Cougar

You may have gotten a bad alternator or it went bad on you so check it out. One thing you can do is make sure that the alternator field lead is getting voltage to it. From your statements on the trouble I recommend you remove the rear connector to the alternator and then turn on the ignition and see if the battery and brake warning lights turn on. If they do turn on then it sounds like the field lead to the alternator has a short on it. If the lead is ok the warning lights won't work until the the connector is put back on the alternator. The field circuit provides the ground return for the warning lights.

I hope so also.

Some dimming of the lights is normal. You could try adding an extra ground between the dash cluster and the chassis to see if that helps. Try cleaning the ground to the radiator and battery to chassis ground also.

Checking out the previous suggestions is a good thing to do but since you state that the temperature drops almost immediately after turning off the AC I suspect there may be something else causing the temperature gauge to change like that. I have seen the same kind of thing on my '88 GL-10 and I think what is causing the temperature display to do that is due to bad grounding in the dash or bad connection to the display. There may be bad grounding in the engine area also. On my car at times I would notice the display change as I turned on things like the blower. The display would change a couple of elements to the hotter side and then go down when the accessory was turned off. Cleaning the ground connections in the dash and engine areas may solve this minor issue. If the water temperature was really as hot as the display indicates it is then it would take a period of time for the temperature to drop back down to normal as the engine cools down. The digital display is a nice deal I think but it has little quirks like this. If you want to prove that the water temp is really ok you could monitor the temperature sensor voltage with a voltmeter and see if it changes readings with the display.

I think error code 11, caused by a bad CAS sensor, will cause the trouble you are having. Have you pursued that problem? You may need to replace the CAS sensor. First make sure you are getting proper voltage to it. I assume you seeing near battery voltage on the connections to the ECU for the injectors. This is a good sign as the voltage should be high when the injectors aren't turned on. When the ECU turns on the injector with a pulse the voltage then go low on the lead to the injector. Make sure the fusible links are ok along with fuses 5, 11, and 12.

Some folks have cured a misfire problem by cleaning the engine ground connections, and others by replacing the O2 sensor.

Most deck outputs use a balanced output which means the speaker leads are isolated from ground. If the right side is grounded it might also effect the left side output.

It is a little stange that the lights didn't work and the battery was still discharged. The normal light switch turns on a relay for the taillights but the column switch bypasses the relay. The lights also turn off with the ignition switch except for the column switch. There must be some sort of load on the column switch. Perhaps it has been modified by someone to do something else. If the running lights aren't working with either switch I would have to find out why.

To check out the speaker system see my reply in your other posting about this same trouble. In the future please don't make more than one posting for the same trouble as things get confused that way.

If there isn't an external amp then there may be a problem with the right side speaker leads. Perhaps one side is grounded. Checking the resistance across the leads and to ground will show up any trouble like that.

There may be a problem with the sound system and if there is it should be covered under warranty, unless it has been modified from the factory installation.

I doubt that the MAF sensor is causing the trouble you are having. Since you have already replaced the fuel pump relay and fuel pump then I would check for a bad power connection to the pump. The grounding for the pump motor may run through the ECU so that could be where the trouble is also.

New ones can fail though of course it isn't often. Like I stated earlier I suggest you have the coolant system checked for exhaust gases and if that is ok then make sure the radiator is ok. If that is ok then replace the thermostat.

I noticed that the thermostat was replaced already but the new one may be defective. Did you check the coolant level after the incident happened to make sure it is full? If that is ok and there are no air pockets in the system then I would pursue what I stated earlier.

I suggest you first have the coolant checked to see if there are any exhaust gases getting into it. If that checks out ok then I think you may need to replace the thermostat again. Also check the radiator for cool spots on it which would indicate the passages are plugged.

The trouble may just be due to bad idler pulley bearings. You have the right kind of mileage for that kind of thing.

Along with the timing being off it could be a turbo engine which has less compression than a engine without turbo. I think a turbo engine has about 145 lbs normally.

Check the voltages on the rear connector of the alternator. The voltages there should be close to the battery voltage. Also turn on the blower to high and the headlights to high and then measure the voltage between the alternator output lead and the positive battery post. You should have less than .2 volt dropped across the connection. When looking for AC voltage across the battery the engine should be running around 1,500 RPM.

It sounds like there may be a problem with the power getting to the accessories. Check the voltage getting to the fuses in the dash fuse panel and make sure that you see about the same voltage that is at the battery. Also check for any AC voltage across the battery while running the engine around 1,500 RPM. You should see no more than .1 volt.

I think you will like the car. My son recently purchased a '03 H6 LL Bean Outback. He had a '00 Outback before it. It seems strange but his insurance rate actually dropped around 600 dollars per year for the same coverage with the newer car.

I think it is located on top of the engine, near back of it, possibly more on the passenger side of the engine. Look for a device screwed into the engine block. Sometimes this kind of trouble can be cleared by simply cleaning the connection to the sensor. The code will go away immediately when the trouble is corrected.

If the power to the socket is hot while the ignition is OFF then I too would say you have figured it out.

That is pretty strange alright. If there is a seperate amplifier for the unit I could possibly see why that could happen. There could also be a large capacitive filter in the power supply that is discharging after you turn off power to it.

After looking at your video it seems to me that the ignition system is working ok. It fires right up each time you crank it. To see if this is a fuel related problem see if you can keep the engine running by spraying short bursts of starter fluid into the intake as the engine trys to die. If that keeps the engine running then you know you have a fuel problem. Try changing the fuel filter first and if that dosen't work you may have to replace the fuel pump or the pressure regulator. Before replacing the pump the pressure should be checked to make sure it is low.

If you aren't getting spark did you check to see if the rotor in the disty is turning when you crank the engine? If it doesn't turn then you have a broken timing belt. If that is ok then you need to make sure that power is passing through the coil plus and minus connection points. If that is ok then the CAS sensor inside the disty needs to be checked.