QuestionI am completely at my wits end with this car! My parents bought it brand new, my father was an auto mechanic and kept it running perfectly until his death. We have always had to deal with the seat belt sounding off no matter if we had it on or had been already driving it for 1 hour. It drove my dad crazy also. He took it in during the warranty period and the dealer said that the only way to fix it was to disconnect it. He said he couldn't do that, it was illegal. After my dad passed, we have put in 3 alternators, the last one was done by my husband who doesn't know anything about cars because we could not afford it done professionally. We have put in 3 batteries, new battery plugs or the connectors and a new starter. Two weeks after the last alternator the alternator and battery light came on again. When the first alternator went bad, and the car quit right away, before that the radio would go lower and then louder all by itself. We had Pep Boys put in a new one that took 3 times longer than they said it would. They said this was the first one she put in. I was going through chemotherapy at the time and could not deal with this. About 3 days later we took a trip from Spokane, WA to Seattle WA to watch the Mariners play and sight see. The car died the same way it did the first time on an onramp in the downtown industrial part of Seattle. This was the first time We both had been there. I was sick, tired, scared to death and had no idea where I was. We walked 1 mile to a gas station, where I lost it on the phone because I had no idea where I was or where the car was. My husband was able to describe where we and the car probable was. The tow truck driver helped us and told us that there was just a screw loose where the alternator was attached. When we had more problems, Pep Boys had closed the shop in my town and the closest one was about 350 miles away. Alton Tires said the starter went out, we put in a new one. The next problem was the battery, We had them put in a new one and also new connectors (or terminals) The alternator was said to go bad again, we could not access the warranty because Pep Boys was too far away. Alton Tires charged us about twice the price of the first alternator. Then we again had to buy a new battery because of one of the car parts free test said the alternator was bad. We put in a new alternator ourselves, but the problems have continued without stopping, even for a couple of days. The lights continue to flicker on and off. The radio only works when it wants too, and it often shuts off out of the blue. I am scared that even though If it starts and seems ok. I think that I will be stranded in the cold weather with groceries or my two little children. I also am supposed to use the car to drive to my community college classes which are 30 minutes each way. The only other time we drive it is to take my husband to work which is like 3 minutes driving both ways. I also only use this car to take my kids to school, which is 5 minutes away, but we have to take a bridge to go over the freeway and it is a major street in our town. Our car is not working right now. How can I fix it? I don't have a lot of money because I am a college student with a family of three and little money
AnswerI thought bad luck followed me around.
I am sorry to hear of the misfortunes this car is giving you. I will assist in every way I can to remedy these problems.
First, have your husband remove the radio from the car. Do this carefully so that no wires are cut or disturbed. Just remember that all of the under dash wires are color coded. Red to red, black to black, green with a white stripe goes to a green with a white stripe, etc. these are just examples and you shouldnt look for these wires specifically.Dont leave any wires bare. Wrap them with black electrical tape.
Next, (and you'll like this part) go ahead and disconnect the chime or ding for the seat belt warning. It is not illegal to disconnect this. It should be located under the dash somewhere, just follow the sound and disconnect.
Now, lets work on getting your car running.
Check all the fuses both under the dashboard and under the hood. Then answer the following questions.
Does it crank?
Will it crank with a battery jump?
Or does it run, but run bad?
Do you have access to a digital camera? If yes, take a few pictures of under the hood and 2 from different angles of the dash board. This will allow me to use a pointer of some sort to show you different things to do along this journey to fix this car. You can email me the pictures to: lockdownking@yahoo.com
I will help get this car running again for you, your husband and your kids!
