Odd electrical issues

[falmund]

I recently went to start my van at the store and the battery was dead. It gave me the good old solenoid click, but when I pulled out the key, it continued clicking and all of my guages rose to peak, fell rose again and fell. I got it jumped, drove it home and charged the battery. When my wife went out to start it, the headlights were flashing and the clicking went on for like 5 minutes. No keys in ignition, all lights off. Any ideas?

[serge_saati]

Originally Posted by falmund

I recently went to start my van at the store and the battery was dead. It gave me the good old solenoid click, but when I pulled out the key, it continued clicking and all of my guages rose to peak, fell rose again and fell. I got it jumped, drove it home and charged the battery. When my wife went out to start it, the headlights were flashing and the clicking went on for like 5 minutes. No keys in ignition, all lights off. Any ideas?

The clicking sound and the gauges flashing is typical symptoms of an discharged battery on most american car.

Hom much time did you charge the battery? How much current? Check the alternator operation and also check if there's no electric leak in the car's circuitry.

Or maybe the starter is locked up?

The clicking sound comes from the relay that activate the motor fan. Open the hood, and you'll find one motor fan spinning at low speed. It happens when the voltage on the batt goes down and raise up. Check batt voltage.

[12Ounce]

You did not say what year model you are working on. On some models this problem could be the result of a relay sticking "closed".

[Windstartled]

Originally Posted by serge_saati

The clicking sound and the gauges flashing is typical symptoms of an discharged battery on most american car.

I believe the Windstar is a Canadian car

Seriously, I had to deal with almost identical symptoms once, and it was due to a battery connector having become loose (in my case, the negative side). Corrosion can also cause this. This situation can be misleading as to the cause of the problem because typically the battery will still provide enough power to run most accessories, but not enough amperage to turn over. To make things even more confusing if it's the negative side connector that is loose, and if you hook a battery charger to the battery and ground it to the frame, it will tell you that it's fully charged... which it is, causing you to suspect some other problem.

[Off_Timing]

I dunno about the headlights flashing, but when the battery on our Windstar died, the gauges went to peak then back down again. I think you have a dead battery. Have it tested and don't drive with one for too long, it'll put extra load on your alternator.

[wiswind]

This thread is from 2009.

[Off_Timing]

What the

I sure hope that guy changed his battery by now.

[Windstartled]

Originally Posted by wiswind

This thread is from 2009.

Guilty on all counts

But I revived this thread because it concerns an issue that arises frequently in Ford forums. I too hope that the original thread starter has fixed his problem

[ParkdaleDamian]

I had the EXACT same problem as you!

I'm by no means an expert on this matter but what fixed it for me was a solar panel!

Living in Canada, i happened to be browsing the car parts isles of Canadian Tire there was a solar panel for your car, cost $20.

It plugs into your accessory power port when the car is off and keeps your battery topped up. There is protection built in so it doesn't overcharge the battery. I haven't had a problem since. I know it's not a proper fix, but hey it works!

[serge_saati]

Originally Posted by manomano.manomano1

I'm no expert, but i'm confused as to whether this is a battery issue or an alternator issue.

In general, it could be the both or else.

-If an alternator fails, battery discharges while driving to supply current to the devices and can have trouble to give the 250 amps to start the engine at next start up. But batt light is on (normally).

-If battery is old, it can discharges by itself at night because of the internal self discharge phenomenon in lead batteries.

-It could be also an bad contact within batt cables or a parasitic drain in circuitry (ex: bad door switch...).

There're tests and logic ways to find out what is the problem with a multimeter.