3 weeks ago I was driving down the road and car lost power for a split second and right back on, instrument cluster went to nothing all the warning lights came on and then everything went back to normal and the car was still driving. This happened several more times minutes apart. I got to destination turned car off and hour later car wouldn’t start. A friend said my starter cables weren’t tight and tightened them then we jumpstarted the car and went on my way, car was fine for 2 days. Then went to leave and car wouldn’t start again, jump started it drove it to work and the power loss thing happened again while driving, the car itself never stops rolling it’s just an intermittent break in power for a half a second. Got to work parked left to run and errand and car won’t crank. Couldn’t jumpstarted went to AutoZone to have alternator check it checked fine so did the battery although it’s only 3 months old. Got back to work parked it then wouldn’t start again so I took the starter off it was still under warranty replaced it had to jumpstart it but it started ran for 3 or 4 days then the power loss issue again and wouldn’t crank once turned off. So I went ahead put new alternator on and went to start it and it clicked twice then nothing. I’m going to jump start it let it idle to warm alternator up then take it for a spin to charge is there anything else this might possibly be. The battery was ready 12v on volt meter but when I hooked jumpstarter up it read 2.6v on the jumper bolts up top that run to the battery. But the battery itself read 12v on the handheld meter? Could the battery cable that connects the battery to the jumper bolts be bad? I’m at a loss at this point.
What year, make, model and mileage car do you have?
Given what you’re describing, I’d wonder if you have a bad ignition switch.
I hesitate, but just the basics. A good fully charged battery should be in the 12.5 range, so make sure the battery is up. An a,ternator running should be putting out 14,5 volts or somewhere around that. One of those cheap plug in volt meters will give both readings for simplicity or monitoring while driving.
Losing power while driving can be due to either bad connections or a battery getting discharged to the point if no longer supporting the engine needs. Sure a cab,e or connection could be bad, so make sure the cable connections are clean and tight. Also check all of the ground connections for corrosion or tightness. Jumpers go on the cable ends and not the battery terminals so might indicate a bad connection from the cable to the battery post. Just my two cents.
There is a poor connection in the cable(s). The voltage should be the same at the battery and each junction point in the engine compartment. You might find a loose crimp on one of the cable ends.
No experience w/your car, but I presume the battery is hard to access, so Chrysler provided your car a more accessible location for a couple of terminals which connect directly to the battery, to make the jump-starting process easier. If that’s the case … hmm …
Seems unlikely a bad connection between battery and jump-start terminals would cause the symptoms. My guess, those symptoms are caused either by a faulty ignition switch or faulty connections at the battery posts. Suggest as first step to remove the battery cables, clean the battery posts and connectors of gunk/oxidation, using battery tool, and clamp them back on, tighten to spec. Good time to fix the wiring problem to the jump-start terminals too. When disconnecting battery, good idea to avoid short circuits is to disconnect (-) first. When re-connecting, (-) last.
If that doesn’t fix the problem
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Follow Bing’s ideas above. Ask your shop to make sure battery measures about 12.6 v before the first start of the day, then 13.5-15.5 immediately after starting engine.
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Ask your shop to measure the voltage of the thinner of the two wires connected to the starter motor when key is in “start”. Probe between terminal and starter case. Should be at least 10.5 volts. Is it?
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If all of the above tests ok, ask shop to test the ignition switch. My guess, this is the likely problem. When you drive the keys swing back and forth and this movement will sometimes briefly turn off the power to the ignition system if ignition switch is faulty.