Car died this morning....any clues? UPDATE: was alternator...and battery

[beer]

I went out this morning to go to work, and my 98 Ford Contour wouldn't start. The motor wasn't being turned over at all. If it matters, the warning beep that politely lets me know my keys are in the ignitition were a bit off pitch. Turning the key in the ignition produced no visible or audible effect. First thing I thought was battery, and hopefully that's likely the case. I don't think it would be the starter or the alternator, but is it possible?

UPDATE: Had it checked out by some locals. Battery was a 48K mile battery, I had 45 on the car, so that was due in any event. But the big kicker was the alternator, argh. $190 + about $70 labor...for the alternator, and $90+$30 for the 60K mile battery that I put in.

I'm not a fan of paying for people to do work like that...hell it's not like installing an alternator is THAT hard...but my dad paid for the car so he makes decisions like that.

 

[iamwiz82]

there is NO sound at all when you turn the key?

 

[Migroo]

Its almost 99% the battery I am sure.

If the warning beep is off pitch, then the battery voltage is down. Bear in mind that it takes nearly F-all juice to run a buzzer and LOTS to crank an engine.

 

[lRageATMl]

most likely the battery

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
there is NO sound at all when you turn the key?

Nada. Just beeps when I turn it back to perpendicular w/ the floor (which it always does).

Good point on the battery voltage.

 

[BreakApart]

Dead battery....

Causes:
-bad battery
-over heated battery, happens when your alternator gets stuck on the high field, over charges the battery causing it to boil the water out
-bad alternator, battery not getting a charge at all
-bad switch in any of the car lights (truck, door, hood) they stay on all night battery dead.
0bad connection on the battery hookups, corrosion.

My guess.... you left a light on in the car and drained the battery overnight. Just a guess..

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

battery.

 

[Migroo]

I'd be very surprised if replaceing/charging the battery doesnt work.

Can you jump start the thing? (ie roll it down hill and suddenly put it in gear so as to 'jump' the engine into life? (which will also turn the alternator, and charge the battery) - you need to have the keys to 'ON' for this to work.)

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: BreakApart
Dead battery....

Causes:
-bad battery
-over heated battery, happens when your alternator gets stuck on the high field, over charges the battery causing it to boil the water out
-bad alternator, battery not getting a charge at all
-bad switch in any of the car lights (truck, door, hood) they stay on all night battery dead.
0bad connection on the battery hookups, corrosion.

My guess.... you left a light on in the car and drained the battery overnight. Just a guess..

Nah, there was nothing left on. All I'm worried about is if it is the alternator and not the battery, yuck.

Can you jump start the thing? (ie roll it down hill and suddenly put it in gear so as to 'jump' the engine into life? (which will also turn the alternator, and charge the battery) - you need to have the keys to 'ON' for this to work.)

I live in north Texas. You can see over the top of our cities biggest hill while standing at the base.

 

[yakko]

Originally posted by: Elemental007

Can you jump start the thing? (ie roll it down hill and suddenly put it in gear so as to 'jump' the engine into life? (which will also turn the alternator, and charge the battery) - you need to have the keys to 'ON' for this to work.)

I live in north Texas. You can see over the top of our cities biggest hill while standing at the base.

Living in Florida I know about that hill problem.

It is probably the battery. You most likely dropped a cell or two. Replace the battery with an Interstate brand, or one made by them like Die Hard(Sears) or Everstart(Wal-Mart), and you should be set for another 5 years.

 

[goog]

Same thing happened to me after work today, it's a 1991 Ford. Though mine is most likely not the battery, battery is quite new and I got a partial crank before it went totally dead, nada.
Best guess is the starter, could be the alternator ... Ford's are also notorious for fuel pumps especially in hot weather. Just had mine replaced last winter, better f***ing not be the problem again since that was at a different shop in a hick town I'd be screwed out of any warranty on that work.

 

[cavemanmoron]

check battery cable posts,where the cables attach to the battery,sometimes they get a little corroded
and if you loosen them up and scrape the terminals with the small blade of your swiss army knife they clean up really well,
if you dont have a swiss army knife,well i guess call AAA and get a jumpstart.
If your not a member of AAA i guess find a friend with "jumper" cables....
battery life is normally 4 to 6 years,so your prob due for a New battery, i have had good luck with the walmarts medium price battery!!

 

[vi edit]

My '95 Mystique did the same exact thing. Replaced the battery and it was fine. Battery will run you about $70 though. It takes some funky sized one that they don't carry many in stock of.

 

[beer]

Came home from work, called one of my buddies over, car jumped just fine. Pretty sure it's the battery, gonna take care of it tomorrow morning.

 

[Vic]

Yep, your battery is dead. What concerns me is that, at 4 years, it's a little early. Before you just run off and throw a new battery in it, have your starter and alternator checked at an honest place. Let me emphasize honest. Some places will just tell you that your starter and alternator are dead just to make a buck, even when they aren't.

 

[Bluefront]

Some of these well-meaning tips here are really lame....Just try your horn...is it loud? Try the lights...are they bright? If you answered yes to both, your battery is good. You can remove the alternator and the fuel pump completely....the starter will still crank over the engine if the battery is good.

If you have a loud horn and it still won't crank with the horn blowing, you have another problem....not a battery problem. Maybe a starter, maybe a connection somewhere, maybe a bad ign. switch.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: Migroo
Its almost 99% the battery I am sure.

If the warning beep is off pitch, then the battery voltage is down. Bear in mind that it takes nearly F-all juice to run a buzzer and LOTS to crank an engine.

 

[goog]

Originally posted by: Elemental007
Came home from work, called one of my buddies over, car jumped just fine. Pretty sure it's the battery, gonna take care of it tomorrow morning.

As expected it's the battery absolutely no doubt, get a new one end of problem. As far as my earlier post I was whining about my problem, not really giving specific advice since that had been done 8 times already Also 4 years is not necessarily a short life for a car battery, depends on volume, conditions of use, and quality too. Don't get scammed checking anything else.

 

[smp]

I don't know .. that sounds like an exhaust problem to me ... maybe your catalytic converter?

 

[beer]

updated

 

[evergreen96]

I think the alternat might be covered under the ford warranty... i think you check on that

 

[beer]

way out of warrenty, unfortunately..
3 yr/36K mile

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

you might check your battery cables too.... they are probably fine, but a bad cable can cause your alternator to fail, and then your battery goes...

 

[goog]

Looks like your problem was worse than mine afterall.
LOL, my first post about my car applied more to your's than I figured it would, and as it turns out more than it did to mine. Mine turned out to be a loose connection, I had it fixed by 8 am yesterday.
So Bluefront looks like my "lame advice" was right for Elemental007 and you were right on mine.