1994 Ford Thunderbird Problem with my.

Tiny
XYELE
  • MEMBER
  • 1994 FORD THUNDERBIRD
  • 3.8L
  • V6
  • RWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 100,000 MILES
I last drove my car Saturday and it cranked fine, but today with the key in the on position the dash lights starting dimming and the gauge needles were going on and off, and I could hear a clicking sound, when starting it does nothing, everything goes off, then comes back.

I checked the battery and the terminals were pretty warm, but I also noticed that there must have been a coolant leak from the overflow tube that got onto the battery, so is it likely that it just damaged the battery, or could it have damaged more than that?
Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 AT 4:35 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,885 POSTS
THe battery is a sealed unit. Water, coolant. Won't damage it. Tell me, when you turn the key to the start position, does everything go off and then a few seconds come back on? Have you checked to make sure the battery is fully charged? Have you checked the alternator output?

What you described sounds like either a weak battery or most likely a bad connection at the battery. Make double sure the battery terminals are clean and free of corrosion and the are very tight.

Let me know
Joe
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Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 AT 6:02 PM
Tiny
XYELE
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Thanks for your reply.

Yes, everything goes off and then back on, and the dash lights go back to steady then dim, with the gauges fluctuating, and the clicking, etc, but a few times the there was no dimming and clicking.

The other thing was until I cleaned the terminals there was some contact paste on the positive side and after it got wet it was puffing white smoke from the terminal when turning the key to start. The battery terminals were cleaned with a wire brush and I made sure they were tightened. I assume that was just the heat burning away the coolant, etc?

I am going to have the battery tested tomorrow to make sure it is still good, and check the charge.

I was just concerned that something else may have gotten damaged that would cause that.
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Tuesday, September 9th, 2014 AT 6:34 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,885 POSTS
Let me know what you find.
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Wednesday, September 10th, 2014 AT 5:10 AM
Tiny
XYELE
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  • 9 POSTS
Just wanted to update, had the battery tested, and they said it was fine but dead, so they did a deep cycle charge on it and a lot of water came out of it, but they still said it was good, so I tried it again, no luck.

Finally took the battery back to Walmart where I originally bought it, was still under warranty got a new battery, everything is good to go now.

Just wanted to share what happened with that situation, in the end it was the battery that was the problem.
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Thursday, September 11th, 2014 AT 5:58 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,885 POSTS
That's what I thought. I'm glad you got it fixed. Let me know if you have questions in the future.

Joe
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Thursday, September 11th, 2014 AT 6:13 PM

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