To be a lemon or not to be a lemon
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From: land of clappin cheeks
To be a lemon or not to be a lemon
If you want to skip the story of the problem scroll to the end of the post.
Hello from Arkansas! The other day I was driving down the interstate going around 70mph when suddenly my (abs) light turned on it felt like the brakes turned on by themselves and the truck revved up. In about as much time it took me to look down at my gauge cluster it stopped and went back to normal. Keep in mind this all happened at around 70mph I called my papa (grandfather) who was once a mechanic to ask if he knew what could have happened. He told me to bring it by on the weekend but due to life, I was unable to. Yesterday after I took my sister to a piano class about 10 feet from out of the parking lot the car's engine cut in the middle of a road. The battery, check gauge, and check engine light turned on and the brakes were instantly stiff. with the little momentum I had, I was able to avoid traffic and slowly roll into the middle lane. All the windows and electronics still worked perfectly including the hazard lights. At this point, I still hadn't turned the key back to off. Luckily my older sister and her boyfriend were passing by and helped me push it out of the road into a small shopping center. After getting the truck out of the way I was able to just turn the key back and it would start up again like nothing happened (No warning lights). On my way home when slowing down at an intersection it did the same thing but this time I knew I just had to restart it to keep going. When I twisted the key back and then forward again it wouldn't go into crank position. In order to crank the engine, I had to twist the key back, wait a couple seconds, then I could start it again. It ran normally for the rest of the ride home but I have not driven it since then.
THINGS TO NOTE:
1- both times it died it was at a slow speed.
2- going around 70mph when suddenly my (abs) light turned on it felt like the brakes turned on by themselves and the truck revved up and stopped in a matter of seconds.
3- It was normal for a couple days
4- The battery, Check Guage, and Check engine light only turned on when the car died.
5- All electronics worked fine.
6- It happened a second time
7- The key would not work at first until I would wait a couple seconds.
8- Gas was on
9- I bought it September 6, 2018
10- I have put around 2,000 miles on it.
11- 2001 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0L v6 4x4
12- It all ran perfectly before
13- I apologize in advance for my writing skills.
To be a lemon or not to be a lemon
Hello from Arkansas! The other day I was driving down the interstate going around 70mph when suddenly my (abs) light turned on it felt like the brakes turned on by themselves and the truck revved up. In about as much time it took me to look down at my gauge cluster it stopped and went back to normal. Keep in mind this all happened at around 70mph I called my papa (grandfather) who was once a mechanic to ask if he knew what could have happened. He told me to bring it by on the weekend but due to life, I was unable to. Yesterday after I took my sister to a piano class about 10 feet from out of the parking lot the car's engine cut in the middle of a road. The battery, check gauge, and check engine light turned on and the brakes were instantly stiff. with the little momentum I had, I was able to avoid traffic and slowly roll into the middle lane. All the windows and electronics still worked perfectly including the hazard lights. At this point, I still hadn't turned the key back to off. Luckily my older sister and her boyfriend were passing by and helped me push it out of the road into a small shopping center. After getting the truck out of the way I was able to just turn the key back and it would start up again like nothing happened (No warning lights). On my way home when slowing down at an intersection it did the same thing but this time I knew I just had to restart it to keep going. When I twisted the key back and then forward again it wouldn't go into crank position. In order to crank the engine, I had to twist the key back, wait a couple seconds, then I could start it again. It ran normally for the rest of the ride home but I have not driven it since then.
THINGS TO NOTE:
1- both times it died it was at a slow speed.
2- going around 70mph when suddenly my (abs) light turned on it felt like the brakes turned on by themselves and the truck revved up and stopped in a matter of seconds.
3- It was normal for a couple days
4- The battery, Check Guage, and Check engine light only turned on when the car died.
5- All electronics worked fine.
6- It happened a second time
7- The key would not work at first until I would wait a couple seconds.
8- Gas was on
9- I bought it September 6, 2018
10- I have put around 2,000 miles on it.
11- 2001 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0L v6 4x4
12- It all ran perfectly before
13- I apologize in advance for my writing skills.
Last edited by razorscout; Oct 11, 2018 at 11:03 AM.
Thread Starter
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Member
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 17
Likes: 3
From: land of clappin cheeks
After looking under the hood and snooping around it turns out the battery cable was so loose that when driving on the road it would lose contact for a couple seconds. I had a rolled-up sheet of lead in the back so I just cut some up and wrapped it around the wire so it would fit snug.
Welcome to the forum
Battery is not used while engine is running, battery is only there to start the engine, it is also used to absorb voltage spikes if they occur.
So not sure loose battery cable was your only issue, could be, just doesn't make technical sense
Battery voltage is 12.3-12.8volts
12.8-13.0v when new
12.5v after 3 years
12.3v after 5/6 years, and time to shop for battery sale
12.2v and under is a failed battery, it won't start vehicle on cold morning, "click, click, click"
When engine starts Alternator powers EVERYTHING, its lowest voltage should be 13.5volts, highest 14.9volts
At 13.5v -14.9v power flows TO the battery to keep it charged up, it can't flow OUT of the battery since it is only 13.0v when new and under that after a 6months to a year, so Battery can't not effect running vehicle, if Alternator system is working like it should
Test battery voltage engine off, write it down
Start the engine
Test battery voltage again, should be 2 volts higher than previous voltage, this is the "fast recharge" cycle, in case engine stalls and you need to restart
Leaving engine running for 5 minutes or so and test voltage again, should now be 1 volt higher than engine off battery voltage, this is the "maintenance charge" cycle, it keeps battery charged but won't "cook it" like the 2volts will over time
Now turn on all the lights and fan blower to HIGH, battery voltage should show the same, if it has dropped below 13.5v then one Field in the alternator has failed, i.e. dimming headlights at idle
Battery is not used while engine is running, battery is only there to start the engine, it is also used to absorb voltage spikes if they occur.
So not sure loose battery cable was your only issue, could be, just doesn't make technical sense
Battery voltage is 12.3-12.8volts
12.8-13.0v when new
12.5v after 3 years
12.3v after 5/6 years, and time to shop for battery sale
12.2v and under is a failed battery, it won't start vehicle on cold morning, "click, click, click"
When engine starts Alternator powers EVERYTHING, its lowest voltage should be 13.5volts, highest 14.9volts
At 13.5v -14.9v power flows TO the battery to keep it charged up, it can't flow OUT of the battery since it is only 13.0v when new and under that after a 6months to a year, so Battery can't not effect running vehicle, if Alternator system is working like it should
Test battery voltage engine off, write it down
Start the engine
Test battery voltage again, should be 2 volts higher than previous voltage, this is the "fast recharge" cycle, in case engine stalls and you need to restart
Leaving engine running for 5 minutes or so and test voltage again, should now be 1 volt higher than engine off battery voltage, this is the "maintenance charge" cycle, it keeps battery charged but won't "cook it" like the 2volts will over time
Now turn on all the lights and fan blower to HIGH, battery voltage should show the same, if it has dropped below 13.5v then one Field in the alternator has failed, i.e. dimming headlights at idle
Thread Starter
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Member
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 17
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From: land of clappin cheeks
I have not checked the voltage yet but ever since I have tightened the cable back up there has not been a problem with it. It will start up and run fine like it used to. There were just voltage spikes when the cable had a bad connection. Also, the alternator is still magnetic.
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