Never had this happen before, and not sure what happened. Have a 2000 Ford Taurus w/267K (Original alternator, second battery.) Started it up Monday morning and no dash lights (the center pod was lit.) Was driving through town while holding a small Maglite to illuminate the dash. After about ten minutes, the dash lights popped back on. Drove home late Monday night and to work this AM, and dash lights were fine. Any ideas are welcomed.
Intermittent Dash Lights, 2000 Taurus
- Thread starter Tdbo
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Adjust the brightness several times, maybe the dimmer switch is oxidized.
In the morning before starting the car, turn on the headlights for 30 secs then turn off.
Use a cheap multimeter set to DC Volts and check battery voltage, should be around 12.6 volts.
Start the car and hook up the multimeter to the battery again with the car running, it should be around 14 volts.
Then, hold one lead from the positive on the battery to the positive on the alternator, you should have as close to 0 Volts as possible, then touch the neg terminal on the battery to the alternator housing and again as close to 0 Volts as possible.
You are checking Vd (voltage drops) this way to see if your wiring is good on the alternator and battery. If, for example, you read 3 volts on the negative side, you have a 3 volt "voltage drop" which would mean a bad ground or faulty wiring.
Check your fuses that relate to the dash, have a friend watch the dash as you shake the wiring harness to find broken wires if the dash flickers. Don't yank too hard, just playfully shake the harness.
If all of this is fine you may just be having trouble with your PCM. Bad dirty connection from water over the years etc...
Electrical problems require a lot of hunting to find, keep it up, you are lucky the car runs so at least you have time to find the problem.
Use a cheap multimeter set to DC Volts and check battery voltage, should be around 12.6 volts.
Start the car and hook up the multimeter to the battery again with the car running, it should be around 14 volts.
Then, hold one lead from the positive on the battery to the positive on the alternator, you should have as close to 0 Volts as possible, then touch the neg terminal on the battery to the alternator housing and again as close to 0 Volts as possible.
You are checking Vd (voltage drops) this way to see if your wiring is good on the alternator and battery. If, for example, you read 3 volts on the negative side, you have a 3 volt "voltage drop" which would mean a bad ground or faulty wiring.
Check your fuses that relate to the dash, have a friend watch the dash as you shake the wiring harness to find broken wires if the dash flickers. Don't yank too hard, just playfully shake the harness.
If all of this is fine you may just be having trouble with your PCM. Bad dirty connection from water over the years etc...
Electrical problems require a lot of hunting to find, keep it up, you are lucky the car runs so at least you have time to find the problem.
I had an older Tarus wagon where the dash lights stopped working. Fine in the daytime however (ha ha). My Dad gave me the car that way and 3 or 4 years latter I sold it that way for $500.
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