1997 Mercury Sable Electrical system Problems

“When driving my vehicle a clicking under the dash will occur, at the same time my seat belt light will come on and go off, when it goes off I lose my power steering, power brakes, windshield wipers, stereo and window opener. The oddest thing is everything is fully restored when in neutral or park.”

“The most recent problems are electrical in nature. First, all of the passenger power windows have failed. They can only be controlled by the driver side panel. Second, even though all of the doors are securely closed, the interior dome light will remain on between 20 seconds and several hours. There were occasions when the light would come on by itself while I was driving down the highway to work. An audible clicking noise could be heard from under the dash. The click is similar to the sound made when manually operating the switch. …”

“The fire in my 1997 Mercury Sable station wagon started while sitting in my driveway. It had been parked for about 11hours before the fire started about 1:30 am . The right rear section showed the most damage but the entire interior was destroyed. The gas tank was full but did not explode. The cause of the fire is unknown. The insurance company declared the car a total loss.”

“Consumer states while traveling at 50 to 55 MPH vehicle suddenly died. No power brakes or power steering. Took to a mechanic stated wires in the gas tank shorted out and blew a big fuse and caused vehicle to shut off. Mechanic stated if tank had not been full of gas this could have ignited a fire. Please provide any further information.”

“Car overheated, taken to mechanic who diagnosed blown headgasket - retooled headgasket. Also replaced water pump, radiator, plugs, plug wires, coil, thermostat, since headgasket problem - car has needed to be repaired constantly. Still has cylinder 1 misfire. Car is 5 yrs old. Seems like excessive prblems for a car that new.”