My 2002 PT Cruiser was brought in for a dead lightbulb. When the car went to start up the battery had died. The mechanic boosted it, and then my husband shut it off. When he turned if back on, the power locks didn't work and the gagues where going crazy. We have a new battery, but it hasn't been installed. The mechanic did a diagnostic and everything seems fine. Anyone got any ideas??
2006-10-05 01:46:11 · 4 answers · asked by Chris C 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Depending on the way the mechanic "jumped" the battery, he might have shorted something out. With today cars, you cant just jump it any old way, since there are many different computer systems in the car, and they are extremely fragile. My current car, you have to use a specific jumper post, you just cant connect to the battery directly
Now, I am not saying it is the mechanics fault, since it could have been on its way out before you even got there. There are many things that could have been going wrong with this car before it got there, but didnt appear until it was jumped. In fact the reason why it died, might have been because of that. Understand the battery probably died because of a short.
I say all this having owned two Chryslers since 2001 and both of them were garbage! I owned an '01 Sebring convertible and a '04 300M. They where both bought brand new and there was ALWAYS something not right about the cars. Chrysler builds interesting cars with gizmos and gadgets for an inexpensive price, but the way they sell them so cheap is because they are cheaply build. I would never buy another, in fact, the 300M I bought in Jan of 04 brand new and sold it in Jun of 04 because I couldnt take making the payment on such a piece of junk. The '01 Sebring was ALWAYS in the shop because of exhaust leaks and stereo shorting out, and the top not working right and so on.
And just understand this, OBD (On Board Diagnostics) isnt anything. Sure it is helpful, but it shouldnt be the end all word in the way something performs. I owned a '01 Chevy truck that I bought new, and I kept having problems with the brakes. I took it to 3 different dealers and they all told me the brakes were fine. Needless to say they got this information from the OBD computer. Well not to long after that I got into an accident, my first ever. Why? Because the truck just didnt stop. So while it was being repaired I told them to check out the brakes, again they came back telling me it was ok. I picked up the truck and 2 months later, I was in another accident because the truck didnt stop. Of course the OBD said they were fine. I fixed the truck and sold it. Funny though, for 18 years prior and 4 years after, I have never had an accident, except in that truck. So dont let a mechanic tell you the OBD says nothing is wrong when you know something is.
Hope this helps
2006-10-05 02:13:05 · answer #1 · answered by just me 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
INSTALL THE NEW BATTERY, IF THE PROBLEM CONTINUES,IT COULD BE THE ALTERNATOR IS NOT CHARGING THE BATTERY AND U NEED TO GET THE ALTERNATOR ASSESS. NB. WHEN U HAVE INSTALLED THE NEW BATTERY, IF ALL GOES WELL, ALLOW THE ENGINE TO IDLE 4 SOMETIME TO CHARGE THE BATTERY. YAHWEH BLESSES.
2006-10-05 02:27:11 · answer #2 · answered by JAGG 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Put the new battery in. Your mechanic may have shorted something out. You may have to reprogram your keyless entry.
2006-10-05 01:52:12 · answer #3 · answered by R1volta 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
put the batter in.
2006-10-05 02:06:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋