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2002 Pt Cruiser Touring Edition Won't Start

For the second time to the day in as many weeks my Cruiser has fialed to start. Stone dead. It ran beautiful up to this point. Last week the dealer towed and found and replaced a blown ignition fuse in the engine compartment fuse block. No cause was found and came back to me as a fluke. Now a second time. Something is casuing it for the life of me. No symptoms. no flash, noises, smell, strane behavior but yet it happens after I shut it off and went to start it again. Nothing at all from ignition since the fuse blew apparently on shut off or during the last engine run. What can be the possible casue and what should dealer be looking for if anyone knows. I would suspect the ignition interlock on steering column or faulty starter but remember there is no prior symptoms suggesting either. Nick

Reply to
var
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These are very difficult. The dealer should start by putting an ammeter in series with the fuse and looking at the current being used by the circuit. If it is not excessive (ie: 19 amps on a 20 amp fuse, etc) then it's intermittent, and it could be any electrical part on that circuit. Obviously a visual exam of the wiring harness that this circuit passes through is in order. if that is OK then they can try shotgunning it by replacing all ignition parts fed by this circuit, or they could splice in lower-amperage fuses into each part fed by this circuit and seeing which one of those blows. If none of them blows but the main fuse still is blowing, then the wiring harness is at fault.

My guess is you have a pinched wire in the harness somewhere. Most of these automakers have a hell of a lot to learn about proper routing of wires, they seem to take great delight in designing the harnesses so they are inches from hot exhaust manifolds, are tightly bound over parts like valve covers that need to be periodically removed, etc.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt
040724 2240 - var posted:

If you have the installed alarm system, maybe the key you are using does not activate the sensor for ignition. If you have another key, try that and see if it will fix the problem.

Reply to
indago

Which fuse is it? Our previous 95 Stratus 2.4L had a similar problem where fuse 8 in the underhood fuse block (20A) would blow when starting. This particular fuse controlled the starter. The starter was going south and the increased load would blow the fuse. Initially, it would happen in maybe 1 in

30 starts. Subsituting a 25A fuse (not recommended) stopped the fuse from blowing and helped me determine the starter was bad (one could then bang on the starter and get the thing to engage without blowing the fuse). Replacing the starter fixed the problem.

Good luck.

Bob

Reply to
Robert Meyer

Reply to
mic canic

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