PT Cruiser Electrical and Lighting Problems

323 messages,  Last post on Dec 22, 2012 at 4:12 PM

You are in the Chrysler PT Cruiser Maintenance & Repair Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chrysler PT Cruiser, Electrical, Wagon

    

#286 of 323 defroster by elizabeth21

Feb 18, 2011 (7:19 pm)

i have a 2005 pt cruiser,defroster ,windows,and ac.stopped working.checked the fuses.what else could it be...

#287 of 323 Re: Fog lamp switch won't turn off (gmshafer) [gshafer] by iflores

Mar 23, 2011 (6:52 pm)

Replying to: gshafer (Oct 05, 2005 8:19 pm)
This happened to me 3 times. Took it to the dealer and was told that they replaced the battery, bulbs and a wire and was told that would take care of the problem. It did for about a 1yr and a half then the fog lights would not shut off again. Took it to the dealer and was told that it was the steering column that needed to be replaced. Had it replaced and seemed to be fixed. NOT! 3rd time as I was taking the off ramp on the 101 fwy to my destination the fog lights came on, on it's own and the smoke came out of steering column and it started getting hot. I was lucky that I got to my destination and that my brother (a mechanic) was around and was smart enough to safely take out the fuse for the fog lights which prevented what could have been fire, damage to the car or even harm to me. Went to a good mechanic and he replaced the steering column with an after market and I haven't had the problem so far. I did file a complaint with safercar.gov.
FYI, I saw today (3/23/11 on nbcla) on the news that 2 young girls were killed by a rental car (PT Cruiser) from fire that came from the steering column that there was a recall (I was never notified of one) on the steering column but that rental cars by law don't have to have them done. A city official is making it law that car rental agencies have to get the recalls done on their rental cars too.

#288 of 323 can anyone tell me how to set the clock on 2001 Pt Cruiser, no manual by postie65

Apr 02, 2011 (8:58 am)

#289 of 323 Re: can anyone tell me how to set the clock on 2001 Pt Cruiser, no manual [postie65] by chnyberg

Apr 02, 2011 (11:55 am)

Replying to: postie65 (Apr 02, 2011 8:58 am)
Easy..to the right of the clock, and above the EJT CD button are two spots. One is labeled H and the other is labeled M (Hours..Minutes) Take an ink pen or something similar and press on the H spot to advance the hours, and on the M spot to advance the minutes.

#290 of 323 Re: Fog lamp switch won't turn off (gmshafer) [iflores] by chnyberg

Apr 02, 2011 (11:56 am)

Replying to: iflores (Mar 23, 2011 6:52 pm)
This happened to me long ago..I just pulled the fuse.

#291 of 323 Electrical Problems 2001 PT Cruiser Limited by kanor

May 12, 2011 (4:49 pm)

We just bought a used 2001 PT Cruiser Limited about 1 month ago. Car is in great shape and we love the gas mileage. All was fine the first three weeks and now we are having trouble. We have keyless remote that works fine. However, after we turn on the car and start driving we get a constant beep signal with the warning that a door is open. The first time this happened we went around and shut all doors but it did not stop the warning. As we were driving with the constant beep the door locks started to unlock and lock on their own over and over again. It now does the beeping and unlock and lock whenever driven. At the same time we heard the panic alarm honking when the car was parked. It started about 6 hrs after it was parked and off, which was around midnight. This panic alarm problem has happened 3-4 times now but does not happen if we leave the car unlocked. The Chrysler dealer wants to replace part of the sensors or the computer but we wonder if there is an easier and less expensive way to stop these things from happening. Dealer also says they have never seen electrical problems with a cruiser. We don't buy that one. Any ideas? Thanks.

#292 of 323 Re: No start/Alarm goes off/Dashboard malfunction [jlorasch] by frustrated322

Jun 26, 2011 (2:47 pm)

Replying to: jlorasch (Dec 18, 2010 2:26 pm)
This is the exact thing i have going on right now! Can not figure out what the hell the problem is. Mine ran fine for a couple months, now its doing this again.

#293 of 323 Re: Maximum expected miles from a p.t. crusier [rebgonefishing] by frustrated322

Jun 26, 2011 (3:03 pm)

Replying to: rebgonefishing (Jan 06, 2008 11:18 am)
Well i have 265,00 on my 2001 PT cruiser right now, and am just starting to have problems.

#294 of 323 Strange electrical fault. by bfco

Aug 05, 2011 (9:12 am)

Recently I experienced a strange occurance to my 2005 PT Cruiser convertable (37500 miles) as I was driving along. The first symption was the radio started having short static burst on the speaker like the antenna was loose, then I noticed the instrument panel warning lights and traction control lights started to flash on and off. This seem to occur every time I hit a bump. I Tried to pounding on the dash, and it seemed to make it happen. THis kept up until I got to work. I Turned the car off and thought this might reset it. But I could not turn the car back on or start the engine. The key turned but it was like I had a dead battery (The car was in Park and the doors were closed). I left it there and came out during lunch and it started up ok and no more problems with the lights. I drove home and two days later took it to my mechanic to have the oil changed. I mentioned the problem, he could not find anything wrong with the car. Does anyone know why this is happening? The car works ok now, but I am afraid it might come back and strand me someplace.
 
Don

#295 of 323 Re: Strange electrical fault. [bfco] by brierwolf

Aug 19, 2011 (12:45 pm)

Replying to: bfco (Aug 05, 2011 9:12 am)
Yep, us too. Our 2006 convertible with 70K miles developed this gremlin while we were miles away from home on vacation--panel's idiot lights would come on and the engine would go off! Many times, it would start, then die after a few seconds--many times nothing--like dead battery. Once it died while waiting at intersection. Some friends with PT told us to have the steering column replaced, but our mechanic claims that the best he can do is to find one in a low-mileage salvaged car--which means to me that it'll happen again. We can still get it to come back to life when we bounce the tilt column a bit. And, I certainly do not know if there's a connection here or not, BUT, right before this first began, I noticed that the console dash area around the AC controls and up to the radio was nearly too hot to touch! Yes, the headlamps were on as it was raining at this time. Can anyone out there give me a good reason NOT to sell it?
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