yellowdog Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 ...well maybe not kill it but certainly "stun" it.I was driving my son to pick up some tickets for the new Batman movie tonight when suddenly my car lost power, died, then refused to start. No warning beforehand. Seemed like not enough charge was available for the starter to catch. Since I had not had any problems before, either starting or when driving, I am wondering if the heavy rain had anything to do with it.The Maz has already been towed to a local shop and I guess I'll hear from the mechanics tomorrow what their opinion is but I also wanted to hear if anyone else out there had something similar happen to them.Any/all opinions or thoughts are welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89TC-16V Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 electrical stuff doesnt like water or a lose ground either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Probably a charging issue. Wipers, lights and defrosters on may have used up the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest My TC Toy Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Recently my wife's PT died for no reason whatsoever. No indication of anything wrong that day. No starter, no lights and only half the dash lights. It turned out that the battery decided to self distruct. Somewhat confusing since the battery was only three years old and the car is only used in the summer and all winter it is attached to a battery tender. The oddest things do happen.Hope it is only something simple and inexpensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lee_M Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 headlights? AC? wipers? loading the charging system with all of these could drain the battery while driving IF your charging system is sub-par. a good example would be if you have a failed diode in the alternator. with all that load, the alternator would not be able to keep up, and you would be constantly discharging the battery. certain models, discontinued in 1989 by chrysler, had diode packs that are replaceable WITHOUT having to remove the alternator. for more info on charging systems:Alternators and Generators Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowdog Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 headlights? AC? wipers? loading the charging system with all of these could drain the battery while driving IF your charging system is sub-par. a good example would be if you have a failed diode in the alternator. with all that load, the alternator would not be able to keep up, and you would be constantly discharging the battery. certain models, discontinued in 1989 by chrysler, had diode packs that are replaceable WITHOUT having to remove the alternator. for more info on charging systems:Alternators and GeneratorsUnfortunately, the final analysis will have to wait. I called the shop and they are over a week behind with a full lot of cars ahead of me. guess a week from Monday is the earliest I can get someone to dive into it.That said, the mechanic who went out to register the car into their system tried to start it up and told me he thinks the timing belt is broken.Does that sound right? I've never had that kind of problem before so I don't know the symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89TC-16V Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 i lost a timing belt on my 16v daytona and basically it was exactly like what you said happened. i was driving, then car lost all power and refused to start. was it turning and just not starting or was it powerless with no starter function? i had all the cranking in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest george w Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Let's assume that you have an 89 with the Turbo 2.2. If the timing belt is OK then the most likely culprit is the HEP ( Hall Effect Pickup ) inside the distributor. This is a VERY COMMON failure and typically occurs without warning. The HEP is easily changed as it's the black disc assembly inside the distributor just below the rotor. It's held in place by the distributor cap and lifts right out once the rotor is pulled off. There are two pickups inside and two wiring pigtails. One pickup is for ignition and the other is for the fuel injectors. Typically one the wires inside the pigtails breaks or becomes intermittent and you're dead in the water. These are readilly available from Chrysler and the aftermarket. BTW, a HEP failaure typically won't set a code. Some people in the Chrysler community have been known to always carry a spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest My TC Toy Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Reminiscent of carrying around a spare resistor in th 60's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Reichert Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Reminiscent of carrying around a spare resistor in th 60's!Don't forget the 70's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lee_M Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 yellowdog, what was the prognosis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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