1. Home
  2. Chrysler Cars
  3. Wierd electrical fault

Wierd electrical fault

Hi

I have a Chrysler Neon LX manufactured Jan 2003, I acquired it in November 05 & it has been running ok, nice little car, just as happy on the motorway as around town. Since the weekend I have had the following faults happen 5 times, pretty much once a day.

All of the dashboard lights come on or sometimes only the airbag & ABS light, the engine either cuts (not stalling, just loss of power) for about 5 seconds. At the same time if the factory fitter car stereo is on, the power to that dies & in 3 out of the 5 cases it has required the security code to be entered. This signifies to me that there has been a complete power loss to the whole car, because the memory backup of the stereo would be a permanent live? The power all comes back as normal after 3 - 5 seconds & if driving the engine restarts, even though it is an auto & I didn't think a rolling start worked on auto's. I am just worried that if that happens in the middle of pulling out of a junction it could cause a bit of a predicament.

I have it booked in to a general mechanic because the main dealers have extortionate labour rates of =A390 per hour, hell they are probably all driving beemers & mercs. I just wanted to know if I could give the mechanics some info because they didn't sound too confident in their ability to find this fault because it is so intermittent. It can also happen if the engine is cold or hot & it has happened both when the car is in gear & driving at around 45 mph & at a standstill idling. So I don't think it is speed or temperature related.

Any info would be appreciated. I saw a topic similar to this in this group in 1998 about a 95 Neon, but I am not sure if the electrical system is the same, they said it was the ignition switch. I have tried wiggling it & the loom but it did not trigger a reaction from the vehicle at the time, I have also tried moving battery cables & the fuse box loom around to see if there were any bad connections, but it did not cause the fault to re-occur.

Thanks in advance for your help=20

Scott - London - UK

Reply to
jailorspet
Loading thread data ...

Since the memory backup for the radio probably does not go through the ignition switch it probably isn't that.

What I would do if it were my car is put a voltage meter on the output of the alternator, and keep an eye on it. When the car does it's thing next, see if the meter indicates a power loss. If not, then reconnect the meter farther along the wiring from the alternator and repeat the test. It may take a week of moving the meter around. obviously you want a sensitive analong meter not some digital display.

If you have a momentary drop at the alternator then it's probably that part.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

I think you may want to look into you alternator or the belts, if this is not hte case look into your wiring.. you may have a electrical problem or short that may cause bigger damage in the long run.. get it checked.

Reply to
downwithdodgeandchrysler

Hi

I put a voltmeter on the battery terminals & the battery seems fine, the alternate appears to be charging ok, but I had the engine running for over 1 hour & it didn't do it once. Last night though the damn thing wouldn't start at all, it was like the battery was drained, this morning there still wasn't enough juice to pop the central locking & I had to open the door manually, then I tried to turn it over & as soon as I put the key into the ignition the speedo & rev counter needles went all over the place. They settled down after a few seconds & I tried to turn the engine & it worked perfectly. Would the ignition barrel actually cause a complete power failure if it were faulty?

Reply to
jailorspet

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.