Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone has an idea of what might be going on with my 95 e250. I was driving at highway speed when the van banged like a hard shift then I lost all electrical power briefly. The power came back on after a second or two and went off again. I pulled over and shut the van off. I tried to start it and nothing. I popped the hood and wiggled the battery cables and tried to start it again and it started. The lights were initially bright but then dimmed. I figure it was an issue with the cables. I found the positive cable had some corrosion so I clipped the end, cleaned it and the terminal and also cleaned the negative cable. The van starts and runs but the lights are dim and the gauges are maxed out. Also if I try to drive it it shifts hard and sometimes the engine will rev up before shifting making it shift hard. I suspect some sort of grounding problem but am not sure what to look for, any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Start by getting your meter out and measuring the following:

1. Battery voltage at rest, everything off.
2. Battery voltage, ignition off, headlights on. Also observe and report headlight function.
3. Battery voltage at idle.
4. Battery voltage at 2000 RPM.

That will get us started.

 

Hi projectSHO89,

Sorry for the delay. It's been raining here and I had to work today. Here is what I got from the meter

Everything off 12.91 volts
everything off except headlights 12.52 volts. Lights are dim
Idle with everything off 14.29 volts
I didn't have a tach so I revved the engine slightly over idle and got 14.34 volts

Thanks for your help.

 

Anyone have any ideas?

 

Sorry, this got lost over the holiday. I'll look into it a bit in the morning, been driving all day...

 

The good news is that the charging system appears to be okay.

If you're using aftermarket replacement battery cable clamps, make sure the part where they're supposed to connect with the bare cable are actually clean, not painted. Check all your grounds, starting at the battery cable. Check the ones on the upper and lower radiator supports, the engine side of the firewall, and inside the cabin up under the dash (near the gas pedal). See what all those look like.

 

Ok thanks, I'll check them. I came across a thread where someone had the same symptoms that my van has. In that thread they suggested changing the vss. I did that but it didn't resolve the problem.

 

I do not know why there would be any expectation that an electrical supply issue would be affected by a VS sensor.

 

I think it was because of the hard and erratic shfting. Also because the speedometer doesn't work and the gauss are haywire. I had just done a Google search when it happened and that thread came up.

 

Hi projectSHO89,

Hey, it was a ground wire at the battery. It was a small wire from the battery to the body. I saw it but thought it was something left from another installation. Thanks for you help, I appreciate it.

 

Thanks for coming back and following up. Glad to be of service.

 

Actually, I just found it today. It's the first I've tried to work on it. It's been raining and cold and I've been busy. I actually looked at that ground wire when it happened and thought it was an old wire from something someone had done in the past.

Thanks again, it saved me some money!