Problems with my car...any guesses as to what it could be?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Hey parents! This is somewhat long, but I want to give you all as much background as possible.</p>

<p>I drive a '99 Chrysler Concorde (courtesy of good old mom and dad). It’s the car I learned to drive in and I’ve always LOVED it, but for the last year and a half or so it has started to go downhill pretty quickly. Last year while driving home from SSU for Christmas (in VERY heavy rain, I might add) one of the sensors in the transmission went bad and my speedometer stopped working, meaning my automatic transmission didn’t know when to shift and my car broke down in Burbank at 10:30PM (that was an adventure and a half. Thankfully I wasn’t by myself and was close enough to home that dad came and got me.)</p>

<p>It did okay over the summer and driving back and forth to SSU and home for various jobs. In early October I noticed the lights flickering on and off while I had them on (they are not automatic) at night. A few weeks later I went out to go somewhere and the car wouldn’t start. Thankfully mom and dad were coming up to visit. Called Police/Parking Services (they offer free jump starts!) hoping it was the battery. While they were jumping, a girl who lives near where I had parked it said they had seen the lights flickering the night before-when the car was COMPLETELY off and NO ONE was in it.</p>

<p>Took it to a local dealer. The battery was 4 years old so we replaced it. Got it back later the next day. Mom had talked to the service rep and she said sometimes a bad battery can cause the problem with the lights.</p>

<p>Later that day, got the car back. Took it the next morning to get smog checked (needed it to renew the registration.) Passed the test, but spewed rusty water–which should have been coolant–all over the shop’s floor. O.O took almost a full gallon of coolant. Had the mechanic running the smog check look it over, said he didn’t see anything majorly wrong.</p>

<p>Couple of days later, I notice the headlights flickering again. Take it back to the dealer. They keep it for two days and they say they can’t duplicate the problem, so they can’t fix it. </p>

<p>The problem has been somewhat persistent ever since…some days the lights work fine, other days they flicker. </p>

<p>I believe I drove it last either on Thanksgiving or Black Friday. I went out late last night to go somewhere and the battery is dead again, meaning the lights are still turning on when the car is completely off. I am taking it to a different shop on Friday morning to have someone else look at it. The Chrysler Dealer said they THINK it might be a problem with the computer, which is an $8-900 repair if that’s indeed the problem. (The car probably isn’t even worth that much anymore.) I haven’t had it jumped yet since I was in class all day today and didn’t have a chance to call for a jump. I probably won’t be able to call for a jump until Friday morning just before I take it to the shop.</p>

<p>Any guesses as to what might be the problem, or any suggestions on how to deal? I’m getting more than a little frustrated and I don’t feel super safe driving it anymore. I’m not driving it to SoCal for Christmas (carpooling both ways with friends), meaning it probably won’t be home until May. But honestly I don’t like driving it ANYWHERE anymore, much less 400+ miles on the 5.</p>

<p>Thank you all!</p>

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<p>I’m sorry to say that I think you should get rid of it. If it’s a problem with the computer or the electrical system, it will almost certainly cost too much to be worth fixing.</p>

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<p>We always advise our D. to take the car to mechanic if there is a problem. If one does not help, then try another one.</p>

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<p>How many miles are on it? Have you looked up its value in the “Blue Book” (you can do this online)?</p>

<p>It is probably going to cost way more to fix than it is worth, and you would be better sereved by putting that $$ into a down payment on another car. That is what we do with ours—we fix them until they reach the point I have just described, and then use what would have been very expensive repair $$$ as part of the down on a new vehicle.</p>

<p>For you, probably a new-er vehicle, you are not yet in new-car buying range, are you? </p>

<p>Save yourself a lot of trouble with this one and get another car. This is the end of the model year so you will be able to find new vehicles from the 2011 year reduced to make way for the 2012s—or used cars that have been recently brought in so the owner can get a new one. Watch out; these are often leased cars and they have been given rougher treatment. Don’t forget to look up any used car on Carfax. Good luck!</p>

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<p>It sounds like the electrical system and that could take forever & $$$$$$$ to diagnose, let alone fix.</p>

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<p>HGFM - OK, you’re not my daughter. But if you WERE, here’s what I’d say:</p>

<p>Barring a catastrophic breakdown of the wiring in your car (which is unlikely) there are just two systems that permit the lights to be on when you car is shut off. The first is the delay system that keeps your lights on for a minute or so after you’ve left the car. Some cars have this feature … some don’t. The second system is your ignition switch. Those do go bad occasionally, and when they do you can get REALLY weird symptoms. Neither of these is an expensive fix, providing you have a competent mechanic!</p>

<p>You need to find an good independent mechanic, one who understands how auto electrical systems work. In our area there are shops that specialize in auto electrics. There should be ones in SoCal also. </p>

<p>PS, If you can’t find a competent repairperson for this problem, you really need to trade the Concorde in on something more reliable. JHMO.</p>

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<p>Google your problem and see what turns up. I’ve had many problems with my car and googling a problem usually lands me on a fix-it forum that I never would have found otherwise. And often with a solution.
Just type chrysler concord lights flicker or battery dies or whatever.</p>

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<p>

There’s no way a battery could cause it so that service rep has no clue what she’s talking about but then, most dealer service reps know next to nothing about cars. Don’t assume the ‘service rep’, who isn’t a mechanic, has any idea what they’re talking about since most don’t.</p>

<p>It’s also almost certainly NOT the computer. Dealers like to throw that into the mix because it’s a big buck item that’s easy to replace but very often doesn’t fix the actual problem. </p>

<p>A service person who states they can’t fix a problem because they can’t reproduce it is a service person you should stay away from. A decent mechanic s/b able to troubleshoot based on how the car is supposed to work, i.e. theory, and how it’s designed and possible faulty components and then use that knowledge to start narrowing down the potential causes.</p>

<p>I agree with newhope that the ignition switch can be the culprit as could be the headlight relay or the headlight switch. The headlight relay is a simple and cheap fix that almost anyone could do (depending on the specific car). Sometimes the relay can even be swapped with another identical relay on the car. The ignition switch isn’t that inexpensive but it’s a lot less than a computer. The headlight switch, IMO, is the most likely issue. This also isn’t the cheapest item since it’s probably on the steering column but it also is a lot less than a computer. I had a headlight switch fail on a 1998 Dodge.</p>

<p>If it’s not the headlight switch or relay or ignition switch then it’s likely faulty wiring somewhere. A decent mechanic s/b able to check this out as well.</p>

<p>Bottom line - don’t take it back to where you’ve been taking it and find, somehow, a decent and qualified mechanic. You might want to check with AAA for recommendations from them of qualified mechanics in your area or perhaps try a different dealer.</p>

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<p>Just googled your problem. Chrysler concorde lights flicker. You are not alone by far. Look it up.
I say google because I had problems with door locks a while back. After many expensive solutions (none of which I took fortunately) the problem was a fuse. Two second solution with zero money involved. And I found the solution with google.</p>

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<p>Jrz-it has about 83k miles on it. I have put probably 50k plus of that on since I started driving in 2005.
KBB says it is worth 2k ish trade in.
I am taking it to an ACE auto shop tomorrow morning. we will see what they say.</p>

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<p>^^ Go ahead and ask them if they think it might be your headlight switch. If it ends up no trouble found again because it can’t be reproduced you might just want to have the switch replaced regardless and have them make sure the connector contacts are sound (one of the potential causes when I later googled it for that car was a possible problem with the headlamp switch connector contacts - possible intermittent connections likely due to slight corrosion).</p>

<p>83K miles is still young for a car (I just turned over 200K miles on my Dodge yesterday - the headlight switch was replaced over 100K miles ago)</p>

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<p>HGFM - Much depends on which lights are flickering … headlights, dash lights, interior lights, etc. When you see the mechanic tomorrow, I suggest taking a written description of the problem. How you do this is up to you. I like to keep things simple: “When the car is off, the headlights flicker, and when that happens the battery is dead the next morning. The battery was replaced five weeks ago, but the problem remains.”</p>

<p>The critical point (if I understood your OP correctly) is that the headlights flicker when the car is OFF. That means electricity is being passed to the headlights when it shouldn’t be. A bad ignition switch can do this, letting electricity pass through as if the car was ON. If your car has the type of headlight switch that lets you flash your headlights when the car is OFF, a bad headlight switch could be the culprit.</p>

<p>However … I did a little digging and found out that SOME '99 Concordes were equipped with Twilight Sentinel, which keeps headlights on for a short period after the car is turned OFF. A bad Twilight Sentinel circuit (which has a couple different components) could be the culprit also … IF your Concorde has Twilight Sentinel.</p>

<p>Good luck tomorrow. A competent mechanic should be able to chase this problem down in under an hour. And as I’ve said previously, the fix should be relatively inexpensive. Since your car has just 83K miles on it, it’s worth taking a shot at fixing it. (We generally keep our vehicles at least 160K miles.)</p>

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<p>Wow, you parents are awesome!</p>

<p>NewHope–any ideas how I would know if my car has Twilight Sentinel?</p>

<p>I would love to have the car for over 100k miles because it has been so reliable for most of the time I’ve been driving it; most of the prior problems have been very minor. But I’m also most likely moving out of state this fall for grad school (assuming I get in; I only applied to OOS schools) and we’ll just have to wait and see.</p>

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<p>HGFM - The only easy way is to look in the Operator’s Manual. I did look up the various '99 Concorde headlight switches (with and without fog lights, with and without Twilight Sentinel) … they all look the same!</p>

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<p>I don’t know what is wrong with your car other then that it’s a chrysler. That’s the main issue. ;)</p>

<p>I will tell you that I once owned a chrysler when i was 16 and it got royally screwed up driving in the rain - never was the same again. I’m not sure what their issues are with rain. Transmission got all screwy. Wound up getting rid of it at like 62k miles. unfortunately i replaced it with another chrysler and that one was just as bad. No mas.</p>

<p>That being said, I know people who have had them for 200k. Guess it’s just luck of the draw.</p>

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<p>fendergirl–funny you should say that. One of my closest girlfriends has a Sebring that is a few years younger than mine but has more miles, and she has several problems as well.</p>

<p>Thanks NewHope, I’ll check out the Owner’s Manual and see what it says.</p>

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<p>Go to the Chrysler Concorde forum.
Those car guys like to give advice as much as posters here on CC.</p>

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<p>When my D had car trouble at her OOS college, I had her ask her professors and university staff people for referrals to a good mechanic. They live in that town and most have probably had to have their cars worked on. At the very least, they can tell you where NOT to take it.</p>

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<p>I grew up in a rust belt buy-american area, and this type of experience (mine with GM) is why I buy Toyotas----I cannot explain why, but this stuff doesn’t happen to toyotas. </p>

<p>The advice about the message boards is good, but you get better message board advice for things that are bought used by enthusiasts. Meaning sports cars and off-road vehicles. The regular sedans tend to be owned by non-technical people who can’t figure things out. </p>

<p>Newhopes post has good suggestions. I think the twilight sentinel would be good to check out, because most switches have enough of a gap in them to make an accidental connection unlikely. I’d get in the car and fiddle a little with all the switches and just jiggle them a little in the “off” position to see if you see the lights getting voltage. By that I mean, have the switch be off and just see if you can create a little mechanical movement without switching it on, and see if you see any lights. If not, try watching what happens with the twilight sentinel.</p>

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<p>It sounds to me like you could have a short somewhere in your electrical wiring. The cheap but annoying fix for that goes as follows:</p>

<p>Warm dry well-lit place for the car (because this takes a while). Flashlight. Patient friend. Roll of electrical tape. Old blanket you can put on the ground.</p>

<p>Use the flashlight to light up every single electrical wire you can find. Have your friend help you follow the path of the wires. Pay special attention when a wire crosses a point where it might rub against metal. You are looking for tiny little cracks in the wire’s plastic covering. If you find such a crack, wrap the crack with the electrical tape (twice around is sufficient). Try to do such repairs in contrasting tape colors. Do not assume that the first such crack you find is the only one. Keep looking. (A common spot to find such cracks is in the wires that cross metal in the trunk, BTW.)</p>

<p>If you find a lot of cracks in a lot of wires, your wiring harness is probably toast. In that case, it’s probably not worth repairing.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>