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Maintenance & Repair Electronic Gremlins: Electrical Problems That Are Driving You Crazy
1085 messages, Last post on Oct 29, 2009 at 11:41 AM
You are in the Maintenance & Repair Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: ashtrizz (Jul 21, 2008 7:15 pm) You have a 9 year old vehicle, which since batteries typically last about 4-5 years would be at the end of it's useful life....assuming you have had one replacement at the 4 year mark. It leaves me slightly suspect, since your battery is hard to get to, whether you have a lot of corrosion built up on your battery terminals causing high resistance to your power buss. What I would suggest since it is the simplest to do, is to get in to your battery and check those terminals for both corrosion and tightness. You should also check the connections on your negative cables where it connects to the frame, and the positive cable where it connects to the starter and main fuse buss. Only after I checked all of that (the easiest to do), would I move on to this stuff. You're going to need either a competent shop who knows electrical problems and has access to your specific electrical schematics (like the dealership)...or if you are good yourself with electrical troubleshooting but a set of schematics. I would focus in the area of the main buss fuse back to the fuse box, the ignition switch relays. You may also have a computer prolem that has surfaced. This area is going to get expensive to diagnose, which is why my recommendation to focus first on the electrical basics. I don't know where you can get electrical schematics online. For my chrysler products I've typically bought the manuals from the address in the back of the owners manual...but they are pricey. Don't know if you can find them online, HELMINC doesn't carry chryslers. |
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Replying to: kiawah (Jul 22, 2008 5:01 am) |
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Replying to: ashtrizz (Jul 22, 2008 8:09 am) 
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Replying to: ashtrizz (Jul 22, 2008 8:09 am) You might be better off taking it to a Chrysler dealer for repair. If your mechanic has truly gotten a good battery in this car, cleaned the battery cables and checked for them being eaten up with corrision, I think you have an electrical problem that he has no idea how to diagnois. |
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Replying to: ashtrizz (Jul 22, 2008 8:09 am) That's because the alternator isn't charging. Jumping the battery let it charge up, then when you drove it, it used up that charge. That is a clear symptom of what happens when the charging system is not working. Any 1st year apprentice would pick that up. I have just heard back from the mechanic and he said the battery is fine and now he thinks that it could be something to do with the ignition switch relays also. He THINKS??? There shouldn't be any thinking in this diagnosis. It is clear that the charging system isn't working. He should start with determining what the alternator is actually putting out at the alternator and then to the battery. If the alternator is putting out charge voltage (around 13.5V) at the alternator and it isn't getting that at the battery, then there is a wiring problem. I'm going to agree with Mr. Shiftright and bolivar. It is clear your "mechanic" doesn't have a full grasp of how the starting and charging system on your vehicle works, which is a shame, cause it is pretty basic. By the way, did your "mechanic" happen to hook up a scanner to your vehicle to see what the PCM (computer) was reading your charging system at? I didn't think so. The reason for that question is, your PCM regulates the alternator. No signal from the PCM, no charging. My best guess is either the fusible link at the battery is blown/broken, Fuse T in the Power Distribution center is blown or the Field wire to the alternator is broken. If all 3 of those are intact and have battery voltage to them, then the signal from the PCM is the problem.
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I can not figure out why my truck is not charging.
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Replying to: thepopeson (Jul 30, 2008 4:40 pm) Any auto parts chain will check both your alternator and battery under load, a free test. (autozone, pepboys, etc). |
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| My 04 Accord was dead this morning (1 yr old battery) and I mean dead, no panel lights, starter click...nothing. So I jumped it and started off to work. I noticed that whenever I turned on the headlights the engine seemed to cut out for just an instant. The car actually bucked a little as well. Radio or a/c did not produce a similar effect. Where do I start looking for the problem? | |
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Replying to: jmaxe (Aug 11, 2008 10:58 am) - You could have a bad battery - You could have a bad alternator - You could have loose and/or corroded cable connections - You could have left something on (or something is defective which didn't turn itself off), which drained down your battery to nothing - Some combination of the above. The lights draw substantially more current than the other items. I suspect you have a VERY bad battery, or a couple diodes in your alternator are out and it's not able to produce enough current to charge up your battery or drive the lights. |
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Replying to: jmaxe (Aug 11, 2008 10:58 am) You should have the battery charged, otherwise you might overstress your alternator and then you'll have TWO problems.
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