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Ford AerostarOriginally conceived as an answer to the first Chrysler minivans, the Aerostar is an old school rear-drive van that's at its best when it's harnessed for hard work. It can haul--and tow--heavier loads than the front-drive crowd, and gets the job done with a fair degree of comfort and style.
Ok, so my 92 Aerostar is a champ, or at least it was. All winter it started no matter how long it was left unplugged. It always ran.
Today I run an errand and I notice the "Amp" light is on. Ok. Not sure what that meant but everything seemed to be working. I ran my errand, turned it off for 10 mins, and it fired back up with ease.
On the way home I noticed the amp light is still on, my spedometer is dead, and my battery gauge is dead too. The van is still running great though and the oil gauge and gas gauge still work.
Once home I turn it off and try to fire it back up. I get a chugging half of a turn over and then nothing. It's dead (interior lights are still on when I open the door though)
Ok, I let it sit for a while. An hour later I try again. This time I can hear the starter (at least I think it's the starter) tapping away, but it's not turning over.
Ok, so I let it sit for 4 hours. I start it up and almost everything works. The spedometer is all over the place, but at least it's moving. And the battery gauge is at almost half way. I get a block away from my house (smoke run) and I watch the battery gauge drop to zero, all my lights went out (headlamps, dash, everything), and it's seems like it's struggling to run.
I manage to get it home and into my driveway. I notice while exiting it that the interior lights do come on, but they're dim. I checked it 2 hours later and the interior lights are bright again.
Have you checked you battery cables?If they are good I would be leaning to an alternator.It wouldnt hurt to take you battery to a parts store and have it tested.
Hope its just some corrosion on the battery posts, but if they are clean, I agree with phantom smack, it's almost a safe bet that either your battery is at the end of it's life, or the alternator is pooched. you didn't mention how old the battery is. Sounds like it is drained to the point where it will still power the interior lights, but not enough juice in it to turn over.
I somewhat agree with the other answers, but if it was the battery it would not recover and start later. This is probably the alternator. When this sits the battery can somewhat recover, so it will start again, this says the battery is probably not the problem.
Good Luck with this:
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92 Aerostar Electrical Problems 
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