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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
| i just replace the battery in my daughters 2002 kia optima when i hooked up the battery the horn is blaring and the wipers are going. it has a key fob and we tried to use that to stop it but it didn't help. an it won't start either. I had the battery checked and it was bad that's why the replacement . Can anyone help me? | |
I have a 2000 Chrysler Concorde LXI and recently I had the battery light pop on. Took it to my mechanic and he said it was the alternator and replaced it. Got car back and the next day the light came back on. Took it back to the mechanic and he said the battery light fuse kept blowing. Put in some circuit breaker fuse that was supposed to reset it's self. The next day I was driving the light came back on again. I pulled over for about 25 min, let the kids play at a park then got back in it and it was off. Later that day I was driving had the air and radio on, then the light came back on but this time after it came on the car started to lose power and the ABS, Trac control and check engine lights all started to flicker on and off. The speedometer and gas gauges stopped working and so did the power windows. The gas light came on then the radio started turning on and off so I shut the radio and air off stopped for a stop sign and the car died. Tried to start it again but it would not start and kept making a clicking noise. Someone stopped to help and tried to put it in neutral to push it around the corner and it would not go into neutral. Then after about 5 mins it went into neutral and we pushed it out of the way and then he jumped it. The car finally started so I took off to drive it back to my mechanic and on the way there it all started happening all over again. Got just about there and it died again. Had it jumped again and pulled it in there. Still no word on what it could be. I was wondering if anyone else has had any problem like this or any knowledge as to what the problem could be. Any info would be much appreciated. Thank you.
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Replying to: ashtrizz (Jul 21, 2008 6:14 pm)
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Replying to: kiawah (Jul 21, 2008 6:38 pm)
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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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