Electrical Troubleshooting a 2017 Focus
Earlier today my wife tried to go out for a simple trip to the gas station and
found that our focus would not start or even turn over. This is after the car
drove just fine only two hours earlier.
I spent the evening trying to find the exact cause for this and here are the
details. The dash gauges seem to twitch and at the same time the dash
lights flicker on and off randomly when the power is turned on. Some of
these symptoms continue even after I turn power off and remove the keys. I
do not believe it to be the battery as all these electrical systems seem to get
plenty of power, just behave eradicaly. I tried jump starting it with no change
in results. I have also attempted wiggling the wires from the alternator while
my wife observed the dash for any changes to ensure that its not a lose
connection. I disconnected the battery to ensure it didn't die from all the
systems that kept running.
Long story short; the car won't start or turn over while at the same time the
electronics are random and unresponsive. Jump starting had no results.
Tomorrow I plan to go out and get a multimeter so I can test the battery and
make sure there is no short to the frame. My current theories are as follows.
-The instrument cluster, though I can't explain why that would not allow the
car to start.
-The voltage regulator.
-Alternator
I would appreciate any thoughts from someone who is a bit more car savvy
than I am. Ill give updates tomorrow after some continued work and playing
with the multimeter.
Thank you!