Hello guys,


Well I got my avenger some new shocks and wheel bearings, I drove it home, about a 2 miles from home the battery light came on, I had a feeling it was dying. I made it home, just as the car died.

I put a new battery in, and now the car wont start. I can hear the starter spin but it wont engage. Also when I turn the car to on, the windshield wipres wont turn off. The radio doesnt work, no blickers and the dome light stays on even with the doors shut, and the crusie control light stays on.

Is it possible I blew a fuse or the starter during the battery installation, maybe the ground touched the negative post the same time I put the positive on.

Anyone else have this problem?

Here's another question, If my battery dies, does the car just shut off or keeps runing aslong as you dont shut it off?

I'm wondering if the alternator went.

 

i will look into the majority of this question but the simple answer is no to the 2nd question....you have it backwards if the battery goes it wouldnt drag the alternator down ( pending you didnt drive it with a bad battery 4 miles on end.....which is hard to do) with it but if the alternator goes it would drag the battery down with it.....once either one of those go its only a matter of minuets before the car shuts off.....if your alternator is bad u can tell by dimming lights....check battery light is on....n iv been told sumtimes there will be a weird carcoal buring smell.....if you have a older avenger check to make sure all wires are connected to alternator as carroded wires seem to be the number one cause that iv lost alternators of the yrs.....also simply go to autozone n have them test the battery for free

 

Thanks for the kind reply player.

I will check wires right now and report back if I find anything. The new battery is in place but I had to unhook it because the interior lights stay on even if the doors are close. I'm wondering if I blew something installing the new battery. I usually put the positive on first then the negative, but I think the negative lead touched the neg post, and I saw a small arc.

I'll check the wires and fues.

Thanks again

 

Well the new battery works fine. I think I just blew something. As before the Wipers stay on when you turn the key, the radio doesnt work, cruise control light is on, and the interior lights wont shut off. Fuses seem ok, no bad wires far as I can tell.

Very frustrating as I needed this car to drive to new hampshire all week.

Oh well back to the shop.

 

no problem bud......if u mean u need 2 take this car to new hampshire to watch the races this weekend then cuz thats how i would feel.......as 4 your cars problem it is going 2 b easiest to diagnoist if u just simply get sumbody to run a scanner through it get the codes and go from there.....o n another tid bit of knowledge that has been packed away.....chrysler/dodge cars seem to have a history of even though the starter clicks it MAY be dead or have a malfunction.....hope this is a help

**my dad just pointed this out** - there is a auto shutdown relay that you couldv blown meaning..... no power to the fuel pump.....no power to the coil.....no engine turnover

 

Thanks alot Hckyplayer8,

I'll check into those things. I think its probly something simple just hard to pin point. I put to much in this car to turn back. I'm gonna have it scanned tomorrow and see what comes up. Also getting a hans manual.

I'll post back if I find out what happened, maybe it will help someone else.

Thanks again,
Aaron

 

what if it turns but it will not start???
battery is fine... well the details are here...

 

Definitely check all the fuses in both locations. If the work done to your car was as simple as swapping out an old battery for a new one, there shouldn't be any reason for what you're getting, unless there was one huge spark or sparks while connecting the wires to the posts.

If you battery dies while driving because of dead cells, your car should stay running until you shut it off btw, but it's not very easy on the alternator.

 

Well I'm a step closer I decided to purchase a second battery as they were on sale. I checked the starter. Seems the cable runing to it was loose. I tightened it, installed a new battery and a new ground cable all the way from the starter up to the battery (the way it was orginally installed) so I could get a clean connection the car started up fine.

So I took it up the street and back a few times. Rides nice with new shocks and springs. Now it's boiling down to this.

The radio still wont come on, but this time I get no heat or air, and the ABS light stays on., but the wipers work, the crusie light is off, and all the lights blinkers worked fine. I came back home and let it run for a few more minutes and I saw the battery light pop on and I shut the car down before the battery died.

Now I'm thinking its the alternator as far as I can tell because when this all happened the car just shut off dead and like silver said it should have kept running if the alternator was fine.

All my fuses are nice and clean and not broken or burnt. I will investigate why the ABS, Heat/Air, and radio dont work after I install a new alternator, but I'm wondering if its because the Alternator is dead that some things just are working, or am I wrong to say that?

Thanks again guys,
Aaron

 

You are correct to assume that the other stuff isn't working or the dummy lights are on because of low battery power. For example, the radio won't come on if the battery is below a certain voltage (~12v) because it needs that amount of power to even turn on. Things will start to fail because there just isn't enough battery power to sustain them...thus in the end the battery dies from constant use and no recharge. The starter won't even turn over below....um, I think it's ~10 volts, don't quote me on that, but the point is that there's a certain amount of voltage everything needs to properly run.
I wonder if it's your voltage regulator? Have your alternator diagnosed first to be sure that it's doing what is suspected...being dead.