For the past few months my front right turn signal will occasionally not work. When it is not working the dash indicator and rear lamp flashes with symptom of a typical bulb being burned out. However next time few times out it works. When I power the ignition on the dash gages will activate. But after starting the car they go dead. They are illuminated but not reading. The first few times this happened I turned the ignition back off, restart, and all function properly. Doing this last night I could get the temperature and fuel gage to operate but not the others. Can anyone recommend someone in the Dallas area you would trust with this?
Possible electrical problems in Dallas
- Thread starter I Speed
- Start date
Could be but
It's not the original battery and it's kept on a tender. I just changed my oil and after sitting for three days it had no problem cranking for 30 seconds prior to ignition.
It's not the original battery and it's kept on a tender. I just changed my oil and after sitting for three days it had no problem cranking for 30 seconds prior to ignition.
shelbyelite
PERMANENTLY BANNED
- May 10, 2007
- 1
Still sounds like low voltage. Go drive the car. Put about 5 to 10 miles on it. Shut it off and immediatly start it back up and see if your gauges come on line.....
427Aggie
GT Owner
I have driven it at a good constant rpm, shut down, and after restart all have gone down when during the run one or two were working. Or same scenario after restart what was working would go down and a different one would start. Last year the car went almost completely dead. Would not turn over. Five Star on 35 ran a new ground from the battery to the fuse box. Claimed to have checked all grounding points except one that would require pulling the dash. I've done all I can do. Who runs the best shop?
I Speed - First, there's a battery ground to the frame right near the battery. This connection point should be checked. (Remove connection and lightly sand away any debris or paint where the screw head will be and re-attach.) This is just a preventative measure and I don't think your problem... but just to be safe (and thorough).
Perhaps it will give you some comfort to know that several others have reported the same symptoms as you have had. It is almost always a low voltage (not low amperage, i.e. cranking power) condition at the battery. I would suggest that you measure the voltage when the car is at rest and after it has sat for awhile. My guess is that you will find it below 12v. I might be in the minority, but I would recommend a conventional, non-Optima battery as a replacement and I think your "problem" will be solved.
Perhaps it will give you some comfort to know that several others have reported the same symptoms as you have had. It is almost always a low voltage (not low amperage, i.e. cranking power) condition at the battery. I would suggest that you measure the voltage when the car is at rest and after it has sat for awhile. My guess is that you will find it below 12v. I might be in the minority, but I would recommend a conventional, non-Optima battery as a replacement and I think your "problem" will be solved.
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shelbyelite
PERMANENTLY BANNED
- May 10, 2007
- 1
Kendall,
Is quality and consistency an issue with Optima batteries? I have heard horror stories regarding Optima batteries and don't discount them. However, I have two Optimas, one on my 70 BOSS 302 and the original Optima on my 2005, 17,800 mile GT. Neither Optimas have ever given me an issue. I keep the BOSS Optima on a battery tender cuz it sit's for a month or two between drives. I have never put the GT on a tender, and frequently will not drive it for 3 week periods, yet have never had an issue.
For you to recommend a non-Optima battery for a GT makes me think you have some very powerful experience.....
Mullet
FORD GT OWNER
My front passenger turn signal was working sometimes then not. For a while now it just does not work. Yes, I have changed the bulb....what a pain.
Anyone else? Remedy?
Anyone else? Remedy?
I'll double check the ground and voltage. It is the cars second battery. The original was changed by the dealer under warranty. I also know that the other GT that was at the dealer when I got my car had the original battery go down.
Thanks for asking. No powerful experience, and admittedly more of a "hunch". Hardly scientific. What I do know is that fundamentally the Optima's are different than the conventional lead-acid battery type (which includes the maintenance free, and gel-cell batteries) and they DO have different characteristics.
Perhaps the most "blatant" difference is when we try to program the cars after we have done a pulley upgrade. I happen to really like the completeness of the Ford Racing pulley upgrade kit and we have done quite a few of them this year. The programmer that you get with the Ford Racing kit cautions you never to start loading in a new program onto a partially charged battery. Makes sense. The odd part is that the programmer will check battery voltage and will frequently refuse to load the program into the GT because it thinks the battery is insufficiently charged and might die during the load process. Mind you, these cars typically crank, start, and run fine - you'd never think you had a low-voltage battery. When we test these batteries with a Fluke (known, high quality VOM), we will see static voltages of 11-11.5V. In a "conventional" battery, an 11-11.5V voltage reading would rightfully equate to a low battery. Not so with the Optima as it seems "happy" to live at these lower voltages.
So (and here's the leap), I think the GT's gauge control module is fooled the same way that Ford Racing programmer is fooled. They both have been programmed for conventional battery "traits". When the GT's on-board gauge control module doesn't witness 12v at key-on, it sometime fails to initialize one or more of the gauges correctly. I am much more comfortable to recommend a conventiaonal battery as I trust that the behavior is known.
Again, I'm really glad you asked because my hypothesis has some merit (I think) but is far, far from being proven. I changed the oil on my car this weekend and despite being on a Tender full-time, the battery is noticeably weaker when cranking during the priming procedure. It is time for a new battery and I will likely go to Sears and pay for the current "Sears Best", rather than to go for another Optima.
Seen this before too. I think it was HHGT's car where his interim remedy was to bang on the offending headlight assembly (housing the turn signal bulb) and it would magically start working again. We removed the fender line (typical pain in the butt) and got to the offending bulb. The contacts were just very, very dry causing the occasional problem. The solution was an easy one - we simply lubed up the contacts with some Permatex Dielectric grease and the problem was solved.
H
HHGT
Guest
Yep it was my car. That was over 1000 miles ago and no problem since.:thumbsup:thumbsup
fjpikul
GT Owner
You don't need to pull the fender liner to get at the turn signal bulb. I put up a post about how to get at it. Are your wipers working? I also put up a post about a relay controlling the wipers and the turn signals.
427Aggie
GT Owner
Really we don't have anyone in Dallas per say to go to anymore. Sam Pack's on 35 is your best bet but someone that doesn't work on the car regularly just won't know the problems that can come up.
I would recommend replacing the battery first and see where that gets you. The best bet is battery or ground.
I would recommend replacing the battery first and see where that gets you. The best bet is battery or ground.
Mullet
FORD GT OWNER
Mullet
Do you have the Ford part number for the snaps that hold the finder splash skirt in? My shop manual shows them to be bolts! Or did you go a different route to get to the bulb?
Do you have the Ford part number for the snaps that hold the finder splash skirt in? My shop manual shows them to be bolts! Or did you go a different route to get to the bulb?