Dash01

Wife just called and said our Ford E150 van just quit running while idling at a stop light. Would not crank, and no electrics whatever. I went there and the van cranked right up and drove. Started a couple more times as tests, as normal. Obviously, this is some sort of electric problem. Battery cables appear OK, or else it would not have started & run for me.

Suggestions, please?

Kurt R

By no electics do you mean no headlights or brake lights either? That's a puzzler. If you had lights but nothing inside, warning lights, etc. I'd suspect the ignition switch.

How new of a van? Newer ones have that POTS key and won't start without the chip in the key. But I wouldn't think that would explain it dying at the stoplight.

testarossa_td

What year?
Check the emissions equipment. EGR,fuel filter...gas cap.

Some newer vehicles have cut-offs related to the OBDII and will do some funny things.

Just a shot in the dark.

Dash01

'92 Ford E150 van, so no POTS or anything similar. She said she got weak electrical indications on attempted re-start after it suddenly died, so she turned off radio, etc.. ~20 mins. later, it started up as normal, several times, without hesitation or stuttering solenoid, etc.. I drove it to a decent repair shop, who has a diagnostic plug-in tester, but have not heard back from them yet.

Could a failing battery cause this, even though on re-start for me the van cranked fine, several times? Intermittent ignition relay?

It may be (probably is) totally unelated, but the ABS light on the dash has been flashing occasionally recently, then stops. On some vehicles, an ABS light is an indication of battery issues, but I have no idea if that's true of Fords.

testarossa_td

Yes on the battery.

Dash01

Here are more symptoms of the stalled '92 Ford E150 van:

It just quit while running at a traffic light, then would not restart til 30 mins. later, then started and ran fine all day. When it quit, the electric windows and turn signals failed completely, as well as no cranking or starting.

The OBDII diagnostic test showed no faults.

The battery was good, per bench test, and showed a good charge. So, alternator and battery are apparently OK.

Given the total electrical failure, seems like the fault must be pretty basic.

Any further insights much appreciated!

ahofam123

I would check the condition of the battery cables. I have replaced the negative battery cable and spliced in a new positive battery cable on a couple of my vehicles which proved to be a big help in solving electrical gremlins. You should be able to find both generic cables for under $20 from the local auto parts store.