Vehicle just left shop and is now not running again, it quit just going down the road?

Question

I have a mini van that was just picked up from the repair shop and is loses all charge to stay running. I had to have the battery jumped when it left the shop and it seemed to be fine untell about ten minutes down the road then just out of the clear blue the vehical just stopped everything it was almost like the van had never even been turn on. (no lights, no power, no juice to turn over the engine or anything)

Was told it could be a bad fusable wire that goes to the alternater and battery or from the starter to the battery. Is this possible, or could it be something else?

The vehicle is a "91" Ford Areostar 4.0 engine

it wasn't at the shop for this problem. it had to have the pistions in the head replaced and new brake line and rubber parts to brakes (transmittion fluid was put in it instead of brake fluid, not by me) and ohhh boy the problems that caused!

Answer 1

sounds like your being raked over for cash at that shop. It sounds like two items that have gone bad.
ONE, the battery is shot, and will no longer hold a charge. A battery over 4 years old or more, will become problematic.

TWO, your altornator is no longer working at all or is week and cannot put out enough power, to keep the battery up.

Take a test light { 12 volt one } and connect it across the battery aand notice how dim or bright it is. now, get the engine started. has the brilliance gotten better worse or the same?

Try this. charge the battery for an hour or so. take the battery charger off the battery, and start the engine. loosen the NRGATIVE battery cable, and take it off of the battery. don't worry, there will be a spark when you do that.

If the engine stalls, you have altornator issues. If it stays running, slowly turn on every thing on. If every thing is on, and engine is still running, you haveother power issues.

A good altornator will support all the electricals, keeping the engine running.

Answer 2

If this problem happened after the repairs were done, then it may be that the tech. that did the repairs may have forgotten to connect one of the charging system wires after the work....or.....something simple like loose alternator belt....but before assuming it's the shops fault...explained to them that this problem never happened before u took it there...in a calm manner...once in there shop they should confirm it's not related to repairs they done and spend minimal time and diagnose the problem as customer goodwill and repair it free if it's nothing expensive...here are some steps or proper protocols they should do as a professional shop..
-repair the culprit if it was related to there repairs...didn't tighten alternator belt correctly,didn't tighten battery clamps or reconnect connectors properly that effected charging sys. function,etc.etc.
-if all work double checked and not related to work done to it, then at no charge perform a battery, starting, and charging system check...and let's say the culprit is a failing battery due to a bad battery cell then it's just a coincident that the battery failed while it was in there shop...This is best case scenario...it could be worse...so have a new batt. installed and every one is happy....

Answer 3

OKAY START WITH THE BATTERY, YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD IT JUMPED FROM THE SHOP THAT REPAIRED IT, SO FIRST IF THE BATTERY IS 3 TO 4 YEARS OLD REPLACE IT.

IF THE BATTERY IS NEW THEN THE SHOP MOST LIKELY DISCHARGED IT WHILE WORKING ON IT AND ALL THEY DID WAS GIVE YOU WHAT IS CALLED AN "HOT SHOT".

IF IT IS A NEW BATTERY THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO HAVE IT RECHARGED BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL STATE WHICH WILL TAKE ABOUT 48 TO 72 HOURS ON A SLOW CHARGER.

THE REASON FOR THIS MUCH TIME IS BECAUSE IT WAS DISCHARGE SLOW AND MUST BE RECHARGED SLOW OR YOU WILL COOK THE BATTERY.

Answer 4

Take it back to the shop. The van was never fixed correct. Get what you paid for, don't accept anything less. There is an electrical problem for sure. Alternator is a good starting point. If a fusable link melted, then there is a short in the wiring somewhere. good luck

Answer 5

There is a mega fuse that is supposed to protect the laternator. Sounds like it is bad. You can follow the smaller red battery wire to the fuse. If the fuse is good check the smaller back wires off the battery cable. They are grounds and need to be connected well. Some times people who work on cars forget to reconnect them or connect them poorly. They need to be soldly grounded. Usually to the radiator support.

Answer 6

Check your alternator. First the connection the The alternator it's self. The Alt recharges the Bat, Temp fix maybe give the alt a whack with a hammer to recede the brushes in it. Just once thought/

Answer 7

Yes it could be a fuse or fusable link, but your real problem may be that you need a new battery if yours is over 4 or 5 years old.

Answer 8

JUMP STARTED WHEN LEFT SHOP BATTERY DEAD NOT HOLDING A CHARGE ,TAKE TO AUTO ZONE FOR FREE THYEYLL DO A BATTERY CHECK IN OR OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE.IF BATTERY CHECKS OUT,A DIRTY CONNECTION ON STARTER,TERMINAL NEEDS CLEANED,TAKE OFF WIRE BRUSH.REINSTALL.BATTERY CABLES CORRODE INSIDE IN SULATION,THESE ARE CHEAP TO REPLACE UNDER 20 DOLLARS FOR BOTH,IF STILL DOESNT CHARGE YOU MITE NEED AN ALTERNATER,GET RUNNING TAKE BACK TO AOTOZONE,THEYLL HOOK A ANOTHER TESTER TO IT TO TELL YOU IF YOUR ALTERNATER IS BAD,PART ABOUT 50 BUCKS/LABOR 50 BUCKS.

Answer 9

If you just got it out of the shop, supposedly repaired, and are still having problems, take it back to the shop you just got it out of and instead of trying to guess what it might be, have them fix it.

Answer 10

check battery cables. a loose or corroded cables will act like a bad battery or alt. ..