No power, cranks but doesnt start - bad alternator? Or something worse?
15

Asked by _mel_ Jun 26, 2013 at 04:58 PM about the 2002 Ford Escort 2 Dr ZX2 Coupe

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I just bought this car 3 months ago and its been driving fine. Then as I was driving home from work on the freeway, about 20 minutes tops, after my car had sat at BART all day, my stereo died, just BLIP, no power. It came back on pretty quickly and then as I exited the freeway (slightly uphill) my car started to sputter and almost died and all my power went out. As I went to let the clutch out and press the gas it had zero acceleration and would almost die. I limped it up the hill, restarting it a couple times and it finally just completely shut off. I had to be towed home. The car now will not turn over at all. It cranks just fine, but will not fire up. It does not click like a dead battery, and I hooked up jumper cables to another car and my power still did not turn on. A friend of mine said issues with the battery or alternator is pretty common in these cars. Its my daily driver so I need it fixed ASAP. Where should I start looking?

4 Answers
475

Neoplan Tim answered 11 years ago

You should check to see if your spark plugs became loose and just gently press them down firmly but gently and pump the brake 3 times if Auto and if a MANUEL just put in Neutrual like you normally try to and start the car Dont try excessively just try 3 to 5 times If this doesnt help then you could have a non functioning alternator the alternator will have to be replaced If the car still wont crank you could have a bad battery or spark plugs not working therfore you will have to see a professional and diagnose the problem The help of an ECU could help you pin point the problem so you can narrow down to the actual cause of the problem

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15

_mel_ answered 11 years ago

The car is manual. When it started dying on the freeway I'd let the clutch out and press the gas and it would just bog out. I have tried to start it a couple times and it just cranks and cranks but doesn't turn over.

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475

Neoplan Tim answered 11 years ago

Sick Battery Spark plugs or Bad alternator one or more of these things could be the culprit If those dont work then we get into the more expensive things such as Your fuel flow sensor Stuck EGR Valve in which a problem i seen before also i consider has the car been going through regular oil changes If your car does not recieve the needed changes all its life it is bound to crap out eventually Fuel or oil leaks Possibly blown gasket or head gasket Pistons If none of these things work the engine may need to be replaced

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Nosnothelpme answered 7 years ago

I have a 1998 ford escort zx2 and was wondering if the alternator from a 2004 ford focus is compatable with it?

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