Electrical troubleshooting

Tiny
LOGO6925
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 DODGE NEON
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
  • 150,000 MILES
Why does electrical system 'shuts down', when load is applied, good batt, lose everything?
My 99 Dodge Neons electrical system 'shuts down' every time a laod is applied like starter or lights. It slowly recovers to a point to try again, but same result. The battery is good, tested and charged. (I suspected a dead cell, but not so) I suspect a relay but not sure because of inexperience. I need advice and assistance quick! It is the family daily driver and no money for mechanic.
Category
Cars & Transportation > Maintenance & Repairs
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 AT 1:50 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,761 POSTS
You either have a bad battery or a bad connection somewhere. Try putting a voltmeter across the battery and monitor the voltage while trying to start it. If the voltage suddenly drops, then your problem is right at the battery. If not, the the connection problem is further down the line.
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Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 AT 2:05 PM
Tiny
LOGO6925
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  • 3 POSTS
All connections are good, there must be a part between the battery, the fuseblock and the system that is failing. Could the under-hood fuse block itself need to be replaced? You see, when load is applied, all power is lost to lights, ignition, internal fuseblocks etc, not just the starter. That is why I suspected a dead cell, but it checked out good at Pep Boys and a jump from a very good truck did no good either. Thourough cleaning of all terminals, posts, cable ends etc. Also had no effect. It slowly, as you walk away scratching your head, builds up the electrical system again for another 'click'/dead session when you return later to retry (again, dead cell symptom but not so). Lights should never stop working unless the battery is dead, or the relay is bad and the relay is good, the battery is good; I am really stumped. This is not an 'easy fix' so please give it a little more professional thought. Thank you! Waiting patiently.
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Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 AT 9:09 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,761 POSTS
Yeah, I said that. You have a bad connection at a power supply.
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Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 AT 9:16 PM
Tiny
LOGO6925
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  • 3 POSTS
I cant believe you charged me five dollars to tell me what I already know. I wanted your professional knowledge to zero in on the exact part for me to replace, otherwise, I don't need you. My message clearly stated that and you should have told me that you are not knowledgeable enough to truly troubleshoot the problem any better than me. That is something I could do and make money off of people too, but, I would look in the manuals and really research the individual possibilities for the customers to narrow down their search. I will go buy the manual now, and solve it myself, but I wanted to make sure you knew how useless you really are, and that your service is only for 'stupid' people.
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Thursday, November 25th, 2010 AT 5:52 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,761 POSTS
I'm sorry but we don't use the crystal ball method. You car has to be physically examined and the poor connection tracked down. Nobody in any book or on the Internet is going to be able to tell you where the problem is. I have told you what to look for and all you seem capable of doing is insulting the people trying to help you so I wish you good luck.
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Thursday, November 25th, 2010 AT 6:01 PM

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