to replace the switch.
I’ve read online that owners of other makes and models have had a similar experience.
So my questions are:
1. Can I fix this problem myself? Where’s the switch? Is it worth it to try?
2. The original repair that I think began this horror show was replacing the coil.
Do you think that a repair to the car’s ignition could have anything to do with it’s current state?
3. Maybe it’s time to buy a new car?
“Repair” to the ignition switch? Explain. This sounds like a poor power wire, or poor ground wire connection. There are several places under the dash (often, near the foot-well corners) where there are several grounding wires attached to the metal part of the dash or car body by a bolt or a stud and nut. Use a socket, or wrench, and loosen two turns and retighten all you can find. They aren’t always easy to find. Any improvement? If not, chasing the wires, using the appropriate wiring diagrams, and voltmeter, would be preferable than just changing parts.
The switch the mechanic was refering to is the ignition switch I believe. The bad connection problem could be with it or in the connector for it. There may be a common source to these problems especially if they all happen at once. Another place for possible trouble is in main harness connector to the dash. One thing that may help fix this trouble is to just seperate the main wire harness connectors, look for any signs of trouble with the connection pins and reconnect them. Before doing any parts replacement I would get the wiring diagram for the car and try to see where a connection problem would cause trouble to the things you mentioned. The ignition switch and the wiring to it is a big suspect. You may also be able to find the trouble area by tapping on suspected trouble areas with a screwdriver handle.