ABS light, weak power, smoke from hood

Asked by Raindance May 26, 2018 at 06:26 AM about the 2002 Ford Mustang

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I was driving to the bar and my ABS light turned on, then my
radio turned off and headlight and dashlights dimmed.  I
got to the bar and found my battery was dead so when I
was leaving I asked for a jump.  Half way home the ABS
light returned and the same thing happened again, except
worse: my blinker stopped working, all the dials, including
speed dial, all stopped functioning and the car was barely
moving forward.  I managed to reach my parents' home
since it was closer, but as I got out of the car I smelt
something like used fireworks and there was smoke
coming from the hood on the passenger side.  We believe
the battery is obviously dead, but it doesn't explain the
smoke.  Any idea what is wrong and how to resolve it?  

1 Answer

25,720

Probably the car overheated and the smoke was coming from the coolant reservoir or a radiator hose. I would replace the battery and see if the engine starts, if it does, let it warm up and listen to any abnormal noise coming from the engine. If it won't start or you notice something wrong, have a mechanic take a look at the vehicle before attempting to drive it again.

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