Why does my car not start and says check charging system?
I have a 2007 Mercury Montego. In the past month, I have replaced both the starter and the alternator, but today the car wouldn’t start again. I took it in to get the battery charged, and it started a few times. However, while I was sitting in the drive-thru, I turned on the interior reading light to get some money. All the lights inside and the headlights shut off, then came back on, and I received a message saying, "check charging system." I'm not sure what to do next. My husband is in the Army and unable to assist. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
5 Answers
First let me thank you for your husband’s service. I appreciate the brave men and women fighting to preserve OUR freedoms.
If the car does not start, first thing to check is the batteries state of charge. It takes a lot of current to start the vehicle. A battery can hold a slight surface charge after being charged but if they are nearing the end of their life they will not provide enough energy to turn the starter. If the starter makes a rapid clicking noise, you have a low voltage issue.
You may have an issue with dirty battery cables. If there is a lot of corrosion it causes high resistance.
It’s not common to have an alternator fail soon after replacement, but it happens.
It sounds like its probably the battery. Try to jump start it and get to an Autozone or other parts house. Autozone test batteries for free and replace most for free if you buy the new one from them.
There is a fuse for the charging system that Ford, in all their wisdom, placed in a very odd place- not with all the other fuses. When this puny 5 amp fuse blows, the alternator cannot charge the battery and it goes dead quickly. Find and change this fuse with a 15 amp fuse, like should have been in there in the first place. As it is, they tow in lots of Fords, Lincolns and mercurys- including vans- replace batteries and alternators needlessly and at great expense and that little 5 ampfuse which will blow again in a while. Have a shop replace the charging system fuse with a 15 amp fuse and all will be well for years to come. It might cost you $50 to have that $2 fuse replaced. If you have some skill, look up this fuse in Chiltons Auto repair manual at the public library so you know where to find it in your car and do the swap yourself.
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Try cleaning the battery post and terminal ends with a special brush and then give it a good overnight charge and have the system tested… Does it have a aftermarket stereo system, they can cause a battery drain problem. Try turning it off or remove the face if you can.
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