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1993 Ford Escort changeed the negative battery cable and.

Tiny
PERRYBOYS
  • MEMBER
  • 1993 FORD ESCORT
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
  • 12,600 MILES
My car woulld randomly not start or take a jump. Found negative battery cable was corroaded. My brother put on new cable and we smelled burning, the gauges went crazy and the car would die when clutch let out. This extreme change seems crazy for a simple job, or not? Thanks to anyone who can tell me what might have happened.
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Monday, December 8th, 2008 AT 5:26 PM

10 Replies

Tiny
DAVE H
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,383 POSTS
Does the car run OK apart from stalling out? Does it start up and run on it's own now?
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Monday, December 8th, 2008 AT 6:06 PM
Tiny
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Monday, December 8th, 2008 AT 6:38 PM
Tiny
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Hi Dave H. It only runs when clutch is in. I think I need to change browers too. Thanks
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Monday, December 8th, 2008 AT 7:01 PM
Tiny
DAVE H
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,383 POSTS
Change browser's? Does the car start off it's own battery. Will it sit idling normally with your foot on the clutch.?
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Monday, December 8th, 2008 AT 8:22 PM
Tiny
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Sorry, change browers on computer. I was having a hard time navigating, I'm so slow. It did start off battery and would idle with cluth in but took off new cable, put old back on to see if it would do anything; didn't, so plan is to tow to mechanic for diagnostic. Thanks Dave
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 AT 9:57 AM
Tiny
DAVE H
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,383 POSTS
I think that is best solution. Will find out if accidentally blown anything?

Good Luck
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 AT 10:07 AM
Tiny
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Hi again, thanks for your input. I have another question. Mechanic got car started by bypassing ignition switch, so they say it needs replaced $458! But no warrenty because the wiring might be bad somewhere else & then ruin the new switch. They called 15 minutes before they close so I felt pressured. They say they will check the clutch swith now because the original info about the car dieing when clutch was released was not passed on to person doing actual work. Are they kidding? I said I would have to wait until tomorrow, if the clutch switch is bad it's another hundred. Would appreciate any input, my feeling is don't trust this but I know nothing about what I'm doing & hate to say, a girl.
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Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 AT 6:31 PM
Tiny
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Hi again, thanks for your input. I have another question. Mechanic got car started by bypassing ignition switch, so they say it needs replaced $458! But no warrenty because the wiring might be bad somewhere else & then ruin the new switch. They called 15 minutes before they close so I felt pressured. They say they will check the clutch swith now because the original info about the car dieing when clutch was released was not passed on to person doing actual work. Are they kidding? I said I would have to wait until tomorrow, if the clutch switch is bad it's another hundred. Would appreciate any input, my feeling is don't trust this but I know nothing about what I'm doing & hate to say, a girl.[/Quote:e3db08cd7e]?Could changing the neg battery cable cause this?
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+1
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 AT 6:48 PM
Tiny
DAVE H
  • MECHANIC
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It is possible the clutch safety switch has been damaged or Burn't out. I think the ignition switch was the fault all along and nothing to do with the cable at the outset. Of course. The cable would have needed replacing if it was corroded. As for your repair charges.?

OEM Dealer part ignition switch $94.04 you could probably get this cheaper at an autoparts store?

The book time for the repair is 1.4 hours. So it depends on what the shop charges per hour for labor. Generally around $70 P/H. So around $110.00 to $120.00 labor. Total $224.04 but they could be charging for tracking down the fault. In my opinion it is still excessive. Tell them to leave the switch if it is damaged and you will replace it yourself. It obviously isn't seriously damaged if they already had the car running without there foot on clutch? It's a simple repair and i'll talk you through it ? I don't have a price for the switch but I would think around the $20/30 mark and 30 minutes to fit

hope this helps
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Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 AT 7:56 PM
Tiny
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Fantastic Dave H. I will take these steps, I have a direction now thanks to you. I will make some calls. I had the car towed so thats the first thing + $84 for diag. You are probably right about how long it took to find problem but I had a hard time under standing them; they were so unsure, saying most likely and I'm almost positive, with a lot of pauses in between like they weren't quite sure about anything except the price. Thanks again
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Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 AT 10:54 PM

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