Can i get some car help please?

Question

Ok so I own 2 cars, 1996 Dodge Avenger and a 1987 Cadillac Brougham and neither run. The avenger will turn over and sound very close to starting so im guessing fuel pump.
caddy will start if there is either a new or charged battery but will either die in 3 days or 1 hour. so im guessing its either a short or something unknown to me is draining the battery the alternator is new and works fine... they both have gas they have both ran before.
few questions
1. Are these problems correct, if not what are the problems
2. what would be the prices to fix or a cheap way to fix
3.should i keep one and get rid of one and fix another if so which
4. any other important info or advice I NEED TO DRIVE!

Answer 1

The cadillac is easier to fix for an electrical type guy like me because it's a simple matter of tracking down what's drawing too much current from the battery when the car's parked overnight etc. To diagnose, you perform a "parasitic draw" test and insert a Digital Multi-Meter (DMM) set to the 10 Amp range in the negative battery connection to the battery. If the DMM reads more than 1/4 Amp, make sure all courtesy lights are out and accessories off and pull one fuse at a time to see which one makes the current drop below 1/4 Amp. Then find the load on that circuit drawing the excessive current. Sometimes it's an aftermarket alarm or similar someone installed or the OEM security system. Sometimes it's a bad diode in the alternator and you have to disconnect the wire to the alternator to stop the excessive current flow. Maybe there's a light not going off in your trunk or glove compartment. If you disconnect the negative battery cable and reconnect it 3 days later, the car should start with no problem. You do have to drive a car once a week to keep the battery charged up or buy an automatic low current battery maintenance charger to keep the battery charged. Plug this Sears battery maintenance charger into your accessory power socket inside the car to keep the battery from being drained. It should handle the excessive current draw in your cadillac until you track down the problem.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&pid=02871219000&cat=Batteries+%26+Chargers&subcat=Battery+Chargers+%26+Boosters&vertical=AUTO&ihtoken=1

You really should do a fuel pressure test on your Avenger to see if it has the proper fuel pressure and leak down rate when you turn the key off.

Both the 2L 4 cylinder and 2.5L 6 cylinder Avenger engines are interference engines with a timing belt driven water pump. So if you hear the engine cranking especially fast compared to normal, the timing belt may be broken, but then your engine would likely suffer bent valve damage, so cross your fingers that it's an ignition or fuel problem etc.

Answer 2

As far as I know, whoever "hits" has the liability or is "at fault". In other words, insurance companies and law enforcements viewpoint is, "If you are following all the rules of the road and safety, there is never any reason to hit anything." Now, if there was ice on the road, that might atleast make things lean more in your favor, but I think you have to have a photo taken that day of the stretch of road you slid on. That's why they say you should always have atleast a disposable camera in your car to take a photo of an accident and accident scene on the day of the accident, along with a cell phone, your insurance information, driver's license and registration. Hopefully you have car insurance that will pay even if it is your fault, or if not, a lot of friends and family that will help you in this time of crisis. There's a lot of other factors to take into account: was either of the drivers driving while impaired, or in a rush, did either leave the scene of the accident before law enforecement arrived, what kind of vehicles were involved, did both have car insurance-dl license-registration-etc... So hopefully, maybe there's other factors that are in your favor here. In either case, it's a wake-up call to always drive safely and defensively and keep as much space between you and other moving vehicles or objects as possible, have a seat belt on, and don't have any distractions like listening to the radio, eating, drinking, talking on a cell phone, etc... I know all this because I've been driving for years now, and have only been in a few accidents. In every accident except one, someone hit me and for some reason none of them even had a driver's license!!!! In the accident where I hit someone, I rear ended someone, just like you did. So since I "hit", it was my fault, even though the car in front of me stopped short and really fast, not giving me any time to stop. The only thing that saved me was that the car I hit left the scene of the accident, and, from what I understand, it was some kind of insurance scam on the part of the other driver.

Answer 3

it could be the pump on the avenger or the distribator, but finding the short on the caddy could take a long time, i would go with fixing the avenger at least its better on gas

Answer 4

The caddy sounds like you need to check the Voltage regulator.

Answer 5

Sell the caddy. Use the money on the newer car's fuel pump. It isn't that hard to get changed. You did not include what engine or miles.

Answer 6

Avenger? = Broken timing belt.
Caddy? = Loose/dirty battery cable.