Hello everyone, my wife's 2004 Ford Explorer has 176K on it. When driving I hear a chime from the message center then the instrument needles go all the way down and start wiggling at the low end and the car turns off. If you listen you can hear like static or some weird sound. Then it starts right back up and will happen again at random. I spoke to a mechanic who said there are two timing chains and the one on the back is not sensing oil pressure or something and he would need to pull the engine access it $3000. I doubt that greatly. I looked at the battery and the connections were tight but covered in acid dust. I cleaned it off and checked fuses under hood. Can anyone help?

 

Where do you feel the static or weird sound is coming from?
It might lead you to the location or system with the problem.
Before throwing $3000 at a problem that may not be a solution, you started on the right foot by asking and at least get another opinion or two.

It does sound like the engine is losing electrical power, very likely from a poor connection someplace.
There are also fuses and relays inside the vehicle and it would be a good idea to check in there too.
Do you know if you still have the owner's manual for your vehicle? If so , you might look in the specifications section to see which fuse(s) supply power to the ignition system and fuel system. Since the engine starts right up , I would believe it might be a poor connection to the ignition syst. That could also include the ign switch itself.

Last but not least, How well do you know the "Mechanic " you spoke with?

 

I hear the sound from top of steering column, so maybe loose connections there? Yeah I think that $3,000 thing was bogus. I'm here in Southern CA and it was hot. I think he just didn't want to work on it so tried to scare me away.
I did check the fuses in engine bay and will check the ones in car.
I do still have the owner's manual and will reference it. As I said there was alot and i mean alot of corrosion around the batery terminals. After cleaning them off and spraying with WD-40 the issue stopped. I drove it around all day the next day and just replced the battery since it was old anyway. Hopefully this was the issue. As far as the mechanic he was just a guy who was super close and open during the pandemic. I actually woke up to a busted water heater and a leaky gas valve so it was just one of those days. Thanks for the help.

 

Sounds like you got everything under control, Thanks for the update.

I know all about this leaking , or no heat or whatever else can go wrong.
Like the guy said, "My mother told me there would be days like this". Just not so many of them ! lol Have a good one !