started and then went dead. no start, no dash lights, battery is good

[dkuehl]

The Festerossa, died to today, while over 100 miles from home.. need help.. I started the 93 festiva L, went to back up and the car went completely dead. No dash lights, no sounds from the starter, no head lights or horn. However when turning on the head lights (only the bright lights ever worked) I heard an electrical buzzing sound from around the passenger front wheel well. Not sure where it was coming from, almost sounded like under the air filter. never noticed the sound before.

may or may not have to do with this problem.. but since I had the car only the bright lights worked. a couple times very recently, while driving the head light turned off, then back on. only did it twice, but it was within a few days of not starting. The car has always started first time right away. the previous owner towed it behind his motor home, so I have a trailer light wire harness wired into place. I checked all the wires visually with no obvious signs of problems.


I checked the battery, and cleaned the posts and terminals. the door buzzer, buzzed but sounded very weak.
I checked the interior fuses. I looked at the wire jumper fuses near the battery, they appear ok. I will get a meter on them.

Any thoughts to begin looking or ways to trouble shoot would be greatly appreciated.

Fuses? Ignition? any thoughts?

Thanks
David

[TheNewAmericanSpirit]

Fusable link maybe? Those are the little fuses on the right side of the engine bay that look like someone just connected two points with a scrap piece of wire.

[TominMO]

I know you checked the battery, but could you go back and check for a loose battery connection, either positive or negative? Also, check the ground wire on the other end.

How did you check the battery? Just sitting there it should have about 12.5 volts showing on a voltmeter; around 14 when running.

As for fusible links, there is one specifically for the headlights and one main one. So if everything is out including headlights, I doubt it's from two fusible links going out at once. Sounds to me like it's more basic, i.e. battery. Either low voltage or bad grounding.

[nitrofarm]

Main relay or ignition switch might be the culprit.Relays are on the drivers side fender though.Not under the air box-
Here are the schematics- http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?20127-%281992-93%29-Festiva-wiring-diagrams

[dkuehl]

Once I get back home I will put the meter on the battery. When it did start, right before it went dead, the car turned over quickly as usual. I did remove the cables and cleaned everything right afterwards with no luck..

Has anyone else had the issue with high beams only? the previous owner had adjusted the headlight as to no blind on coming traffic. when the switch is in the low beam position, only the parking lights are on. flick it to hig .. good to go..

[Team Lightning]

Have you checked to ensure the low beam side of the bulbs are good? It is possible that both of the low beams are blown.

[Zanzer]

^^ I had that problem with an expensive set of Silverstars. I now run the $9 each Harbor Freight super whites

[dkuehl]

Update..
battery check via meter, 12.5volts, however for giggles, I jumped it with another vehicle. Dash lights on, engine did turn, however not fire. removed the jump, battery held voltage, but not dash lights or starter engagement. somewhat at a loss, battery showed no signs of problems before and the car always started right up. could a bad coil rely cause this?

I checked the wired fuses, all where ok..

anyone have suggestions? where to check next?

[tooldude]

Have the battery checked in case it has an internal problem/damage. You can't depend on just a voltage reading. If it is the battery you're going to be chasing ghosts all over your car.

[Team Lightning]

If possible, charge the battery then leave the volt meter hooked on it while you try to start the car. Check for voltage drop when the starter engages. I"ve seen batteries show the correct voltage but have a massive drop when trying to start. (It dropped from 12+ to less than 9volts). That usually means a bad battery.

[william]

could it be a ground and when you jumped it you had a good ground threw the other car.?
may be try adding a ground from block to battery.
(jumper cables from hoist hooks on head to -battery terminal )
just a thought.

[FestYboy]

if the battery is holding a steady 12.5+ vdc, and there is no power to the car, there is a connection issue. clean battery terminals, then clean the fuseable link tabs and replace the links with PAL long leg fuses (30 40 30). also check the interior fuse pannel voltage: a signifigant drop here indicates a terminal issue (dirty connections).

[dkuehl]

THANKS EVERYONE! The Festerossa is running again...

Had the battery checked out at the local auto place.. Good..
Check all the plug wires for spark.. Good
Then realized the fuel injection system had the red cut off button in the back.. It had blown. Pressed it in and it came to life right away like always..

Not sure why the battery wouldn't light the dash lights and why the fuel shut off. I jumped it and the engine turned over with no start.. cleaned all battery connections and pressed the button.. Vroom Vroom..

Thanks again for the advice!...
David