2006 PT Cruiser had faulty wiring on the driver’s side window. Went in and switched out the regulator/motor but found that previous owner must have done something inside the driver’s side door because the wires we needed to connect to the new harness were just spliced together and there was nothing to hook into the harness, just exposed wires heat-wrapped together. We tried to work around it by splicing the wires from the new motor to the existing wires. It worked, kind of, though turns out we had installed the part backwards.
The next thing I knew, the car wouldn’t start. Thinking we messed something up with the power window wiring, we disconnected the new motor. Didn’t help. I get clicks but engine won’t turn over. Battery seems fine, all fuses seem fine. Replaced the starter relays. Seems to clearly be a problem with the starter but could it be something in the driver’s side door creating a short in the system?
Gonna have to have it towed to the mechanic at this point. But would love to hear from anyone with thoughts about what may have gone awry.
I concur with @Nevada_545. A weak battery was my first thought also while reading about the problem. Try cleaning the battery connections also. If the battery isn’t the issue then I suggest you check the safety switches to the starter.
Well we had the battery unhooked while working on the wiring, it tested fine on the multimeter when we took it out, and before anything else we tried jumping it to no avail could be that it needs more time on the jumper cables to recharge or problems with the ports but my partner seems pretty sure it’s not the battery.
Check to see if power is getting to starter solenoid when in the START mode. If you have no power there then check the safety switches for the ignition. If you hear a loud click when you try to start it then you may have bad contacts in the starter solenoid. They can be replaced.
Does that click sound come from the starter motor or from a relay in the underhood fuse box?
You state that both the battery and fuses “seem” fine. “Seems” means nothing without actually testing.
The battery might be a little ambiguous but the fuses are not.
So are you assuming those items are good or has any testing at all actually been done?
We used a multimeter on all the fuses and the battery. We just replaced the starter relay - idk where the clicking is coming from, exactly? But it seems like it’s coming from the starter.
An ohmmeter can be used to check continuity through the fuses but the voltmeter part of it may be iffy when checking the battery. A good fully charged battery should show around 12.7 volts.
If the voltage has a sizeable drop when lighting is turned on or the starter solenoid is engaged (the clicking maybe) that would likely point towards a bad or run down battery. And make sure both battery posts and cable ends are clean. Sometimes they develop a scale on them which prevent a good connection.
Check the voltage on the terminal that connects to the starter solenoid while you are in the START mode. If the voltage shows close to 12 volts and the clicking is coming from the solenoid then the solenoid contacts are worn out. You should be able to feel the solenoid vibrations when it is turned on. It is also pretty loud.
could be that it needs more time on the jumper cables to recharge or problems with the ports but my partner seems pretty sure it’s not the battery.