Very off topic, but still a Ford problem

Years ago, I had similar on a Lincoln Mark III. It turned out to be the body ground cable. On some Fords, it's off the negative battery terminal and is sheet metal screwed to the body. On others it's a strap or black wire coming off the cylinder head and it's screwed to the dash panel.

I've also seen the throttle cable get hot as a result because it became the ground path to the body.

To test this theory, you can attach a fair sized wire from the negative battery terminal and ground it to the body.

I have a dilemma....

My wife's car - 97 Taurus wagon ( 3.0, vin U) has developed a nasty habit.

While driving along, clear day, no precipitation, no heavy loads, etc.....

The car jerks, as if it were going over a large speed bump... The entire electrical system shuts down, as if the key were turned off.... The engine shuts down, just long enough for the @#$!@# idiot lights to light... Everything comes back on, as if nothing had happened, except that the radio tunes to a station that is NOT in memory.

The local Ford service station will 'hook it up to a computer and see if that shows anything' for $65. A friend's OBD2 reader says nothing is bad except a sporadic problem with one of the four Oxygen sensors. The local Auto electric place will 'examine the problem' for $60 (per hour) untill they get to the bottom of it. One of their technicians told me to trace the ground wires, maybe there is a bad ground. they all look good from what I can see. What should I be looking for that can cause this kind of problem?> bad ignition switch? computer?

Any suggestions which may help get this fixed will be appreciated, because as we all know..... If Mom isn't happy, NOONE is gonna be happy...

TIA

Thanks for that, I'll recheck them but both the wire mesh strap from the rearmost head to the firewall, as well as the battery wire seem ok. The one on the battery starts at the block, connects to the battery, then attaches to the inner fender. Is there anything specific I should be looking for? The wires themselves don't seem to have any heat damage or breaks in them....

Now that I've irritated a few people, but that subject matter is dear to my heart, in many ways....

I have a dilemma....

My wife's car - 97 Taurus wagon ( 3.0, vin U) has developed a nasty habit.

While driving along, clear day, no precipitation, no heavy loads, etc.....

The car jerks, as if it were going over a large speed bump... The entire electrical system shuts down, as if the key were turned off.... The engine shuts down, just long enough for the @#$!@# idiot lights to light... Everything comes back on, as if nothing had happened, except that the radio tunes to a station that is NOT in memory.

The local Ford service station will 'hook it up to a computer and see if that shows anything' for $65. A friend's OBD2 reader says nothing is bad except a sporadic problem with one of the four Oxygen sensors. The local Auto electric place will 'examine the problem' for $60 (per hour) untill they get to the bottom of it. One of their technicians told me to trace the ground wires, maybe there is a bad ground. they all look good from what I can see. What should I be looking for that can cause this kind of problem?> bad ignition switch? computer?

Any suggestions which may help get this fixed will be appreciated, because as we all know..... If Mom isn't happy, NOONE is gonna be happy...

TIA