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Hi Eric,
I have a 2000 Intrepid, 3.2L, about 156,000miles on it. I have had the car for several years now. The car runs great but just recently, one day, the power just went out in it. Totally dead – dashboard, headlights, etc… – nothing worked. Got a jump and it started right up! However, if I turned it off and tried starting it again, it was dead again everywhere xcpt the battery. I checked the battery out- no prob there -12.7V. A jumpstart worked a few times but not anymore. It doesn’t even crank and the starter solenoid doesn’t even click. I have the orig. shop manual on my computer as well as the Haynes manual, DMM, test light,etc… I’m pretty good at testing things but I don’t know where to start and what order to test them at to eliminate possible problems, one by one. Please help!!!! Thanks in advance!!!!
P.S. – I performed a parasitic load test and everything is o.k. as far as that goes.
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When you jump started the car, did you connect the leads directly to the battery posts, or did you connect the negative to the engine block?
If you connected to the block, the negative wire to the starter, engine block and fender May be the issue. Otherwise, it’s probably a fusible link in the engine fuse/relay box.First of all – Thanks for responding.
Well with the Intrepid, the battery is in the right fender well – kind of a pain to get to, so what Dodge did was make “extension posts” near the battery for both the positive and negative side to make it easier to jump. I put BOTH clamps on these – NOT on the engine block to jump it. I forgot to mention in my orig. post that when I checked for voltage at these “extension posts”, there was NO voltage. It’s strange too, because I checked the battery cables as much as possible and they seem fine – solid, clean, no breaks or melted areas – as far I can see. As for the fusible link that you mentioned, there aren’t any in the fuse/relay box, just one connected off the positive cable from the battery. I looked at it too and it seemed fine although I didn’t unwrap the tape to check where it’s connected however the smaller gauge wire in the middle part of it looked fine. đSounds like you have a connection issue between the jump posts and the battery. maybe as simple as corrosion on the battery side post terminals. You can use a voltmeter set to ohms to check for continuity between the jump post and the battery leads. Infinitive resistance means an open circuit.
i think you meant to say to set the DMM to the continuity setting. I will def. check that out – (continuity between the jump posts and the battery terminals). Resistance a.k.a Ohms is a different thing. As far as the posts are concerned, they are all clean – the battery posts AND the jump posts. I cleaned them really well. I was also thinking that maybe a relay on the circuit went bad. I am going to test them on Sat (can’t do it Fri unfortunately). I just want to make sure that they are working properly. I’ll keep you posted. đ
Before you spend time on the relays, which are not likely to all fail simultaneously, try running in jumper cables from the battery to the jump posts. If everything now works, the relays are fine, though the relay box or power distribution module might still be bad. Don’t be afraid to check for power where the battery connects to the fuse box.
I’ve seen fusible links or fuses knock out the engine, but leave the radio or some other light working. Your problem sounds different, more like complete lack of body ground.I will check all of those things that you mentioned plus the relays on Sat. The one fusible link which is near the battery is fine. Fusible links are normally NOT put in fuse panels/fuse boxes. I am going to check ALL of the fuses/relays that MIGHT possibly have something to do with this. I am also going to check the ignition switch just to be sure that that’s OK. I have to get in there anyway because I want to check my multi-function switch so I can “kill two birds with one stone” so to speak. Duede – trust me – i know about this stuff. Resistance which is actually measured in Ohms is DIFFERENT than continuity. Continuity just checks if there is a break in the wire for example. Resistance can impede current flow, amperage or whatever. An example would be if a battery terminal had a lot of corrosion on it and the volatage and amperage weren’t getting through to where it needs to go, then that particular terminal would have a lot of resistance – hence a VERY high Ohm reading. Trust me – They are DIFFERENT. Just look at a multi-meter. Ohms is one selection on the meter and continuity is a different selection.
Sorry for the confusion. Some of us don’t have continuity settings for our multimeters and have to use resistance…..
I’m sure you know what I was getting at. Continuity checks can help check wiring in inaccessible locations. And you can easily check for power at the relay box while using the battery as a ground, vs using the engine block as a ground to also check one of the grounds.No problem. No harm done. Unfortunately, I donât have a lot of experience testing for voltage on cars. I mean, donât get me wrong – I know HOW to do it. I just donât know exactly where to put the leads and in what order to do it in. In other words, where to start first. I mean – I know I have to follow the circuit and I know how to read a schematic and wiring diagrams but I really donât know where all of the connections are – hot and ground – on the car. I wish I had a friend who knew how to do this and who could help me out. Believe me – I would pay him. I mean – the learning experience would be invaluable. I will test as many things as I can tomorrow on Saturday. Wish me luck. ï
On the surface of it, using an ohmmeter to check connection between battery post and battery terminal sounds meaningful. The problem with this approach is that this is a high current circuit. The ohmmeter does not test the circuit while under load. Set your meter to the DC Volt setting and measure from the battery post to the battery terminal WHILE A HELPER IS TURNING THE STARTER SWITCH. If you see more than a few tenths of a volt, remove the terminal and investigate. This is called a Voltage Drop test and is the best approach for the high current of the secondary starter circuit.
In fact, from your symptoms, you might just start by wiggling around on the starter cable to see if it will try to turn the starter. Removing the cables and cleaning them, as well as the battery post, then ensuring that they are tight when reconnected, would be a good starting point if you are not familiar with the electrical checks involved. It’s good preventive maintenance to clean them periodically anyway.
It sounds as if the problem will be at your battery terminals, but if they turn out to be tight and not dropping much voltage after cleaned and tightened, post back here and will keep the process going.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for responding. Also, thank you for the tips. I will try to check that stuff out today. The cables attached to the starter are kind of a pain to get to. I will do my best to test it. I will let you know.
I probably forgot to mention this but I cleaned the battery posts and terminals from the get-go. I also forgot to mention that when I was stuck in the Advance Auto Parts parking lot in the beginning of this ordeal, they tried to give me a jump and the solenoid just kept clicking and then the second time we tried it – silence. No clicking what-so-ever. I tested for voltage on the jump posts and for voltage to the Power Junction Fuse/Relay box under the hood and there was the proper voltage in all of those places. I checked any ground connections that I could find (I prob. didnât get them all) and they were in very good shape. I also tested the ignition switch and that tested O.K. too. Tomorrow (Sunday), I am going to try and remove the starter and either bench test it myself and/or bring it to Autozone to bench test it. I have a feeling that the starter solenoid might be shot. The terminals probably need a cleaning anyway. So, I could âkill two birds with one stoneâ so to speak. I will let you know when thatâs done and then weâll take it from there. đ
Well, itâs Monday and I finally got the starter out (What a major PITA). I removed the engine mount on the left side where the starter is to give me more room (donât worry – I jacked the engine up properly – right now itâs sitting on a jackstand with a piece of plywood.) Anyway, I tested it with my battery and it worked FINE!! AHHH!! The terminal was pretty clean – I mean not really a lick of corrosion on it either. The cables looked good too however right where the negative battery cable attaches to the starter motor body for the ground looked somewhat frayed. However, it looks like just the insulation is a bit frayed and worn – I canât tell if the wiring is damaged at all. Do you think that the problem lies within the ignition system? As I stated before, I tested the ignition switch and it was O.K. Any ideas/suggestions? I am at a loss right now.
Even though I bench tested the starter motor myself and it checked out O.K., I wanted Autozone to test it for me anyway and to also look at the teeth on the gear because I thought they looked a little worn. The man in Autozone said that a few of them did. There was a place right down the block from there that rebuilds starters and alternators so I talked to the guy there. He agreed about the teeth being worn but he feels that maybe the solenoid was the problem. He normally charges $85 but he said he would re-build it for me for $75. So he told me to test if I were getting at least 12V to that connection. I went home and tested for that and I tried to get a good chassis ground and I got about 10-11V and change at that connection. My neighbor helped me out by turning the key with the battery connected (My mom was gone – had to pick up my nephew at school). I am going to buy a new one since itâs not much more than the price of totally rebuilding this one.
Well, just to let everyone know – the car is fixed. Unfortunately, it was a bit beyond my scope of repair. I brought it in to my mechanic on Wednesday, May 25th and got it back on Wednesday, June 1st. It was (2) things actually – A broken ground wire way down deep in one of the main harnesses AND the Sears battery was NOT holding a charge anymore EVEN THOUGH Sears tested the battery several times and claimed it was good. With all due respect to Sears, their little machine for checking the batteries is not that great. I know my mechanic – I totally trust him. He wouldnât sell me a battery just for the sake of selling me a battery. He said that he could do a lot better job testing it than they can and I believe him. So, Sears wonât give me my money back so now I have to fight for that which I WILL do. Not to mention that an ASE master tech on ScottyKilmer.com also thought that it was the battery and a poor connection. Well – based on the diagnosis on the car – He was SPOT ON!! So thatâs it. I am just glad I got my car back. ï
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