2002 Mountaineer shut down while driving

[lehua1011]

Ok my husband's mountaineer is just not operation, AT ALL!! It all started a few weeks ago when his gear shift completely broke off. We managed to find help on the forum & have since found the replacement part which came in today! We haven't had a chance to change it yet but in the meantime, ever since that part broke, the vehicle has given us nothing but trouble. We managed to shift the gears manually & have been driving the car fine. A few days ago, my husband said his electrical components for the drivers seat stopped working. The a/c would shut off & on by itself, the gauges on the dash would all stop working, the lights would go dim, then the car would lose power. He managed to get it home & we thought that it could possibly be the battery. We replaced the battery & it started up fine, but only for a day. Now, the only way to even get it started is to jump start it, but as soon as we remove the jumper cables, it just shuts down. I don't know if the gear shift being broken this long is talking a toll on the car or if it's another problem...please help!!!

 

[fusseli]

i think there's a solenoid under the center console (or somewhere...) that controls the gear shifter. if you're low on power (dead battery and/or alternator) the solenoid won't be powered and won't allow the ****er to move. if your alt or battery were on their way out and you tried to force the shifter, that's probably why it broke. when my motorcraft battery finally died all kinds of wacky stuff was going on since the battery was too weak to properly power everything.

i'd say just have your charging system checked and go from there. if your new battery is dead that's an easy free replacement, it could be your alt or bad short to the chassis somewhere.

 

[swetrid]

Alternator problem