car is completely dead out of nowhere

nineball · Post by **nineball** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:36 pm

murphy's law strikes again.

i bought a new car today and traded in 05 sxt as part of the deal. took the car home to take out the audio equipment and started it just to make sure everything was fine and it went immediately to redline. looked over the engine and found i had forgotten to reconnect the tube from the airbox to the tb. reconnected it, started up and everything was fine, even let it run for a good minute. cleaned up the garage and went to start the car again and it is completely dead. i mean dead - no lights, no horn, no gauges, no nothing. i checked every single fuse inside and out, battery connections, power and ground cables and even went so far as to try jumping from the battery terminal directly to the fuse box just to check the line and nothing worked. the battery is 2 months old and sitting at 12.6 so i know it has juice.

the car is sitting in the drive now and i'll have to have it towed to my mechanic in the morning but before that happens i thought i would post here just to see if anyone had any possible solutions.

mjrpaine · Post by **mjrpaine** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:45 pm

what kind of car ?

nineball · Post by **nineball** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:46 pm

2012 fusion

He Hate Me · Post by **He Hate Me** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:46 pm

Check the alternator post is attached?

nineball · Post by **nineball** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:51 pm

didn't disconnect the alt, but even if it was i would still have power when i turned the ignition on.

mjrpaine · Post by **mjrpaine** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:55 pm

Sounds more like its an ignition problem ... or maybe the key fob ...

nineball · Post by **nineball** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:07 am

don't think it's the keyfob as everything was working fine one minute then nothing the next. just to be safe i tried my spare and it was no different.

i'm leaning towards an ignition problem too but i won't know until tomorrow.

mjrpaine · Post by **mjrpaine** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:21 am

nineball wrote:2012 fusion

should have stuck with a Dodge ...

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:01 am

Wait, is it the neon with the problem, or the Fusion?

If it is the neon, just have the dealer tow it in. You may take a little loss on the trade in value, but it may be cheaper than having an independent mechanic fix it. Most salespeople will work with you to keep the deal.

I can't see you worrying about a car with a warranty.

nineball · Post by **nineball** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:19 am

no, it's the neon. the dealership is about 45 mins away so towing there isn't an option, and i trust my mechanic more than i do the stealership.

i would have bought another chrysler product if they had not taken the bailout money.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:01 am

If you traded it, it would be in the dealer's best interest to fix it correctly. My buddy traded his Cherokee, and it literally blew up as he was driving it onto the lot. This was after the paperwork, as he traded an S15 Sonoma also. They took like $100 off the value. Most salesmen will work with you. But the distance thing is a valid issue, as most dealers don't have their own tow trucks anymore.

It never hurts to ask tho. They may get concerned if the car is in the shop for a while after you take delivery. Just as an example, not saying it would take that long...

nineball · Post by **nineball** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:03 am

ya i thought about that too but actually just got off the phone with my sales guy to let him know the tow truck just picked it up. my mechanic is a 20 year friend and is doing me a favor by taking the neon in as soon as it gets there in 10 mins. now i just have to sit back and wait, hoping it is not too expensive of a repair. i would hate to have to shell out the $3400 i got in trade for it out of pocket.

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 10:08 am

nineball wrote:i would have bought another chrysler product if they had not taken the bailout money.

Off topic, but why is that an issue? That money has been completely paid back (and years before they said they would).

Just wondering.

nineball · Post by **nineball** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:13 pm

personal choice. i just like the fact that ford was the only major us car retailer that did not need to borrow to stay alive. i know the government will never give me a bailout so why should someone else get it? i can't personally do anything about it other than control where my dollars go.

back on topic, no clue what the problem was but after the tow down to my mechanic the car was mysteriously fine and started right up, so it has to be a loose connection somewhere. well that or the fact that it knows it was sold and was just putting up a temper tantrum (this is where i would place the blame). he gave it a once over and couldn't find anything loose or wrong for that matter. it isn't my problem anymore, dropped it off about an hour ago at the dealer.

now i just have to make a for sale thread when i get home tonight for the custom fiberglass pieces i made for the trunk/hvac bezel and maybe the avic as well. i wasn't all that interested in the sync system but after playing with it for a bit i must admit it is pretty nice. all voice commands, streaming bt, works perfectly with my iphone (calls, audio, bt audio, phone book, call history, etc) and calls sound perfect to the person on the other end - no echo, no delay, just perfect.