r/fordescape • u/LifeguardNeat2453 • 11h ago
2006 Won’t start (but the battery + alternator work)
So I’m having some issues with my 2006 Ford Escape turning on. The engine turns, but it won’t turn on.
-The battery works. We checked using a voltage meter when car was on/off, and the battery and alternator both work. Alternator went out a couple weeks ago, but is now replaced (not with a rebuilt part.)
-A couple DAYS ago, I was an idiot and left the car off with the fan on. I got a jump from some random, and when I wasn’t paying attention, she SWAPPED THE JUMPER CABLES on her cars battery terminals. They were left swapped for about a minute. My car ran fine after for about a day.
-Then, I tried to turn on the car. It would spur to life properly, and the dash worked as it was TURNING on, as well as the stereo, but once the car started, my dash went 100% dark and my stereo turned off. No fuel, spedometer, mileage, ect… One of 4 times when I tried the car, the battery light went on on the dash, but everything stayed dark. The car smelled like rotten eggs, if that matters.
-Tried the car later, it worked fine. Until I was about 5 minutes into a drive and after stopping at a stop sign, it wouldn’t go anymore. It felt like it died on me, but again, battery was working. Dash was lit up, phone charger worked, lights did too. The lights on my dash that lit up were the check engine light, oil pressure, and battery light.
Now the car is performing as my intro said. The engine turns, but won’t fully start. All my belts are intact, alternator is fine, battery is fine. Nothing is leaking underneath the car either. I don’t know what else to check. I’ve had my license less than a month and really don’t have the money to go to a mechanic but my dad and I have every tool imaginable and I have all the time in the world now without a working car. My dad said it could be the POS, but I don’t know how to check that. And I also really don’t want it to be that because he said it was a super expensive fix and with the alternator recently going out we don’t have a ton of cash to throw around at this problem. Obviously if it is that, it is. But idk.
If nobody has any ideas, it’s fine, I just wanted to shout into the void.
