Please, help with electrical/starter problem on a 2003 Ford Focus Wagon SLE- I've spent $500 already!?

Question

On Thurs. after running errands, car would not start. Key in ignition and "nothing." Battery is fine. Took to mechanic, 30amp Fuse blown, mechanic able to start with new fuse/fuse tester system, they started it 50plus times, but the fuse never blew again for them. Drove it away and was stranded again. Friday, they replaced starter and solinoid(cant spell that, sorry) and also started it over and over, testing it- and according to them,all was "fine". I drove car for 3 hours and turned it off to get gas. when I tried to start up- same exact thing- turned key "nothing" happened, no power, no engine ignition and the same 30amp fuse is blown.
I replaced fuse with car still hot, and fuse blew immediately upon turning key. I let car cool and replaced fuse, it again blew immediately upon turning key in ignition.
So, if problem is electircal/ wiring then did I never need a new starter/solinoid ? Should the shop refund me for that? Any ideas as to what is causing fuse to blow? help!

Answer 1

You probably did not need the new starter assembly. The problem is that you need to determine for sure what is causing the fuse to blow. To cause that main fuse to blow there has to be a solid direct short in the system. Someone needs to determine what " items " are connected to that fuse and eliminate them one by one, this will enable you to find out what is shorting. The problem with electrical problems is they are hard to trace, they take a lot of time ( time costs you money ) and most mechanics do not have much experience with complex electrical problems because they do not happen that often. Mechanics are used to finding a problem ( say starter or alternator ), replacing it and moving on to the next car. Electrical problems slow down their pace and slows down their rate of income. You should call around ( you may have to make a lot of calls, ask who they recommend for Focus electrical problems ). Your best bet may be a dealer if you cannot find a company that specializes in automotive electrical problems ( they do exist ). Whenever I talk to someone who has an electrical problem, I ask two questions first, and amazingly they usually point to the problem. 1) have you had a fender bender recently? ( if so, the problem is in the area of the collision ) / 2) have you done or had any electrical work done in the car recently, stereo, etc? ( if so, the problem is in the area of the electrical work.). Hope this helps some, you probably did not need the starter assembly, but you will not be in a position to know until you find out what the original problem was.

Answer 2

2003 Ford Focus Wagon

Answer 3

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RE:
Please, help with electrical/starter problem on a 2003 Ford Focus Wagon SLE- I've spent $500 already!?
On Thurs. after running errands, car would not start. Key in ignition and "nothing." Battery is fine. Took to mechanic, 30amp Fuse blown, mechanic able to start with new fuse/fuse tester system, they started it 50plus times, but the fuse never blew again for them. Drove it away and was...

Answer 4

Now you see one of the problems with cars who are fussy with intermittent problems.

The mechanic couldn't duplicate the concern so he replaced what he thought was the concern but you have found the one key piece.. that when the car gets hot, something shorts out and pops that fuse .
As others have said, you will need a mechanic shop that specializes in electrical repair or a dealer as most independants don't have the willingness to tackle "nighmares" like this.

You didn't say which 30 amp fuse or where as there are many 30 amp fuses on this car.. So I can't help you

talk to the mechanic shop you went to as they may try to refund some of the money to save face if you will.. or try to repair the car for parts only (as the shop I work at normally does in cases like this)

Any information you can give to the tech is helpful to fixing your car but I think that it's something that as it gets hot, it shorts and pops the fuse... what it is, without looking at the car I do not know

Answer 5

Sounds like you have a short in the wiring, but where? The steering column may be a good place to start.

I think your best bet, is to find an automotive electrical repair shop. That's all they do, and usually they are pretty good at it. As for the starter I seriously doubt that you needed one.

You can go to auto zone's web site and you should be able to get a wiring diagram for your car, if you're electrically inclined you might get lucky. Good luck

Answer 6

The Ford dealer probably knows about your electrical problem, having fixed the same problem on other Focus models. Rather than install a lot of expensive parts that don't fix the problem, I'd take it to the Ford dealer to have the best chance of fixing the real problem.