Maintenance / Repairs :: Electrical System Failure After A Jump Start?
Jun 29, 2012
So a co-worker needed a jump after leaving her lights on. Her car was parked on a busy road and I had to pull up next to her in the opposing traffic lane to be able to reach her battery. In my haste I put the clamps on the wrong battery terminals on MY car (hers were correctly attached). When I got in my car to start it I could see the wires were smoking and immediately got out and disconnected the cables. We ultimately needed to purchase new cables and were able to start the car. The problem is now her radio doesn't work and when she brought it to the dealer they said there is some kind of electrical system failure?!?! Is that possible? Her car works perfectly fine, except for the radio now so not sure what happened.
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My son's car wouldn't start after parking at burger king. In off, the car has clicks just behind the floor shifter in a black module and under and foward of engine compartment fuse block. Only way to stop clicking is to move ignition switch to another position or pull IB Battery MaxiFuse in engine compartment fuse block. No activity from car in any other ignition position. no instrument panel lights, radio.
Thought ignition switch changed it, same condition. Battery checks out good. jumpstarting even using a second ground on engine doesn't change symptom. I can't find the modules that are clicking in my Chilton manual. What are the clicking modules and how can I move forward to get the car out of the burger king parking lot?
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Missing the point about why to turn off the AC before engine....it is to evaporate the condensate in the interior air handling system so as to dry it out and prevent mold and mildew in the evaporator and duct work area!!!My wife does not like this either, but, it would be very difficult to clean out and kill a moldy mess in the evaporator and duct work. Part of this is also running the fan on a high setting for several minutes or more after killing the A/C compressor to blow things dry!
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Car is chugging when stopped. Changed the spark plugs and fuel filter. Still does it. Now checking the distributor. I've attached a couple pictures. You can see the brown marks. Is this a problem?
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I accidentally left my car on overnight and my battery was dead in the morning, of course. I got it jumped and I drove all the way to work, but every time I slowed down at a light or for traffic the car started shaking. It has to be fairly slow before it starts happening, say 15-10 mph or lower. It never did this before the battery went dead, and it stops as soon as I gave the car any amount of gas at all. I'm hoping this is just a temporary side-effect of having to jump the battery. What the problem might be?
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oil level checked by dipstick, a little low
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I've got broken wires in the driver door. Do I have to solder them?
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My car won't start! When I turn the key, the car doesn't make any sounds aside from the fan turning every few seconds. The car seems to think the engine is going. All the lights and everything turn on (they're hardly turning on now after trying to get the car running for a couple of days). All the wires on the battery and to the starter are in really good shape, no corrosion or damage or anything.
I've tried starting the car while in neutral as well, still nothing. Does this sound more indicative of an issue with the starter or with the battery? My friend and I were trying to get the starter out so I could have it tested but the bolt is on very very tight (broke a wrench trying to undo it). I want to figure out what the most likely culprit is before I go too much further. Unfortunately I'm out of work right now so taking it to a mechanic isn't really an option, but I really really need to get my car fixed.
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Just how common is this? How much can be done about it? Is it sometimes hopeless? Surely no one ever actually welds them up and then machines them back off?
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I was driving my truck back home (70mph) and dashboard said reduced engine power so it slowed me down to 50 then 40 pulled to the side turn it off disconnect battery connected everything again turned work fine for at least 300 ft and turned off completely now it wont start... What could be ? I switch the throttle body and is not it....
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Transmission problem, will not shift lever. If car moves while on P, then the interlock will not disengage. I car doesnt roll at all it will allow me to shift gears but if the cars rolls just one inch then i cant shift gears. Already replace brake sensor.
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I just drove a car I'm looking to buy and the steering wheel was pretty loose. Not jerky, just sloppy.
I can tell it needs an alignment, but what could I be looking at in order to tighten it up?
I've learned that front ends can get pricey pretty quick.
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is it possible for a loose timing chain to cause a engine miss.
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I had my first car 3 months and every thing was going fine, this afternoon I was leaving the motorway and heard a grinding noise in the front passenger side. There are marks in the disc but the pad looks like it has enough meat on it. What is the problem? The driver's side is fine no noise. There is a bit of a lip on the disc so I think it would need changing soon but it's not that bad.
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I was app. 10 miles from home & engine started missing & went into limp mode & yes the light flashed . I limped it home anyway & now have a PO430 code . # 2 spark plug died & caused this , danged plug didn't have a hundred miles on it since new . Replaced that plug & everything's fine except that code . Vehicle runs great . I've also read an 02 sensor could cause this code .
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Change out the penlum gasket and now the check engine light came back on and the codes are 301 and 302 miss fire on the bank 1 and 2. not sure what it is now. mechanic is lost...
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OK I have a 2002 VW Bug TDI and yesterday I got into the car and the windows, sunroof, and mirrors did not work all are power. Now for the fun part. When I leaned over and tried the window button on the passenger side the doors locked. So on the drivers side the window buttons do nothing and the lock button work just fine. On the passenger side the the lock button does nothing but the window button locks and unlocks the car. As best as I can remember the windows worked normally on Monday. I have not looked at the fuse box but would that cause the window button to work the locks?
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My F150 4X4 would not start a few days ago, after only having turned it off a few minutes prior. The gauges would sweep wildly and get stuck at various positions. I checked the fuses and they were fine, then unplugged the battery for a bit and it started back up. Occasionally it won't start and i'll have to disconnect the battery again to get it to start.
I'm still having some strange electrical issues though. The radio no longer turns on unless the ignition is turned to AUX. My back up alarm for going in reverse doesn't come on anymore. The gauges take at least 10 seconds to wake up after starting the truck. The dashboard blinker indicators will randomly stop blinking or making any noise. I was thinking it could be the computer, but could it be something else?
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A couple of weeks ago I came home from work to find my front passenger side wheel completely deflated. I didn't think much of it at the time and thought someone must have let it down. However, ever since then I have had a very low pitched intermittent 'whomp' sound coming from it, when braking at a low speed. When the car comes to a stop, so does the noise.
I'm beginning to suspect that the tyre being deflated was due to it not being properly sealed to the wheel. I'd parked half on/half off the pavement outside my house with the passenger side on the road. I assumed the tyre deflated because it couldn't handle the weight of the car on the tyre. I've inspected the tyre and there are no obvious punctures and the wheel has remained inflated ever since and I've now agreed with my housemate that I can use the drive to park it on for the time being to stop it happening again.
However, before the deflation everything was fine with the car and there was definitely no 'whomp'. What it may be/ways to check what it is myself and/or potential costings of taking it to a mechanic?
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2003 Jetta GLI 2.8L 24v VR6 .... Last night I went to a friends house, everything was normal on the way there, probably 35-40 degrees out. When I got to his house and shut off the car and pulled the key out the power died (clock/trip meter reset) and the alarm started going off. It has done this before once or twice but I could never figure out what it was and it was never really an issue except for the clock resetting.
Jets won, went to leave and the car wouldn't start. It was raining gently at the time but the car has weathered worse. I replaced the battery ~2-4 months ago so it should definitely still be good. Jumped with my friend's car, started on the first try. I let it sit for a bit then we were on our way.
1/4 mile away in the middle of an intersection the car died, power steering, everything, and I had to drift to the other side of the road. The person across the street from me was a cop and it was 12:30 in the morning but he was gone before my car died. I have been driving 5/6 speeds all my life and I know I didn't cause the stall out. The dash lights flickered and dimmed. I shut everything off and then gave it a try and the car started right up. Revved the engine a few times, reverse and drove away. It was fine the rest of the way home.
The battery connections are tight. The car has started every single time up until now with the new battery. My old battery did leak some acid on the copper connectors and into the main positive power cable but I neutralized all of it and cleaned it off and it looked fine except for some pitting on the outside of the terminal clamp. The car is mostly stock except for the exhaust but that was years ago.
Current Battery Voltage: 12.37 ... I just started the car for the first time this morning and it started perfectly. started @ ~1200 and then settled down to ~800rpm after a bit, it usually does this when its cold out. No codes have been thrown.
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Check hybrid system light came on and the whole dash lit up like a christmas tree. After i jumpstarted the 12v battery when it died. It was driving fine for about half an hour and all of a sudden the lights came on during acceleration from a stop light.
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