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OK... What happened to my car tonight?!

Sherlock

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Car: 1990 Plymouth Sundance

Heading out somewhere tonight (about 4:30 PM)started the car and the stereo went out immediately but thought nothing of it, because I had to clear some snow off the windshield turned on the wipers, nothing... also noticed at this point that the heater/air conditioner wasn't working...

Found the fuse box and checked it, the ones I checked seemed to be OK. There was a light snow but thought I'd risk snow later on and drive to where I was headed, sans-windshield wipers (if snowing too hard later I could just leave car there), as I started driving discovered that signal lights had no juice... At this point parked the car and just took the public transit to my destination.

Just came back home (10:00 PM), got dropped off by someone, out of curiosity started the car, everything works now!

What the heck happened? Will it do the same thing again tomorrow? I have to be at the same place tomorrow morning at 8:00

Only thing I can maybe think of... car had sat for a couple of days and there was moisture around...

Any ideas out there?
confused.gif


[ 04-16-2004: Message edited by: Sherlock ]</p>
 

VitSport6

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Hi Sherlock.
Have you checked the Neg battery post or the ground?
Just a thought
Good luck, Call me if you need a ride
wink.gif
 

Steve

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Good suggestion.......I have some others, but none as useful.

1. The car is really British. Either that or a previous owner has replaced all Delco parts with Lucas.

2. The car is female and was just "off" you at the time.......no particular reason. (Ducks and runs for cover).

Really though, it would seem like a dodgy connection there somewhere, the batter negative post is a good place to start. You had snow? Man, we had sunshine and low 80s today.....in WISCONSIN!!!!! Go figure.
 
OP
Sherlock

Sherlock

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Thanks for the tip Brian, and thanks for the offer but I want to be there on time tomorrow morning...
grin.gif
Do you want to do the ultimate road trip, pick me up for the Sunbeam meet down your way
grin.gif


Yup, snow... not much of it mind you. The real fun are the roads out there tonight, I almost didn't mind getting a ride home tonight... the streets are sheer ice in some places! Came across one spot in town where traffic had come to a total stop on one of the freeways, found a way to get around it or else I still might on that stretch of freeway, but it was dicey trip home.
 

mongoose

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Dang. Steve beat me to it. Gorgeous day today. If my clutch was cooperating and the head gasket wasn't leaking, I'd have taken the mini to work today. And out for a LOOONNNG drive tonight!
Paul
 

78Z

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On my wife's old Dodge Shadow the electronics would cut in and out as well.
 

sammyb

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Welcome to the wonderful world of ChryslerCorp electrics...worse than Lucas by ten-fold.

The wiring used by Chrysler in the 80s and 90s was horrible. My '86 Dodge has a short from heck that causes the fuse to blow if two or more of the following are on: Stereo, lights, A/C. My old '91 Lebaron Conv't had a loose engine management wire that baffled three different dealers (it was still under warranty at the time) for two years. It took my local mechanic 10 minutes to diagnose and fix.

Okay...enough harping.

My guess is you simply have a loose wire into the harness. If it got a little wet or weighted down in the wrong direction, it wasn't making contact. It might not be a bad idea to get a wiring diagram and from the engine bay wiggle the wires to the signal lights/wiper motor and see if you can cause them to cut out. If so -- cut and recrimp.
 

MattP

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You have my pity. My wife had an '89 Sundance when we got married. The radio thing you describe was only the first, most minor, and most normal thing it did.

The radio went out for about a year then in the middle of a drive to St Louis decided to rejoin us, that stopped the odometer. I know totally unlinked, but it did happen at the same time. Then about 6 mo later we got the odometer back. Besides the welds in the axle breaking, nothing much else happened, until one day when the high mount brakelight went out when we hit the brakes, instead, the rear window defrost came on, turning the defrost off at the dash would then allow the light to work. That ended up being frayed wires in the hatch. Fixed that, and 3 mo later it completely gave up the ghost, and we gladly called the kidney foundation and turned it into our tax write-off and someone else's problem.

I personally still steer clear of Chrysler products.

[ 04-17-2004: Message edited by: MattP ]</p>
 

mongoose

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Thinking about it, one of my co-workers had a Shadow with an electrical gremlin that would come out every once in a while. Must be common.
 

Carlover325

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My grandpa had a Plymouth Acclaim that started doing that messed up electronic thing. He put up with it for about 3 months and got rid of it and bought a brand new Chevy Malibu.
 
OP
Sherlock

Sherlock

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I just love old archival posts... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

We tracked that one down to the ground in the tail light sockets, and the car is running fine.

Although it is for sale now... so that I can purchase the 1989 Skoda I tracked down here in Calgary.
 
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