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Question - Yes! What's steps do we need to do? Are they outlined in the manual, and what tools would you need?
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Question - Well before we left for the store my husband washed the car. I know once before going through a carwash caused the same problem and the car wouldn't start for a litle while. So I figured that was the same problem. Not the case. However once we replaced the battery the lights would come on and yes would attempt to crank.
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Two weeks ago my car died at a local store. I tried to start and it would just make a noise attempting to turn over but wouldn't. The dash lights, and radio were still working, but when reattempting the lights began to fade. Finally got my husband to jump the car to get it home. He took the battery to AutoZone to have tested and it was dead. We replaced the battery. Still no luck, so we changed the alternator, no luck. Changed the starter with still no luck. Not sure if it is something electrical. We have a manual and he mentioned something about the starter relay, but he changed that today and still nothing. Any suggestions, please help need my car back.
Answer -
when you turn the key to start it, does it attempt to crank? (engine is turning and trying to start) or, is there just silence? Does the car have an aftermarket alarm system with a starter interrupt? these alarms can cause this to happen also. try to be as descriptive as possible in regard to noises and conditions
Reply: Well when this first started yes it attempted to crank the first time. Then I kept trying and this is when I noticed the lights getting dimmer with each try to start the car. There is no alarm on the car. It's not making a choking sound it's more of a clicking sound when you attempt to start the car.
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2 part question/reply. 1st, did the car get driven through deep water at all? and 2nd, after the new battery was installed, did the car crank or did the dash lights just go dim and nothing else?
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ok, on this car, there was a problem with water getting into the electrical box which houses the engine computer and transmission computer. there is a drain located at the fresh air intake in the engine compartment which gets clogged with debris. when a large volume of water is encountered, the fresh air intake fills with water and runs into the electrical box. the engine computer gets wet and becomes damaged. i am willing to guess that this is probably what happened but you got lucky the 1st time and the car corrected itself. is someone in the family mecahnically inclined to open the box and take a look?
Answerin the engine compartment on the passenger side firewall, there is a hard foam cover. remove the cover and you should see 3 screws holding an access panel to the firewall. remove the panel. this will give you access to the engine and transmission control units. the engine control unit should be on the top. it slides out with a little force. visually inspect it for water damage indicated by water marks and a light green discoloration
