I have a 2004 Dodge Stratus SXT 2.4 liter coupe. Just a couple of days ago, my car started to have what appears to be electrical issues. When I was driving, any time I would step on the brakes, my dash would illuminate and the radio would dim (such as what happens when you turn the headlights on). The car was running just fine, though. Hoping it was the battery, I took it to AutoZone and was told the battery was bad. Bought one there on the spot. I put it in in the parking lot and now the car was shutting off on me on top of it still doing the weird electrical thing. Luckily, I live 1/4 of a mile from AutoZone and made it to my garage. It only shut off on me the first 10 minutes of installing the new battery and was good thereafter. But, the dimming of the radio and the illuminating of the dash lights still continues when I step on the brakes. I doesn't always do it, but the majority of the time it does. Please help. I am lost when it comes to electrical issues. Car has 114,000+ miles but runs great. Oh, and my remote start will no longer start the car. It will lock and unlock. Haven't touched the remote start at all and never had a problem with it in the 6 years I've had it.

 

tell me how much you have checked. have you checked all your fuses? if you dont know where that is, there is one fuse box under the hood right next to the positive when you jump it. There is another on the drivers side in the dash. When you open the door you will see on the side of the dash, you can pull on a handle and the panel should pop out. check all the fuses and make sure they are not fried (blackend prongs or discolored fuses). Do you have any aftermarket electrical equipment in your vehicle?(subs, amp, sterio, lights, etc...) did you check to see if your clamps to your battery are corrodid(recently happend to a friend of mine)?

 

I did check fuses and battery terminals. Not the problem. The problem has gone away. One night, going back to my car after work, I noticed the antenna for the radio towards the rear of the car was really loose. Looked like it was unscrewed and about to fall off. I grabbed a wrench and quickly tightened it. Now, when the problem started, it had rained that day. I check through the trunk and felt a lot of moisture around the carpeted covering around the rear light and am assuming that the wires the the rear lights has gotten wet and was causing a short. I haven't had any more problems since the day after I tightened the antenna. I guess it just needed to dry up. Thanks for your reply.