Hello,

I have recently been having some strange issues with my Escort and found this forum so I thouhgt I would post here to see if someone could help me out. It is a 1995 Ford Escort LX Hatch Back with the 1.9L Auto Trans. First a little backround on what I am dealing with.

About a year ago I had to get my ignition switch replaced. All went well and no problems. Then about 4 or 5 months ago I started having problems starting the car. When I would turn the key to start the whole vehicle would loose power. The CD player would spit out the CD and I would have nothing, no clicking of the started solenoid, no started sounds at all, no dash lights, no nothing. They only thing that I would get is the engine compartment light would light up but it was dim. This issue happend intermitently and if i poked around under the hood enough I could get it to start. Usually I would unhook and reconnect the starter wire, alternator connections, battery cables, etc... Then a few weeks ago the vehicle actually stalled while I was driving with the same symptoms, total power loss to the vehicle. Again I poked around and I could get it running again. The second time it stalled while driving the battery light lit up on the dash. So I suspected alternator and started checking that out. I ran through all the tests in the Haynes manual and the alternator checked out good. Battery voltage is 12v engine off and 14.7v engine on. At some point during my poking and proding I got the battery light to go out and I haven't seen it since. However, today when I went to start the car I got the same result, total power loss as soon as the key hits the start position. The "On" position worked as it should with the dash lights coming on and going out as they normally would. But as soon as I hit the start position everything died. So that is my dillemma. I apologize for the long post but I wanted to be as detailed as possible. If anyone has any suggestions or similar issues I would love to hear them. Thanks.

 

Follow the negative battery cable to where it bolts on to the vehicle and see if it is loose there. This is your ground connection. It usually gets overlooked when troubleshooting. This connection goes to everything on your car. Hope this helps. Good luck.