Just put a new battery in my stealth..now 5 days later it dies going into a hard 2nd..out of my driveway..yes i was having a mad moment..smile. Now needs a jump every time..but when I close my hood it immediately dies and loses all charge. My boyfriend adjusted the battery and tightened one of the battery terminals that seemed lose...still nothing...any help please??

 

One of the terminals isn't touching the hood is it??

 

First thing I tried to check..doesn't seem to be..there was no prob the day the new battery was installed..started right up and then like I said I was pulling out of my driveway and went to 2nd a little rough..thought I had just stalled it out for a min...but there was no charge and now my battery seems drained out...not even 2 weeks later...grrr....can this be some alternator prob? And what the heck is the deal with the hood??? lol...sorry I guess you can tell I'm car mechanics illiterate,,,and really I don't want to get screwed by labor costs or parts on something that I may not need...really appreciate anymore comments..Thanks

 

When I replaced the battery on my RT, the new battery was shorter than the previous one. The battery tie down would not tighten up enough to hold the battery in place. Luckily, the new batter came with a spacer....great. Well, I started to get an intermittent hesitation, sometimes it would stall, usually under hard braking or acceleration. One day while I was cleaning the terminals, I noticed there was a "burnt" spot on the terminal, I looked at the hood heat sheilding and noticed a burn spot on it...it was shorting out on the hood. I removed the spacer from under the battery and put it on top of it, and have not had a problem since. I know, it sounds strange...but...

 

Alright you know what I'm gonna check that out..meanwhile a little update. The car is sitting dead in my drive after being towed back from the spot where it cut off..cut back on..white smoke started coming out on the front right side of my hood..at the top under the wipers. Same time some clear fluid spurted out from same spot on both sides...top of hood..smoke began pouring into the car from the air vents and it seemed like thru my steering wheel too. Took the key out..jumped out quickly with my 15 yr old girl..and the car chortled and jumped forward a bit.....there was a horrible strong smell...maybe electrical...and then smoke cleared..all in about 1 min. I tried to move it out of the road..the accelerator pad felt like it was locked..or like a brick was up under it..sooooooo that was enougn for me..lol. Now the car is just dead..going to try to jump it later..is this a smart idea?

Sooooooooo much thanks for your help man!!

 

Before jumping the car, get a flashlight and look all around the engine bay for burnt wires, it sounds like you may have shorted something out. The accelerator cable runs along the back side of the intake, along the fire wall, check there for burnt wires too, something has to be preventing the cable from moving.

Please check thoroughly for burnt wires in the bay before you try to jump start it. You wouldn't want to burn the car to the ground....unless you have full coverage...then you might. j/k