electrical problem

goatmanjohn1969

Hi, I hope someone can help me here. I have a 2002 crown vic le and its having multiple issues. When I first start driving it seems fine but after 2 or 3 minutes the temperature gauge starts to fluctuate, the the alarm sounds off and it starts misfiring. Then the gauge stops fluctuating and the alarm go's off and it runs smooth again. Then later on the trunk ajar light and bell go's off and it starts misfiring again, It does this the whole time I'm driving. Also my speedometer keeps going off and on while I'm driving. Can a bad VSS sensor cause this. The car has 120,000 miles on it. Any help would be appreciated.

thecardoc3

Going by all of the symptoms described a VSS couldn't possibly be to blame all by itself. Whether it is the cause of the speedometer dropping out or not cannot be determined without testing. By chance, when the speedometer does drop out does the odometer keep accruing mileage or not? Is there anything else that stops working correctly?

The first question is, "Is this actually overheating, or is it a false indication?" Has anyone driven the car and watched the engine temperature in scan data? Has anyone checked the coolant level and tested for leaks?

The misfiring, has there been any testing done while its occurring? Has anyone pulled trouble codes to see if specific cylinder(s) are being reported or are you getting a P0300 for random cylinders?