Car Troubles

[PTCMIAH62]

Ok so. Silly me left the windows down yesteday and we got a lot of rain. SOO the inside of my car looked a little like sea world and my power locks were on the fritz. Again silly me. I get the vehicle home and disconnect the battery and leave it like that so it doesn't get run down 1 and 2 so that hopefully the system will reset and the locks wont try to lock and unlock and possibly cause themselves damage. Ok. So I get up this morning reconnect the battery and the locks are fixed. Or so I thought. NOW my IPC is going haywire and my car wont start. It sounds like I need a new battery which as far as I know has given the vehicle a full 133,348 miles up till now. Please for the love of all things Chrysler does anyone know what to do? I'm open to just about anything including rigging a new battery out of potatoes duct tape chewing gum and my hopes and dreams. Thank you for any help.

Jeff, 01 Limited

[CREWZIN]

Jeff,

You said it yourself, the battery has given you a lot of service. Maybe time for a new one. Don't give up hope till you try a jump start and have the charging system tested. Most auto stores will test it for free.

[PTCMIAH62]

Ok. Well I may have to take the battery in seperate seeing as the car will not start. It will energize. Just not start. If I use anything like the windows or anything you can hear it bog down and just suck power. SO I think I'll need a new battery now. Hopefully thats all I need. We'll see later on today. I'll get the batt checked. Would you also happen to know where to get a ps reservoir cap? I've been looking around town and online and I can't find it. My next guess is the junkyard. Thank you for the suggestions.

Jeff, 01 Limited

[CREWZIN]

If you want a chrome cap, go here.....

PT Cruiser Power Steering Cap And Top Housing Covers Chrome : Race and Street

If not, the dealer or a salvage yard.

[PTCMIAH62]

Ok so I just pulled my battery out (wasn't terribly hard just kinda wedged in there) and tested it with a home ohmeter. It was a showing at about 12.5 volts. Seemed odd to me seeing as it wouldn't power the freaking car. Also battery was manufactured in 07 so obviously not original to an 01 ha ha. Well I'm gunna get it tested at a local parts store and if it's not the battery my next step is either looking at the alternator which chrysler help me Chilton is the only thing in my house that knows where it is. At any rate I might just go after an easier target: the distributor cap and see if that might becausing the issues which the plug ends might have gotten a little wet or a short somewhere coulda fried the cap. Thank you for all the helps thus far. It has helped.

Jeff, 01 Limited (for a limited time it seems as well)

[CREWZIN]

I'll help you a little bit more. Don't bother looking for a distributor cap because you don't have one and you don't even have a distributor. Most modern cars and that includes almost everything in the last 20 years did away with the distributor. It's all sensors and computers now-a-days. My 1988 Cavilier Z24 didn't have a distributor. Three coils, each sending voltage to a set of plugs in the V6 engine.

The Camshaft sensor and Crankshaft sensor sends signals to the computer and in turn the computer tells the coil when to send voltage to the spark plug. No moving parts except for what's inside the engine.

[leftoverture]

From what you describe, your car interior got very wet. Probably down into the doors and possibly down in the dash. It is very possible something got shorted out, which happened to me with an old Buick once. It's also possible it is still wet in there somewhere as partially closed spaces can take a long time to dry out after something like you describe. Also, just having 12.5 volts on the battery doesn't mean much, it has to be load tested to see if it's still any good.

[PTCMIAH62]

Well when I changed the spark plugs and wires and all that unless I am mistaken it looked to me like a distributor BUT thats not what I feel like discussing as I am completely ill equipped to have an intelligent debate or conversation on the matter. What I would like to report is that I got the battery tested yesterday and it was at 90% charge. SO that threw up a few more questions. I took my grandfathers advice (retired GM guy and restores old Dodges and Plymouths as well as an Olds 442 which is in prime condition and nearly bone stock again) and my father and I popped the clutch on it (cringe if you like) and it started. I drove it for a few miles and afterwards turned it off and back on. Worked like a charm. Left it for an hour and again turned back on. Drove it to work this morning and about to go and check it just in case. Well it sounds like whatever it was (probably the doors locking and unlocking all the time wore down the battery to a point where it couldn't turn the engine over and now that it's been almost a week the inner spaces are dry enough that they aren't doing it anymore) is now gone. SO hopefully this is the last we hear of this problem but if it crops up again I'm getting a new battery and we'll go on from there. Might need to go into the doors and dry them out thoroughly as well as the interior. But overall all is well so far. I'll update should anything occur. Thank you for all the help I appreciate it greatly.

Jeff, 01 Limited and still crusin.

[CREWZIN]

Hope it stays dry for you. Good luck.

[cruserdad1976]

[QUOTE=PTCMIAH62;320039]Well when I changed the spark plugs and wires and all that unless I am mistaken it looked to me like a distributor BUT thats not what I feel like discussing as I am completely ill equipped to have an intelligent debate or conversation on the matter.



CREWZIN
Is correct--he usally is--anyway whay you saw and what you hooked the plug wires up to is a modern day coil pack I guess it kind of works like the old distrubitor in that it does dristrubate the fire to the diffrent plugs btu they is nothing in there but some odd electrial stuff in fact im pretty sure it is all sealed so you can relpace it btu not repair it

glad all is working hope it stays that way