Questions and Answers

Mercury Tracer Electrical Malfunctions Q. Dear Vince, I own a 1989 Mercury Tracer 1.6 liter, automatic transmission with about 110,000 miles. Some time ago it wouldn't start so I replaced the starter which was malfunctioning. Then the battery died, so I replaced that too, finally after a month of so the alternator quit. I just replaced that too and the car seems to start fine.

So what is the problem? All the lights go on now, exactly the fuel, charge, washer and rear light spy are on while the car makes that horrible sound that usually would do when you leave a door open.

I checked all of the above, but I just refilled the tank, filled up the washer fluid, don't have a switch for rear light and the battery is fully charged now, what could be the problem?

If it is still the old one that ruined starter, battery and alternator in a row what could be? the only symptom I ever noticed is that the battery is not recharging (which should be fixed by now, right?).

Any help would be appreciated, as I said the car would be running fine now except for all the spies that are on.

Thanks,
Luca

A. It sounds like you have a few wiring harness problems. The first thing I would inspect are the main ground and all of the various harness grounds. Verify that the ground wires are in good condition and their connections are clean and tight. Do this with the negative battery terminal disconnected.

At this point finding and repairing a bad ground may not correct your problem but will prevent further malfunctions. Additionally, it sounds like your ignition switch has worn out and is shorting to the accessory or ignition position. Recommend you replace the switch.