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A couple months ago the interior of my car including parts of the engine got overran with a moderate amount of water while trying to dodge a flood here in Florida. Ever since, I've had issues with the car that have gotten progressively worse.
It started out with having to start the engine multiple times by turning the key in order to get it to turn on. Sometimes it would go right away, others it would take 5-10 tries. It would stutter upon starting up. It's 06 RX8 by the way.
Anyway, I had some complications arise and had to go do jail time for a few months so it sat idle. I told my roommate to make sure to try and start it every day until one day it would not start at all. The battery now appears to be completely dead. Seats will not go back, lights wont turn on upon opening the car, etc.
Now that I am back at my residence we tried to jump start it only to get a wacky response. Upon jump starting the battery, the alarm goes off, my hazards go off, and every indicator light on the dash blinks on and off rapidly. When I go to turn the engine, the alternator moves and the sound of the alarm somewhat dies down a bit.
While all of this is occurring however, basic functions such as the seats and CD player work and such. So this tells us that it is receiving electricity via the battery but at the same time I am assuming that there is some sort of major electrical issue going on here.
With this being said, I need your help here guys. I need my car for work and cannot be without it. I've uploaded a very crude video to give you a general idea as to what is happening. Sorry for the shitty quality but it gives you a basis as to what is happening.
My question to you guys is, given possible water damage, what do you think this could be? Both diagnosis wise and price wise to fix as well. Thanks so much in advance for your help. The video can be found below.
You need a properly working battery before you can go any further, jumping the battery is not enough. See if the battery will take a charge and go from there. But I doubt it will if it sat that long.
It isn't taking any charge at all you're saying? I was under the impression that since after attempting to jump it basic electricity was being channeled into the car... (i.e the lights being able to turn on again, ejecting a CD, moving the seats, etc.).
My dials are also switching in all crazy *** directions on and off sporadically as well. I have a warranty on the battery so I can try going and getting a new one to see if that's the case, I'm just worried there's more underlying issues.
Any opinions on this? Sorry, this isn't my expertise....
A Battery can shows full voltage and still not operate properly, it has to be charged and then load tested to see if it is functioning properly. And depending on how you jumped, it might be getting voltage, just not enough to start the car. And jump starting is not good for a car BTW.
For Example, I just happen to have a battery I just replaced that is three years old. As you can see, the Voltage is good enough and on the charger it shows 100%. But as you can see in the second picture, the needle is in the red zone under bad on the load tester.
It isn't taking any charge at all you're saying? I was under the impression that since after attempting to jump it basic electricity was being channeled into the car... (i.e the lights being able to turn on again, ejecting a CD, moving the seats, etc.).
The amount of current needed to turn on lights and run interior electrical stuff is nowhere near the amount of current needed to start the car. Sounds like you need a new battery
01-04-2017, 07:04 PM
Electrical/Battery Issues
