Ok, this has happened to me and my wife while driving. During braking, once in a while the engine will shut off for a split second then turn right back on without me doing anything. We only have 1 other key on the key ring with the ignition key. Also the inside lights (dashboard/radio) flicker once in a while. The alternator is charging 14 volts, the battery checks out. Any ideas? When it shut off while my wife was driving she noticed the instrument panel lights came on for a second (like when you start the car {abs-check engine- temp- all the warning lights}) and the instruments bounced all the way up then down (also like when you first start the car)
So now the car actually turns off when stopped at a stop light. Any Ideas?
This is hard to diagnose. My guess would be a bad ignition switch.
I would say the ignition switch would be the best place to check first especially if things with a memory, like the radio, aren’t being effected. If they were then the trouble would be with the power connection to the battery.
I’ve recently tried a few things. I placed an extra ground wire, no affect. I removed the battery and tilted up the fuse box. I wiggled the wire connections and removed the little computer there on the front of the fuse box that controls a number of things. It fixed the problem for about 2 days. I did it again and once again the problem did not come back for about 2 days. I tried just removing the computer and it did nothing(after disconnecting the negative battery cable). Going to try just wiggling the connectors on the bottom of the fuse box to see if it does anything.
If the engine is stalling, it could be a bad sensor too–a bad crank position sensor could cause this and not turn on the CEL. But if you’re noticing lights dimming or blinking, it probably is an electrical problem. It could also be a wire with chafed insulation grounding to the frame when you stop. I had a friend years ago that had his car cutting out on acceleration. We found it was the ignition primary wire shorting to the steel transmission dipstick tube when the engine shifted on its mounts during acceleration.
Here is a video of it doing it while I was parked. (can’t film while driving)
Let me know what you think.
Some of the blinking of the PNRD23 is just the camera. I had the door open and seat belt off and I need to add Windshield wiper fluid so those three lights were normal. It’s the 2 lights in the middle that come on like the car lost power for a second.
Check the battery terminals. Also a weak battery on these cars with all the electronics could cause a lot of unusual stuff. Also check the ground connection.
OK. I just wiggled the wires that connect to the fuse box and it seemed ok. I drove about 10 miles and it didn’t happen. But that has happened before then it happens again.
Someone told me to try doing something, so I disconnected the battery while the car was running( only the negative). The car ran for about 5 seconds or so then shut off. Does that mean I have a bad alternator? I had the headlights on.
I had already cleaned the battery terminals twice (relatively new battery…about 1 year at most) Checks out at 12 volts no problem starting ever. (haven’t load tested it yet.)Also cleaned where the ground on the bell housing and applied some dielectric grease to it all. And added a small ground wire as well.(about 14 gauge wire)
"Someone told me to try doing something, so I disconnected the battery while the car was running( only the negative). "
That’s a good way to damage the electrical system on a modern car. You’re lucky you got away with it, as this creates a large power surge. And I’m not sure what would be accomplished by it anyway–you already said the alternator was charging, and even if it wasn’t, the car could run off the battery for quite a while if it was cutting out.
The flickering lights and stuttering gauges shown in the video are a classic sign of a very poor connection somewhere. (the blue fluorescent displays flickering in the video are because of the interaction of your camera’s scan rate and the computer updating the displays many times a second) Check all the major electrical connections, focusing on the ends of the battery cables that are away from the battery, fuse boxes (there are several in your vehicle), etc.
Ok, so I finally got tired of the problem. I was about to go on a road trip so I figured one way or another I had to fix it. I took it to dodge and paid for a diagnostic. They said bad connection in the wiring harness and I had 2 options, replace the entire harness $2,000+ or they could try fixing it but there was no guarantee. They said they had seen the problem before, yet there is no recall. After talking to the actual technician he said the positive terminal was very hot, so It was most likely a bad connection between the end of the copper cable and the metal (Crimped) end, not the connection between the battery and the cable. I had checked the connection several times with a multimeter without any strange results. Anyway, I soldered the end of the copper wire to the crimped end and it fixed the problem. Haven’t had any problems for at least 6 months, so I think it’s fixed. Too bad Dodge doesn’t just solder the connections when the manufacture the car.
Thanks for all your suggestions.