2001 Chrysler Sebring Problems

AGGGHHH! I can't read that huge sentence if you don't put some punctuation in it. The only thing I think I'm sure of is you're expecting the battery to charge up after it has been sitting for a year. Good luck with that. Even if no lights were left on, you can only expect a good battery to stay charged for three weeks if you don't run the engine in between. That's due to the memory circuits of the numerous computers constantly drawing current. The battery froze over winter. That's what causes the sides to bulge out. Constant over-charging will do that too, but that's not the issue here. Even if the battery didn't freeze, the plates will be sulphated after sitting a long time while it's dead. It is rare for them to fully recover from that. You would need to put it on a trickle charger for a day or two, then see if it will hold a charge.

You can expect to find the engine is hard to start unless you hold the accelerator pedal down 1/4", you won't get the nice "idle flare-up" to 1500 rpm at start-up, and it will tend to stall at stop signs. Anytime the battery is disconnected or run dead, the Engine Computer has to relearn "minimum throttle" before it will know when it has to be in control of idle speed. To meet the conditions for the relearn to take place, drive at highway speed with the engine warmed up, then coast for at least seven seconds without touching the pedals.

Nope. You just need a new battery. Once you managed to get the engine started with just jumper cables, which is quite an accomplishment in itself, the alternator keeps the electrical system going. It is supposed to recharge the battery too, but not when the battery is bad. The engine and the rest of the electrical system will run on the alternator until you stop the engine, then everything will be dead again.

Also be aware that the battery helps to stabilize the electrical system from voltage spikes and surges, and you don't have that protection right now. What you basically have is you're running the engine with, in effect, no battery. That is real bad news, and I have about a two-hour reply that I copy and paste when I read that someone did that. If this was a GM product, they have a real miserable generator design, (Chrysler developed the "alternator" and copyrighted the term), that develops huge voltage spikes under the best of circumstances, and disconnecting the battery with the engine running can destroy multiple computers. Chrysler systems are much more forgiving, but it's still not good practice to run the engine with no battery or a failed one.

There's one more thing to be aware of. Alternators and generators are real inefficient at low speeds. That can save you from doing damage to other circuits and computers. Do not raise engine speed or try to drive the car like this. As the alternator speeds up, its output voltage will go up a little, and that voltage is also what makes it generate its output voltage and current. The faster it goes, the higher the voltage goes. It is real easy to reach over 30 volts, and that's what destroys computers and any light bulbs that are turned on. The voltage regulator is supposed to control that, but the battery is the other part of the team. The voltage regulator can't control system voltage by itself.

Put a battery in it, drive it, and do the relearn procedure. It will be fine.