1999 Concord

Hi,
I have a 1999 Concord with 87k miles I have a strange problem. Every once in
a while the whole electrical system goes dead. Acts as if there is no
battery in the car.
I took the car to Chrysler and the could not find a problem. Does anybody
have any ideas?

Thank you for your time and trouble,

Irwin Opper

 

A possibility: The positive jump node nuts can get slightly loose and
intermitent on the stud - it happened on my '99 Concorde (BTW - with an
"e" on the end) a couple of years ago. It's hard to spot because if you
check the tightness of the nuts with a wrench, they will seem to be
tight - but only because the threads are spot welded and galled from the
arcing as they make and break the current. The way to really tell is to
grab the cable terminals - one by one - and attempt to rotate them
around the positive jump node stud. If you cannot rotate them with
moderate effort, then this is probably not the problem, however, a loose
or only slightly tight one will be easily turned by hand and will indeed
be intermitent (and if you find that to be the problem, you will
probably find the loose nut to have a smokey patina on it from the heat
and arcing - mine did).

BTW - with the exception of the power to the alternator (generator,
whatever) all electrical power for the entire vehicle goes thru that
node - one cable from the battery, two cables out to vehicle loads.

If this isn't the problem (in which case, I will be disappointed after
writing all of the above) 8^) , then suspect some other link in the
electrical chain (battery posts connections, ignition switch, etc.). If
you or someone you know is handy with a voltmeter/multimeter when the
failure occurs, you/they should be able to pinpoint the exact point of
failure in short order using logic and basic troubleshooting skills
(and/or possibly you can induce the failure by wiggling some wires &
connectors).

HTH.

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

Do you have another car with one of those thick keys which is part of the
security system. If the 2 keys are too close when starting the car it may
confuse the car and stop it from starting according to my Toyota manual.
Haven't checked my Chrysler manual to see if they have the same warning.

 

Thank you for your responses. I will check out the battery cables on
Friday.

Thanks again. )

 

Checked my cables and found one with a little play. Works fine now.