Dodge - Stratus :: 1998 - Fried Electrical System Suddenly
Jun 29, 2011
I own a 1998 Dodge Stratus (ES Sedan 4D, 2.4 liter, automatic) and driving to a restaurant on Friday I ran over a rather nasty pothole. It had once had a metal plate over it, but it was 3/4 of the way uncovered and I hit so hard that the front of the car bottomed out hard on the pavement. I made sure I hadn't popped a tire and was on my way. Later that evening I got back in the car to go home and the battery had died suddenly. I knew I had not left any lights/systems on in the car. I got a jump and the car made it home, clicking, with lights flickering and gauge needles wobbling the whole way.
I left it for the weekend, and tried to assess the situation further after work on Monday. The battery in the Stratus is located under the driver's side wheel well, so I removed the cover to check if there were any loose wires/connections and there weren't. I got the car jumped and made it to an Advance Auto Parts to have the battery tested (again with clicking, flickering lights/gauges). Right before I got there, the battery light in the dash turned on.
The battery was tested almost completely dead, and it took about 30 minutes to get to the AAP from my house. It wouldn't jump again, so I had to get AAA to tow it back to my house (It took the AAA guy about 5 tries to jump it using his tow truck's battery, and it lasted long enough to drive it up onto the truck bed).
I didn't want to buy a new battery, in case there was something wrong with the alternator and the new battery would just get sucked dry like the old one. What might have happened. It seems strange that a battery would just die so suddenly with no warning and I don't want to get ripped off at a mechanic because I have no idea what might have happened (I don't know much about cars except for really basic stuff.)
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I have a 2.7L flex fuel Dodge Stratus with 120K+ miles on it and a problem local mechanics and the Dodge dealership cannot seem to locate. When the engine is hot, and only when it's hot, the car will jerk suddenly while driving for a split second, then resume normal operations. It feels almost like you hit something and is scaring the bejeesus out of my wife. It also sometimes stalls out when at a light after sitting at idle for a few seconds. It idles down from 600 RPM like the air conditioning compressor is cutting on and then dies completely.
The car shows no error codes and the check engine light does not come on when this happens. I have replaced the spark plugs, and the transmission solenoid, which is what the Dodge dealer said "fixed" the car for almost $900, and it did it again on the way home from the dealership. My next idea was to change the fuel filter, or maybe the cam position sensor or timing belt or chain. I wonder if I am just trowing money down a hole at this point though, since Kelly Blue Book on this car is under 2K anyway.
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I drive an '04 Dodge Stratus with 100k+ miles. I drove over a speed bump in the parking lot where I work (10 mph or less), and the car suddenly died (coincidence?) Luckily I was able to coast into a parking spot before the wheel seized up. The "check engine light" and the "oil light" came on, which leads me to believe I didn't lose power. I turned the car off and was able to restart the engine. When I exited the car, I noticed a burning smell. I am going to check the oil level, but is there anything else that could be causing this? I don't want to be stranded on my way home from work tonight.
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So a truck that was running fine Sat for 2 weeks. Battery died so i sent some coworkers to jump it. They tried using a welder which they didn't get turned down enough. Now the wiper motor stays on even without the key. Radio doesn't work but the dash light still comes on. With a new battery installed it turns over but doesn't start. I know something had to get fried but where to start. Thinking about replacing all fuses and relays...
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I had the oil changed 2/27/11 drove it home parked it for the night next morning I went out to start it I heard loud clunk. I opened the hood and found a spark plug laying on the head seperate from the spark plug wire. What would make this happen? I have not had the sparks plug changed recently.190,000+ miles.
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98 Ford Escort (150k miles) died suddenly when I was going in reverse (parking) after a 100minute trip between 7 and 9 am. The entire electrical shut down after going about 30 ft in reverse.I checked all the fuses and they look OK. The alternator has about 2 years on it. The battery is used up but still works in warm climates.
Now, when i turn the ignition, no diagnostic lights turn on inside. I can only get it to do a warning audio beep on the first section turn of the ignition (warning that door is open). Electrical door locking makes a trying sound but no action. The headlights turn on when i flash the high beams.
This is a very tough problem because it's electrical. This car has had no mechanical issues and I take care of it, even driving no more than 65mph and avoiding day driving (due to heat). What could it possibly be? I have never even imagined a problem like this.
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I have a 1983 Dodge W150 that has a problem. It stops running with the electrical system completely shut down. If the battery is taken out of the system, and then reconnected, it starts and runs fine. Some history: a trailer brake control was installed a few years ago. Where the wire ran from the battery through the firewall, the insulation chafed and eventually shorted out. The fuseable links were burned out. I disconnected the brake control from the battery and replaced the fuseable links with a fuse block. The truck ran fine for 18 months. It has stopped twice in the last couple of days. Apparently something like a circuit breaker is tripping and then resetting when the battery is disconnected and then reconnected. My questions are
1) what is the breaker likely to be intended to protect,
2) where would the breaker be found, and
3) what is the likely cause of the breaker tripping (a short, but in what system)?
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My daughter's 2005 Dodge Stratus (2.7 I think) is giving an unusual problem on an intermittent basis. Sometimes when she cranks the car, the check engine and oil lights will stay on. She can put the car in gear and the car will move but the steering wheel will not turn. It's like it's in a locked position - it's not just being hard to turn, it won't turn at all. There's a sufficient amount of power steering fluid in the pump reservoir.
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I have a 99 Dodge Stratus w/ +191K miles. Recently the gas light would come on and the needle would drop down to "E" then go back up to where it started...regardless of how much gas is in the tank. Once the tank drops below half a tank, the light stays on and the needle goes all the way down to "E". I have no way of knowing how much gas is in the tank and I have to judge it by mileage. What's going on?? Is this an easy (inexpensive) fix??
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My boyfriend just bought a '06 Dodge Stratus with only 30,000 miles on it. We noticed a noise today when driving in the country where it is quieter. It's kind of a hum that lasts about 2-3 seconds and it occurs every 28 seconds on the dot while driving 35 mph -- about .3 miles. It seems to come from the right side in the front, but I know that can be misleading. It happens a few seconds sooner when driving faster. It doesn't happen at all when idling or revving still in the driveway. It doesn't seem to change anything when it happens (steering, braking, no vibration, hesitation -- nothing). It also doesn't make any difference if we are going up or down hills, foot on the accelerator or coasting, braking or accelerating.
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My 2002 Dodge Stratus shudders only for a few seconds when I start the car (sometimes). What this could be?
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I got into a fender bender and now part of my bumper is rubbing against my tire. I want to bend it back but have been unsuccessful in doing so.
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I have a 1999 Dodge Stratus in which I am having fuel injector issues with. A few weeks ago I replaced the #4 fuel injector with a new one and now the #4 fuel injector has failed again. What can cause this to happen?
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I am having issues with my everyday driver as of late. I developed a misfire and replaced, plugs, coils, plug wires. Misfire persisted so we replaced, injectors, fuel rail. The misfire still was there and getting worse so we checked the engine mechanically for any burnt or bent valves and it checked out fine. We completed a compression test and all cylinders tested within 5 psi of each other. We finally replaced the ECU and Cam Sensor and the problem still is here. We do not know what else to do. I have narrowed down the misfire to cylinder one. The injector is not firing on this cylinder. I know this because when you unplug it there is no change in the engines behavior. As stated earlier, injectors are new, but i switched them out just to make sure it was a bad injector. I tested the lead and the voltage was appriopiate.
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A few months back on a really hot day my horn randomly started honking while driving. I pulled the fuse as a quick fix and brought it into a body shop. They initially thought it was something to do with the airbag part and ordered one, but ended up making new bushings instead. The center of the steering wheel was a bit off-center and the left side was pretty sensitive but it worked for a couple weeks. When it started happening again I used a couple pieces of gorilla tape to dampen the vibration and that worked for about a month and a half but last week it started happening again. Now it's only during right turns and when it gets bumped just so. Applying light pressure to the left side of the steering wheel seems to work but sure makes my commute a pain. My first instinct is to take the air bag module out and reattach it but I'm worried about messing with the airbag.
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My daughter has a dodge stratus 2001 with about 150,000 miles she has had it for about 2 years. She has had it over heat a couple of times and has had it repaired simply fixing a radiator hose. It overheated again and it was almost empty of antifreeze. She has been filling up and checking the radiator level and fills it as needed, which could be daily or now only weekly. She took it to a mechanic who thought it was a blown valve-cover gasket and basically said the car repair would be more than the car is worth. I have a feeling the car did not get really checked out. She didn't really know this guy and took it there because it was close to her. She is still driving it, but only short distances and always stops before it over heats. She really cannot afford another car for a least another year.
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I have a 2006 Dodge Stratus and recently lost my transponder key for my ignition. I do have a spare key cut but it doesn't have a chip in it, I can only use it to unlock the doors and open the trunk.
What I want to know... is there:
➣ A way to disable/bypass the theft prevention system so I can use the non-chipped key in my ignition?
➣ a way I can modify my key to trick the theft prevention system into thinking it is a real key?
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I have a 1999 Dodge Stratus Base with a 2.4L and an automatic transmission. The differential in this transmission has been howling for a while now and I had a mechanic look at it. He told me that there are a few teeth missing from one of the ring gears. I have a transmission from a 1997 Stratus in my shed that has a good differential in it. I know that the two transmissions themselves are not interchangeable but I have been wondering if the differential hard parts are interchangeable?
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I have a '99 Dodge Stratus V6 with 125,000 miles. When I turn on the car, I can hear a hum when idling. When I start driving, I cannot hear the hum anymore (but maybe it's drowned out by other noises the car makes, or just the engine). It gets higher pitched as it slows down to idle, and a bit lower pitched if I step on the gas lightly. It has been slowly getting louder over the last few months. What could this be due to?
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My 2004 Dodge Stratus with 2.7l V6 has been good to me, now up over 140K miles. Lately, though (twice), I drove it a under a mile, shut it off, and when I returned to it could not get it to start. It turned over just fine, but didn't seem to be firing. When I returned several hours later, it started, running roughly for awhile. Once it smoothed out, it ran just fine, and I've had no other problems. My mechanic had a similar problem with a Dodge pickup of the same year, and it turned out to be the crankshaft sensor. Is there anything else we should be suspecting?
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2004 Dodge Stratus 80K... What happened is my check engine light came on maybe 6 months ago and I took it to have it looked at and they were closing but the guy told me don't worry about it and I be ok until I come back and it probably wasn't a big deal. The light went off a day or two so I didn't worry about it. It came on about a week ago and I haven't had time to take it in yet. So here is the chain of events-
Check engine light (6 months ago approx)Check engine light off (couple days later)
Check engine light (1-2 weeks ago)
Put my car in drive, transmission didn't engage right away. I thought I had it in neutral by mistake. then it engaged.(about a week ago)
Same thing happened last night except it took longer for it to kick in and when I ran into the store and came out, it backed up ok but wouldn't go in drive right away. I thought it was because it was freezing) out and maybe needed to warm up better. (we had a terrible ice storm here in Washington).
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