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PT Cruiser Electrical/Lighting Problems

258 messages,  Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 3:44 PM

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#45 of 258 PT gone whacko electrically by enufalready Apr 25, 2007 (12:04 pm)
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 Replies to this message: deshoned (Jun 11, 2007 2:55 pm)
#46 of 258 wierd electrical problems by raleighgirl Apr 29, 2007 (8:16 pm)
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.
#47 of 258 power locks/exterior lighting/dash lights failure by bandaidgooz May 02, 2007 (4:57 pm)
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! Replies to this message: bandaidgooz (Jun 07, 2007 5:41 pm) hzleyes (Jul 02, 2007 11:56 am) rox2 (Mar 25, 2008 12:38 pm) hzleyes (Mar 25, 2008 4:29 pm) rox2 (Mar 26, 2008 12:21 pm)
#48 of 258 Quick update by enufalready May 02, 2007 (7:58 pm)
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... Replies to this message: caliberchic (May 03, 2007 12:12 pm)
#49 of 258 Re: Quick update [enufalready] by caliberchic May 03, 2007 (12:12 pm)
Replying to: enufalready (May 02, 2007 7:58 pm) I hope you can get it figured out!
#50 of 258 Re: power locks/exterior lighting/dash lights failure [bandaidgooz] by bandaidgooz Jun 07, 2007 (5:41 pm)
Replying to: bandaidgooz (May 02, 2007 4:57 pm) Here's the solution to the problem I experienced. Upon further investigation, the dealer found some wires were melted that connect to all of the related components. Thanks to a little pre-dealer leg work with a salvage yard, I found the dash cluster was not the problem and kept the dealer from charging $600 to replace it when it was not defective.
#51 of 258 Re: PT gone whacko electrically [enufalready] by deshoned Jun 11, 2007 (2:55 pm)
Replying to: enufalready (Apr 25, 2007 12:04 pm) Okay, my car is expericing the same thing. The car just will simply not turn off even with the key out of the ignition. I am taking it to the dealership tomorrow, but I wanted to know if you ever got your wife's car to act right. My father dies in september and I got this car from him. I'm not sure of anything that he may have done to it previously, but it sounds like I'm having the same problem as you. Any advice for me?
#52 of 258 No news is.... news by enufalready Jun 12, 2007 (8:48 am)
It is difficult to type a reply with all my fingers, toes, arms, legs, eyes and intestines crossed, but here goes. The symptoms... just...went...away.   We had the car at the mechanic for nearly 2 weeks so he could try various options (cold/hot start ~ moving/not moving & etc) and the problem just stopped happening. It's been a month or so and no repeat of any of the problems. <KNOCKING WOOD HARD>   The unable-to-turn-car-off situation only happened once. Wish I had more concrete solutions for you, but it is what it is. We were fortunate in that we had transport options and could 'wait it out' (not that it necessarily was a solution). Just be aware that a dealership might do what someone above mentioned ~ start replacing $600 wiring harnesses or whatever ~ until the problem disappears. And that it might not even be the fix it needed.   Good luck.
#53 of 258 Re: power locks/exterior lighting/dash lights failure [bandaidgooz] by hzleyes Jul 02, 2007 (11:56 am)
Replying to: bandaidgooz (May 02, 2007 4:57 pm) I would like to know of any solutions to this problem. My wife's car is having the same problem. A mechanic friend of ours said it is possible that it is lead number 7 but he can't find the exact cause. We would rather not take it to the dealer.
#54 of 258 Re: Fog lamp switch won't turn off [cheribaybee] by kpatricia Jul 05, 2007 (2:19 pm)
Replying to: cheribaybee (Jul 09, 2006 12:47 pm) I've got a 2002 PT with about 89,000 miles on it. Have begun having the fog light problem that I've read about here. Fog light indicator goes on, I jiggle the switch, they go off for a second and then back on. The other day while my car was parked, not in use and not running, noticed that the fog lights were on even though I hadn't driven the car since the previous day. Jiggled the handle, fog lights went off. Next day went to drive my car and battery was completely dead. I called Chrysler's recall number, and no recall had been issued for my car. They transferred me to customer assistance where I was told that they'd never heard of my particular problem before but that they would record my call. Not happy about that. Just towed my car to a local trustworthy mechanic--not the dealer. Replies to this message: kpatricia (Sep 23, 2008 6:21 am)

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