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Wagons Chrysler PT Cruiser Chrysler PT Cruiser Maintenance & Repair PT Cruiser Electrical/Lighting Problems
259 messages, Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 5:56 PM
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I have a 2003 pt cruiser with a battery problem, but do not have fog lights. The problem sounds the same as the fog light problem. Everything is fine and then you go out to start the car and it is dead. Have had the car 2 1/2 years and 3 batteries. No one seems to be able to find the problem. Have had the alternator checked several times and someone even did the jump across the starter solenoid and it started just fine but they said the starter solenoid was shot and we replaced the starter ( solenoid not sold seperately). I make sure that EVERYthing is turned off before getting out of the car (dome light, radio, fan for heater) and the car still occasionally won't start. Help!!!! I have a haunted car.
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Replying to: whunt1 (Jan 12, 2007 10:05 am) |
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Replying to: p100 (May 23, 2006 6:24 am) |
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I'm posting this long question in this thread because we went thru the fog light/multi-function switch replacement last year and have had a new problem that just cropped up. Last week the wife's 2001 PT with 70k miles refused to turn off the dash lights when the ignition was turned off. Then it wouldn't start, but did when jumped after the battery drained. Then when I ran it to charge up the battery, it kept running when the key was turned off! The wife got in it and, for unknown reasons (I guess it just likes her better since she babies it so) it did turn off. I checked the battery terminals and found some corrosion, so I cleaned them off, sprayed on some stuff I had to prevent that corrosion and it ran well over the weekend. Last night, out of the blue (or was it the black), it was parked outside the house and for no apparent reason the panic alarm went off and I had to go out and click at it with the key gizmo (~ pardon the technical jargon, please). No, there was no one messing with it ~ the same thing happened the next morning (today) about 8 hours later. Again, it turned off when we clicked at it, but when my wife went to start it, the battery was again dead. We had it towed to our non-dealer mechanic. He charged it up, trouble-shot the usual things like the ignition switch and such and they checked out fine, but the car dash lights stayed on again when the ignition was turned off and it wouldn't turn over when he tried to start it. At that point, the mechanic started pulling fuses to see which one controlled those lights. They stayed on until he pulled the 10A fuse for the air conditioner (!). He plugged it back in and the car started right up. It continued to start and work fine for a couple hours and he called me to come pick it up, admitting that he didn't know what he did, if anything, to correct the problem, but it was working fine now. That fuse, which didn't even need replaced, cost $150 ~ so far. (I note at this point that we have used this mechanic for a long time and trust his work) I went in to pick up the car. It started up fine for me and I drove it to a nearby gas station where, after the fillup, the car again refused to turn over although the dash lights turned on and off appropriately when the key was turned. The mechanic drove over and fiddled with it to no effect. At that point all we could do was have it towed back to his shop where it sits until tomorrow when he will dig into it again. But he admits he doesn't know what else to do at this point except more of the same. Anyone have any suggestions as to what he should check? After visiting this and other sites, I will suggest he check the multi-function switch again as well as resetting the battery polarity. What else? Thanks PT gone whacko electrically
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I have a 2001 PT w/ 89,000 miles. The good news is that it has been a very dependable car for the past 7 years. The bad news is that it has started doing quirky electrical things. From the beginning, the bun warmer on the passenger side would come on without being pushed. No biggie. Two months ago I had to replace the original battery- no problems, just did it per advice of the mechanic. Last month the car wouldn't pass inspections because the fog lamps would not work. It wasn't the bulbs or the fuse. I took it somewhere else ona day that the fog lamps worked and it passed. No fog lamps since. In the last two months odd, random electrical things have occurred- the overhead light will come on, the dash lights won't come on, the temp/compass overhead light won't come on at night, etc. I plan to call Chrysler tomorrow. TG I got the inspection sticker but I'm starting to wonder if I ought to go ahead and sell the car now (I'm single, in a new city, no alternative transportation, etc)??? O my, that's not in my financial gameplan. Re gas mileage, I used to get 20-23 mpg city and 25-30 long distance. Gas mileage has definitely declined with age. I put a STP treatment in it a couple of months ago but that only helped slightly for a short period of time. |
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| I've just experienced this simultaneous failure of the power locks, exterior lights and dash lights. I have not had any previous electrical problems on my 2001 Limited with almost 100,000 miles. One mechanic has checked all of the fuses and found no failures. I have an appointment with my Chrysler dealer but would like to be ahead of their highway robbery plans for drawn out trouble shooting and high priced module replacement. Any help would be appreciated! | |
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We have left our PT I talked about a couple posts ago at the shop for the last week and the mechanic has tried it when hot, cold & lukewarm, driven it from time to time and it has worked every time! Gawd, this is frustrating! Can't do anything if it is running right! We'll give him a couple more days and see what happens...
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Replying to: enufalready (May 02, 2007 7:58 pm) 
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Replying to: bandaidgooz (May 02, 2007 4:57 pm) |
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Replying to: enufalready (Apr 25, 2007 12:04 pm) |
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