My 2002 Prism won't start and won't come out of park

Carboncrank
Wed, 19 Jan 2022 05:23:37 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

My car won’t start. The battery is practically new but a couple of times I’ve had to jump it after sitting 2 days even when the headlights and other lights appear strong. Now it not only won’t start but the electrical system appears to be completely dead. Not a glimmer out of the headlights or dash lights. My question is can the electrical system be so dead that when you turn the ignition switch on, put your foot on the brake, put your thumb on the shifter that it won’t come out of park. I’m assuming that if there’s not enough power for the brake lights to come on then the neutral safety switch won’t allow it to come out of park. My question is, am I right in that assumption?

Then the question becomes what can make the system completely dead when the battery is only 2 months old. I think it’s possible that it happened suddenly when I shut it off on Sunday. When I hit the automatic door lock key fob From my back steps nothing happen. I wrote it off as needing a battery for the key fob but I think it’s possible but everything was so dead but not even the automatic door locks worked. And that was right after shutting it off. So then the question comes as to what can suddenly make the electrical system completely dead when the battery is practically new. I’m certain that it’s not loose or corroded cables. Could it possibly be a defective battery? Downstream from there, what can cause the DOA symptom?

27 posts - 14 participants