Hi there!
For the past couple months every now and again the power dies in my car for merely two seconds, then flickers back on and I can accelerate again.
Just the other day the car completely turned off and all the lights on the dash lit up. I had to break and restart the car in the middle of the road. What is the problem here and how cheap will it be to fix?
Start simple, it could be your battery is getting “disconnected” somehow. Clean the battery connections at the battery, and clean the connections at the other side of the battery cables too. I don’t think you have a major problem, but there is a dirty corroded connector, or corroded and deteriorated battery cable that needs to cleaned or replaced.
What could I do to clean it properly?
On the offchance that this problem is not related to a corroded battery cable end or something of that nature, it’s possible the problem could be caused by a failing ignition switch.
Depending on the age and mileage of the car the contacts in the switch degrade due to the high current draw of the cabin blower motor with the root cause being the cabin blower.
Lashyle,
What is the actual year, make and model of the vehicle? The reason I ask, is because some Taurus’ have issues different years and some of them are Recalls.
I agree with checking to see if battery cables are on securely, if there is any white or green stuff around the terminals, and to make sure that the plug for the alternator is secure.
I would also recommend calling the dealer (parts division) with the last 7 digits of your VIN (vehicle identification number) so that they can look up the details for your car. The VIN is specific to your vehicle, like DNA is to people.
I hope this helps. I would like to know what the actual problem was - when you find out. Good Luck!
Since there is considerably less draw from the battery when your car is going down the road than there is when you are starting it, I doubt that corroded battery terminals are the issue. Obviously it cranks fine. If the cables were badly corroded, it wouldn’t crank well after it stalled. Something is getting disconnected, but it’s darned hard to tell what it is from here. It could be in the ignition switch, or it could be in any of the other wires that feed the primary side of the ignition system, or the computer module. It could also be a fuel pump that is becoming intermittent.
Electrical Proplem ? Maybe . . . Maybe Not !
Most of the comments are pursuing an electrical problem and I must agree that Lashyle’s description and adjectives chosen sound like an electrical problem.
However, it’s quite possible that the problem is not caused by engine or body electrics (battery, charging, starting).
This problem could be fuel, ignition, exhaust, engine controller, etcetera, in origin.
CSA