Cut off

[War_Eagle]

Leaving a red light and the car just shut off, no stuttering or anything just off. Got stopped and try to restart and nothing. I have dash lights, chimes, lights, radio and all but dead silence. I unhooked the battery and let it sit and connected it and just silence when I turn the key. Any ideas at all from anyone? I would seriously appreciate any advice.

[Busted_PT]

It has to be a power issue. If starter won't ingauge. Anything in the Circuit is suspect at this point. Ignition in the column should not be because it stopped running while it was still actually running. I would check the wires on the starter specially the little one on the side. Check for continuity on these wires back as far as you can trace them. Just for grines and giggles. Try jumping the starter. Make sure you have a strong battery. But I don't think that is your issue.

[ptprice]

Center your wheels. Although not a cure all this can take the pressure of a recalcitrant ignition switch. Busted suggestions were quite valid. Additionally listen for any slight "clicking" from the starter solenoid. The slightest "click" means your circuitry is OK and it's a low battery or a pooped out solenoid.
What are all your dash readouts? There can possibly be a "blinking" red light indicating your anti theft circuitry is activated, preventing start up. Check for an inline fuse for the ignition that might have gone south. I'm not total sure but there might be circuitry that won't allow start up if the oil is remarkably low or your experiencing low oil pressure. This would be a case of your PT being smarter than you and refusing to start up till the oil question is resolved. Again consider the ignition switch, do the tests and checks Busted and I suggested. Good luck. Yours is a really neat PT. I hope it ends up for you as continued "Happy PTin', ptprice

[ptcruisersteve]

I would suggest first taking a voltmeter and see if you have 12 volts coming from the ignition switch to the starter.

If you don't have 12 volts coming from the ignition then you need to see if your security red light is on on the dash. If your security red light on the dash goes out after 3 seconds when you are trying to start it it should be okay.

Did you try starting it in neutral? Your neutral switch might not be working properly.

Post what you find out and we can suggest more troubleshooting ideas.

[War_Eagle]

Thanks for the replies. I had it towed to a local shop that I haven't used before because, the dealer was backed up, and said they wouldn't even be able to touch it for two days. The Chrysler dealer actually suggested this mechanic and the tow operator agreed that he was top notch
.
He made sure the battery was at peak, said it was good so he began his diagnostics. I left the car with him and about four hours later he called me at 8pm said he found out that a fuse had blown but explained that with all of the items on that circuit he wanted to keep it overnight and run some more tests to see what caused it to blow. Appearantly there are several items on one circuit and fuse. He explained it like a tree and it's branches being the various items, so he would run each one back to try and find the problem. He said he didn't want to just replace the fuse and have it happen again in a few days.

He said his 29 years of experience had been in diagnostics and troubleshooting and looked forward to the challenge. You know the first thing you think is, he's padding the bill with extra hours but he said, as of right now you only owe me for the diagnostics, $55.00 and if I can't run it down , he had some other idea's for running individual circuits and fuses to the items on that one circuit. I didn't follow that as I am not up on electronics but he said he would show me exactly what he would do and it would not be expensive. I'm interested in hearing more about it. Like he said, it is something that the factory doesn't do due to the expense. I will keep everyone posted in the event someone else has this issue.

[ptcruisersteve]

What year is your PT Cruiser?

[War_Eagle]

No I haven't but the previous owner add HID headlights before I got it. Could this be an issue?

[ptcruisersteve]

You might want to check the wiring going to the headlights to see if there is a loose or bare wire shorting to ground.

[War_Eagle]

Thanks Steve. It is an 05 GT

[War_Eagle]

Wanted to update the post. The mechanic had the car at his shop for two days. He had it running in a few hours. It had blown a mini 10 amp fuse in the engine fuse box. He said he had got it running but hadn't found out why the fuse blew and wanted to know if I wanted to take it or have him keep looking. I said, keep looking. He went through the entire electronics, wires, ECM, everything and nothing. He checked to make sure the HID's weren't the problem with a bad install, nothing.

He asked me yesterday if he could take it home with him and see if it would duplicate the problem. I told him sure try everything. He said on the way home he didn't notice much except it was running a little rough and he would l;ook into that this morning. He said he went out to start it this morning and let it warm up and then he noticed it, a broken motor mount. He hurried to his shop and began to take it apart but first he wanted to see how much actual movement there was as he watched as an employee put it in gear with brake on and he saw it. The engine had enough travel to pull wire's and he saw an arc. Small but noticeable. It didn't trip the fuse but it had to be replaced. He replaced it, reset the computer to clear any remaining codes and it runs like money. No vibration, smooth acceleration and quite.

He told me he had heard of such things but this was the first time he saw it. He marked the fuse location, gave me a couple fuses and said, hopefully you never need them. All of his time, labor and the new mount for $197.50 I cannot say how pleased I am to find a fair and honest mechanic. He has all of my future business.