'92 Taurus Destroys Batteries

Glenn F. · Dec 29, 2015

Our college student son drives an old Taurus which developed a serious problem without warning. It will run a battery down to ZERO over night. And it will not accept a charge. I put another battery in it (out of my SC CASE) and it destroyed that one too. The car only has 144,000 miles on it, but unless one of you sharp folks has an idea, it's headed for the salvage yard as soon as our 13.2 inch snow storm is cleared away.

Thank you for any suggestions you may have.

Glenn F.

Gambles · Dec 29, 2015

Have you done any troubleshooting to see where the drain would be? Like pulling fuses or unhooking the alternator?

Ted in NE-OH · Dec 29, 2015

Bad diode in alternator?

Andy Martin · Dec 29, 2015

It's got a leak someplace, could be a bad generator. But don't throw the batteries away. Put a charger on them 1 amp to 5 amp and let it sit a couple of days. Probability is the battery will start taking a charge within 24 hours. Just make sure it is above 32F, a frozen battery can explode just by charging. I've heard about it and I did it one time. Big bang, acid everywhere.

Glenn F. · Dec 29, 2015

I have not done any checking. It destroys batteries so fast & they're so expensive, I don't hardly know where to start. I don't usually give up without a fight but I may this time.

Glenn F.

Bob · Dec 29, 2015

'Ya, I know it's a band-aide fix, but until you can get it home and troubleshoot it properly, simply install a battery disconnect and have the kid flip it to "OFF" when he parks it for the night.

Steve@Advance · Dec 29, 2015

Sounds like something is draining the battery, as in some accessory is staying on when the ignition is off.

A simple test is, with a charged battery, to disconnect one battery cable and connect an incandescent test light between the battery post and the disconnected cable. Be sure the hood light is disconnected, ignition off and key removed, doors shut, everything electrical off. If the light is off or glows dim, that is normal. But if it is full brightness, there is a drain. Start pulling fuses, relays, wire connections until the light goes out. Trace that circuit until you find the drain. The alternator would be a good place to start. Other suspects would be brake lights, glove box light, interior lights, trunk light. Check harness plugs under the hood and through the firewall, especially those exposed to water or battery acid, the green corrosion is conductive. Could be very simple, and it can also be some mystery module that will stupefy the most seasoned expert! Won't know until you get into it!

As far as the batteries that it has killed, could be they are just completely drained. Some of the automatic battery chargers won't revive a totally discharged battery. Try connecting the dead battery to a good battery with cables. Attach the charger to the dead battery, get it charging, then remove the cables. Chances are it will charge up.

js305 · Dec 29, 2015

Probably a long shot, but here is an idea: In the 90's where I worked we had Taurus cars for company vehicles. One of them developed the same problem, at least what you describe. It would sit for two hours and the battery wouldn't have enough charge to start it. Turned out to be one of the rear door lock solenoids was hanging up and draining the battery. Found it quite by accident after the Ford dealer had it for a week and couldn't find the problem, as it didn't do it every time it was shut off.

If it's not that it's something equally as simple I bet. If the car runs good and is OK otherwise it's not salvage just yet.

I know a fellow who had a Chevy pickup doing the same thing, intermittently of course. He drove that truck for years with a switch he had rigged up under the dash with a relay that disconnected the battery. His radio sets were always messed up and the clock was wrong, but he didn't seem to mind. He called it his theft deterrent.

RayP(MI) · Dec 29, 2015

I had a alternator rebuilt in an older Ford Bronco II. Every once in a while, it would discharge the battery on my wife when at work. took a lot of detective work, but it only happened when she would pull in, shut down, go around to passenger side, open the door, get her things, lock and close the door. What was happening was the new voltage regulator would detect the voltage drop, due to dome light coming on, and turn on the field coil in the alternator, discharging the battery through that. Took us three new regulators off the shelf, and finally I went to the scrap box and found old regulator which solved the problem. Was a back yard re-builder, and he had gotten a bunch of defective regulators.

Janicholson · Dec 29, 2015

The batteries may be OK if they are not frozen, and sometimes even then they will come back. Use a charger made in the 90s or earlier with no automatic features. They will push voltage into it. Use low charge rate, or a 1 or 2 amp rate to protect the charger when getting the battery going. Jim

Moonlite37 · Dec 30, 2015

I had a 2000 Lincoln LS that would do that. Spent one week at Ford Dealer, Problem not found. went to another dealer and traded. This year same trouble with Lincoln MKZ still under warranty. Three trips to Dealer and got new battery and alternator. No more trouble, Warranty out now.

47fivewindow · Dec 30, 2015

check trunk and glove light sw.

John B. · Dec 30, 2015

First you have to think of things that can drain a battery over night and one that you can't see is the rear window defroster. Disconnect your battery and hook a battery charger up as your power source for the car. This way you can see how many amps the drain actually draws. This can head you in the right direction and eliminate a lot of extra guess work. Start pulling fuses that have the amp rating that the battery charger is showing and when the amp draw stops, you found the culprit.

John B. · Dec 30, 2015

I forgot to mention. A dead battery will not accept a charge for a while until it starts to come up. So don't discard those dead batteries, they're not bad, they're just really-really dead!

Ray · Dec 30, 2015

Bad alternator.

John M · Dec 30, 2015

Our old 92 did the same thing. Turned out to be the ignition switch.

dhermesc · Dec 30, 2015

I don't think its too much of a long shot. Older car like that with lots of power accessories that tended to go bad after a while (Ford got pretty cheap with them in the late 1990s). Especially since the power to the locks doesn't go through the key - they operate all the time. Pulling a few fuses might answer a lot of questions.

dhermesc · Dec 30, 2015

Agreed. Leave them on a trickle charger at 2 amps or less for a while (a couple days) and eventually they will start taking a charge - usually.

Ron-MO · Dec 30, 2015

Steve@Advance is on the right track. Years ago I used that same method when troubleshooting shorts in televisions long before they were throw away. Place some leads onto a 12 volt bulb and place in series with either battery cable, and it will likely glow fairly brightly, and then start pulling fuses. If no fuse turn off the bulb, try disconnecting the alternator, and have it tested.

teddy52food · Dec 30, 2015

It also helps to hook it up parallel with another battery.

mite-help · Dec 30, 2015

Right about battery may be just dead-dead. also, I think some chargers won't work unless they detect a speck of voltage. may have to 'jump' it with running vehicle for a minute or two to make it take.

Super-H-Mike · Dec 30, 2015

I agree with what the other guys said, the battery is probably not destroyed, just real dead and maybe frozen. You will do yourself a huge favor by finding someone with a sensitive ammeter you can use to test actual current drain. Hooks between the battery post and cable. The inductive type wont work , not accurate enough. With it going stone dead overnight , you aren't dealing with a trunk light or glove box light. Things like that will show less than an amp drain. You are probably dealing with a 2-3 amp draw or more ! On a car like that you will see up to 1 amp draw when you first hook up the battery, maybe up to 10 minutes. That's normal ! Its the modules and stuff powering up, memories and such . After that you should see a tenth of an amp or less indefinitely . That is why the incandescent bulb will fool you ! That trick works on old cars and tractors, but not modern cars with electronics. I would guess you have a bad alternator or that big main relay by the radiator is stuck on. You can hook up a fresh battery , don't start the car, wait 1/2 hour and feel the alternator. If its warm , its draining your battery.

Chuck MA · Dec 30, 2015

I had 93 and it would do same thing found it to be the ignition switch. Had to be careful turning it off making sure the key was in the exact off position, otherwise it would kill the battery over night. the key would come out of the ignition like it was off.
Chuck

GarryinNC · Dec 30, 2015

Your post got me to thinking. My parents have an 88 Crown Victoria and it had a recall on the ignition switch years ago. I cannot even remember if we took it in for the recall or not. It still has enough play in it that the car will start and run but the gauges will be 'off'. And with it running, you can pull the key out if the switch is in a certain position.

Could yours possibly be cutting ignition off and leaving some unseen things (alternator excite) on? I think that those switches have a lot of terminals and can do funny things when they get worn. Don't take it to the scrapper too soon!

Garry

jimg.allentown · Dec 30, 2015

I would hesitate to scrap an otherwise good cart over an electrical problem like this. After all, what is a decent running piece of transportation worth these days?? You have had a couple of good suggestions regarding the alternator and/or ignition switch. There may even be an open recall on the ignition switch. Keep in mind what it will cost to replace the car - after all, your son STILL needs transportation doesn't he?

'92 Taurus Destroys Batteries

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