Q: My car won't start 1999 Ford Escort
I have a 1999 ford escort se sport that sat for about two years. It ran fine with no problems before, but I just recently started having problems with it. I bought a brand new battery for it and the day i got it registered the battery was dead for some reason. We jumped it and it started up right away. I drove it for less than a mile where it turned off suddenly. I assumed it was the battery once again so I jumped it with my friends truck and It's turning over but it wont start. I got new battery terminals,but it continued to not work. We then replaced the fuel filter, the spark plugs, and the throttle position sensor. On top of the problem with it not starting, the battery keeps going dead when not in use. After replacing what we did, it started backfiring when we tried to start it up, so my dad decided to check the timing belt. We checked it and it seemed fine and tried to start it up again, it then started up and drove for about 30 minutes then shut off again.Now it wont start again
My car has 166000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Hello - sounds like you have more than one problem here. The battery drain problem can be diagnosed by connecting an ammeter to the positive (red) battery cable, observe the current drain (likely less than 1 amp), then, one at a time, remove each fuse, check to see if the current drain has dropped to near 0, then reinsert the fuse. This process should identify the faulty circuit in most cases. The specific components on that circuit can then be checked for current drain problems. A professional mechanic, like YourMechanic, can come to your location, and perform this procedure for you, and replace/repair the failing component. As for the "no start" problem, check the problem codes - whether the Check Engine light is on or not - anything there will help guide diagnosis. If the car starts at all, it’s not likely the timing belt, although i would replace it given it sat for 2 years in one position. This could be a crankshaft position sensor or coil - check for spark when it fails next - or have a engine stalling inspection done to expedite the diagnosis and repair.
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