Weird Electrical(?) Problem(s)

[earlyre]

so, yesterday, as i am leaving the local car wash (32 degrees), just after the air from the blowers moves off the hood, up to the windshield/roof/etc., there's the "trouble bong" noise, and the Battery light shows up on the dash. went away after 30 sec. or so, i just figured, electricy+high pressure water... you know... forward to this afternoon (maybe 45 deg) go to pick up lunch, get back to work, shut off engine, put key to run and listen to radio while eating, the usual, all of the sudden, radio cuts out, comes back, i notice, OH, i left the lights on, turn 'em off, check the voltage reading on the scangauge (9V), OH! turn everything off, TRY to start engine to charge a little, won't turn over, kind of a "womp-womp-womp" sounded like a half turn each time, try it again, same problem. "well [censored]" head back into work. couple hours later, come back out, try the engine 1 more time, get kind of a low growly turn over and fire, with the word fuse flashing up on the odometer during the crank, but it started up, and i let it idle(mainly to try and charge) the rest of the time i was on break. couple hrs later, when i go to go home, starts like normal, drives home just fine.

running fine untill the lunch time stuffs, no codes came up at all.
2005 Dodge Neon 71k mi. (cross posted @ DodgeForum)

 

[user52165]

You don't say how long is your drive home - 3 miles or 30, or ? Drive it enough to get everything fully warm. Also check connections at starter and battery. Dilectric grease is great stuff at spark plug boots, coil connections and any other electrical connector.

 

[earlyre]

all mentioned trips are 5 miles or less.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
all mentioned trips are 5 miles or less.



You're not driving enough to charge the battery and that's why it is low. Idling the engine is not a good way to fully charge a battery either. You need to to hook that battery up to a charger and get it 100% charged. Also - once a week or so try to drive atleast 20-30 minutes on the highway to charge it more. Sitting in the car listening to the radio and leaving your lights on sure doesn't help things, either.

You need to check your alternator as well - that battery light came on at the car wash meant it was not charging...probably on its way to failing on you soon.

 

[meep]

also check battery connections, may look clean and tight but could be dirty inside. take off, rough up, put back on. happens on even very clean cars. prevents battery from getting adequate charge, and causes starting problems. get battery tested since it's been in harsh conditions.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: earlyre
all mentioned trips are 5 miles or less.



You're not driving enough to charge the battery and that's why it is low. Idling the engine is not a good way to fully charge a battery either. You need to to hook that battery up to a charger and get it 100% charged. Also - once a week or so try to drive at least 20-30 minutes on the highway to charge it more. Sitting in the car listening to the radio and leaving your lights on sure doesn't help things, either.

You need to check your alternator as well - that battery light came on at the car wash meant it was not charging...probably on its way to failing on you soon.

[sarcasm] Gee i didn't know that...[/sarcasm]
i know idling isn't "the best way", but was only option at the time (middle of big retail parking lot)
and like i meant to leave the friggin lights on. it was an oops.
and i know what you are saying, but w/ the current gas price trends, i'm not just taking a random 30 min drive w/ no destination for no reason. no offense.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
and i know what you are saying, but w/ the current gas price trends, i'm not just taking a random 30 min drive w/ no destination for no reason. no offense.


Assuming you have no alternator issues, it wouldn't hurt to invest in a good charger and use it, if you don't have one already. Whenever I'm in an extended string of very short trips, particularly in the winter, I periodically hook up the charger. It takes two minutes and is a lot cheaper than a random 30 minute drive.

By the way, at the wash, did the alternator belt possibly get wet and start slipping, such as from an undercarriage wash? Sometimes they'll slip and not make a bunch of noise, either.

 

[eljefino]

So since your scangauge gives you volts what are they when it's running?

5 minutes a run is absolutely enough to keep a battery charged. When they are below 80% state of charge their internal resistance goes down and they get "hungry" and will take everything a 100 Amp alternator has to give, minus the 25 amps or so for running the fuel injection.

A longer drive will top off past that 80% and will be healthier for the battery, but you'll have enough to start.

I think if you had wet belt problems, you'd have noticed a squeal or lack of power steering.

The computer controls the alt in this car, it would throw a code if it had issues. You might be able to get them from the "key dance".

IMO, go through all your fuses in all your fuse boxes (pull them out to look) and check for +12v at the alt "big lug" in case you blew a fusible link but otherwise keep on keeping on.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: earlyre
all mentioned trips are 5 miles or less.



You're not driving enough to charge the battery and that's why it is low. Idling the engine is not a good way to fully charge a battery either. You need to to hook that battery up to a charger and get it 100% charged. Also - once a week or so try to drive at least 20-30 minutes on the highway to charge it more. Sitting in the car listening to the radio and leaving your lights on sure doesn't help things, either.

You need to check your alternator as well - that battery light came on at the car wash meant it was not charging...probably on its way to failing on you soon.

[sarcasm] Gee i didn't know that...[/sarcasm]
i know idling isn't "the best way", but was only option at the time (middle of big retail parking lot)
and like i meant to leave the friggin lights on. it was an oops.
and i know what you are saying, but w/ the current gas price trends, i'm not just taking a random 30 min drive w/ no destination for no reason. no offense.



Sounds like you need to toughen up a little if you're going to stay arounnd this board because we like to joke around and point out the obvious....I was in no way being disrespectful to you.

No offense taken.

But yeah - I can see not wanting to waste gas. Idling the Then again - you may be lucky and the connections are just loose or dirty...happens A LOT.

 

[earlyre]

while running, 13.1-13.7v range.

i really should have used the [sarcasm] tag for the whole response.
sorry.(also it was first thing in the morning for me - pre-caffine)
really sorry about that

don't need to do the keydance, ScanGaugeII will pull codes if there are any (which there weren't/still aren't) the part @ the carwash likely just wet belt syndrome.
@ this point i doubt they two are actually related. the big thing was the weird noise/behavior with not wanting to fire. hit the key, and lug-lug-lug, spent the next two hours worrying, worst case scenarios playing out in my head (what would it sound like if the timing belt broke? i can't afford a rebuild/ or another car right now, etc...)

[censored] today, went to put key in run, and just barely went hit start for a second @ the most, she fired right up. random wet gremlin is what i'm currently writing it off as. (fingers crossed)

 

[Garak]

I think you're right, earlyre. My old Audi's alternator was low and the belt would get wet from the undercarriage wash. It wouldn't make a bit of noise, but it was certainly slipping, since voltage would drop on the gauge and the voltage light would kick in. Squealing would start as it dried up a bit, then it would catch and all would be back to normal.

Of course, a new belt, properly tightened, ended up fixing the issue, but that's another matter altogether.

 

[earlyre]

wow, i knew the langauge filters were tough around here, but [censored]on "H-E-double hockey sticks"?? dang..

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
while running, 13.1-13.7v range.

i really should have used the [sarcasm] tag for the whole response.
sorry.(also it was first thing in the morning for me - pre-caffine)
really sorry about that

don't need to do the keydance, ScanGaugeII will pull codes if there are any (which there weren't/still aren't) the part @ the carwash likely just wet belt syndrome.
@ this point i doubt they two are actually related. the big thing was the weird noise/behavior with not wanting to fire. hit the key, and lug-lug-lug, spent the next two hours worrying, worst case scenarios playing out in my head (what would it sound like if the timing belt broke? i can't afford a rebuild/ or another car right now, etc...)

[censored] today, went to put key in run, and just barely went hit start for a second @ the most, she fired right up. random wet gremlin is what i'm currently writing it off as. (fingers crossed)



No problem, my apologies as well -

Let us know how this progresses for you - hopefully it turns out to be something cheap and easy to fix!

 

[ltslimjim]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
wow, i knew the langauge filters were tough around here, but [censored]on "H-E-double hockey sticks"?? dang..


[censored], I like the way he's talkin' to you.

 

[earlyre]

Well happened again today, it was raining out, leading creedence to water based problem. When I tried to start after everything shut down, sound was actually more of a rapid "clickety-clickety-click." And. Noticed the screen on the scangauge (which is powered by the obdII system) was flickering in time w/ the clicks.
Couple hrs later, turn key, begrudgingly starts.

Only other common denominator was I was running the pass. Side window up when the electrics cut out both times.......

 

[Papa Bear]

Replace the battery.

 

[earlyre]

The batt.(duralast) is only a couple years old, not exactly sure when, lost receipt, but the records indicate it was sometime between 09/27/09, & 02/10/10

This Duralast battery.
and the warranty isnt transferrable when the car is sold.(battery bought & installed by by brother before i bought car from him.)

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
The batt.(duralast) is only a couple years old, not exactly sure when, lost receipt, but the records indicate it was sometime between 09/27/09, & 02/10/10

This Duralast battery.
and the warranty isnt transferrable when the car is sold.(battery bought & installed by by brother before i bought car from him.)


I've had to replace 2 Duralast Gold batterys under their warranty, so I'm not exactly impressed by them. You should just have your brother take the battery up and get a new one.

 

[earlyre]

the shipping would be horrendous...

(he's in the DFW metroplex, i'm in Ohio. 1100 mi drive)
but point taken.

I did notice a fair amount of corrosion on both terminals yesterday when i was checking connections.

now just need to clean 'em up.

 

[Vikas]

I have had to replace batteries earlier due to weird problems. As far as I am concerned, I don't even bother investigating further until I replace the battery if it has more than one year on it. I will put a voltmeter on it and verify if it is charging. If it is, out goes the battery.

Batteries are comparatively cheap, my sanity isn't! If you have bought it from a reputable source, just take it back and get another one.

Replace it, clean the connection and this is now your baseline.

- Vikas