Starting trouble

[DetroitMarauder]

Hey gang, I went to leave the office on my lunch and my '08 XK wouldn't start. Lights, radio, blowers all work fine. No clicking to indicate a bad battery. A co-worker was nice enough to let me borrow her Escape to do my errand. When I got back I tried again. When I tried it again I turned the key and let go like I normally would and got nothing...until about three seconds later it started up without me touching anything (I hope that makes sense). I did the "key dance" and it didn't come back with any codes. Any ideas if this is a battery, starter, or ignition issue?

[CmmdrDan]

Id have the battery tested. Thats how mine acted. Everything came on but nothing from the motor. Gave it a jump and it lasted a couple more days and was gone like a fart in the wind. (points for anyone who knows where that came from). Have that checked out first. These things get funky when the battery starts to go.

[Matt]

check the battery terminals for tightness and corrosion.

[Chapman89]

Id have the battery tested. Thats how mine acted. Everything came on but nothing from the motor. Gave it a jump and it lasted a couple more days and was gone like a fart in the wind. (points for anyone who knows where that came from). Have that checked out first. These things get funky when the battery starts to go.

Shawshank Redemption for 100! haha

Sounds like the battery is showing signs of crapping out.

[DetroitMarauder]

Tightness is fine. No Corrosion. I keep my engine bay pretty clean and look for that type of stuff. I have tools here and will remove the battery and have my wife take me to O'Reilly or Autozone to check it.

[Sal-XK]

I vote battery myself and I dont trust computerized battery testers to many false positives.

[DetroitMarauder]

I may not be able to get the battery checked tonight. At four years it is probably time for a new battery anyway. If it's not the battery I'm glad I bought the extended warranty. I need an oil change anyway so hopefully I can limp it to my friend's shop tomorrow morning and have him check her out.

[DetroitMarauder]

Just an update. It wasn't the battery. I put a new one in and it started fine a couple times. I went to a store, came out and tried starting it and got nothing. So now she is sitting all by herself in a pet supply parking lot.

[Matt]

check the connections at the starter.

when you try to start it, does anything happen? any noise? lights dim? etc.

[DetroitMarauder]

check the connections at the starter.

when you try to start it, does anything happen? any noise? lights dim? etc.

No idea where the connections are to clean them.

It makes no sound when trying to turn it over at all.

[Matt]

Are you familiar with what a starter looks like? (serious question)

If so, its pretty easy to find... bottom back of the engine. If you're handy with a voltmeter you could have someone try starting it and check for voltage. If you're not getting any power to the starter than its more than likely an ignition switch due to the inconsistent nature of the issue.

[DetroitMarauder]

Nope, no idea what it looks like and I don't have a voltmeter to check it. I'm gonna head up there to see if it will start then its a trip right to the dealership. I hope it works so I don't have to pay a tow truck $100 to drive it 3 miles.

[DetroitMarauder]

Ok, another update. I was told its the "Starter to battery to PDC wiring harness". And guess what? It's not covered under warranty!! So not only did I pay over 2k for an extended warranty but now I have to pay $363 for a wiring/electrical problem that they consider a "maintenance issue" because its supposedly not covered. Even more interesting is there was a 2010 Hemi XK sitting right next to mine WITH THE SAME PROBLEM!

With this customer service its not surprising why Chrysler is in the position they are in.

[Matt]

since when is wiring a "maintenance" item? I'd forward that complaint up the chain of command and at least get my money back for the price of the extended warranty. that's a bunch if BS right there....

if you can, I'd love to know the part number for that harness.... I wonder what it entails.

[DetroitMarauder]

That was my question too. Of course they didn't have an answer to that question or the coincidence that there was another XK in for the same problem. So after a "discussion" with the general manager they decided to cover it so all I have to pay for is my $100 deductible which I knew about anyway. I didn't get a part number but I'm hoping it will be on my invoice. I know this seems pretty minor compared to the problems many others have had but its really turning me off from buying another Chrysler product. My wife and I planned on buying a new Grand Cherokee in a couple years but if this what I can expect I'll head over to GM or Ford.

[Matt]

I had a similar issue with my GM truck. On my Sierra they tried to refuse warranty on a cracked 3rd brake light lenses... the truck was 2 months old and had less than 4000 miles and they tried to claim it was "road damage".... yeah like I drive my pickup truck backwards down the highway. And on my 2005 silverado they couldn't figure out why I would lose power steering.... their answer? create a TSB that stated loss of power steering at low speed is "normal" for the system.

unfortunately, this is a common issue amongst ALL manufacturers.

[Sal-XK]

My XK-XJ will be the only Chrysler product I ever own most likely. Unless I need an off road vehicle I won't look at Jeep. The only thing that makes owning a Jeep worth it dealing with all the Chrysler crap is the off road capabilities. So unless I need some serious off road capabilities which I think I have covered already I will continue to purchase Ford's.

[DetroitMarauder]

Matt, the part number that is on the invoice is 56050959AC. Let me know what you find out.

I picked her up this morning and it seems to be working fine...so far. We'll see what happens when I go out for lunch this afternoon.

[Matt]

I'm guessing the invoice had 2 hours for labor?

[DetroitMarauder]

I think it said 1.5 hours. They fixed the side curtain recall and checked a drainage issue I was having around the doors (which they say is "normal" drainage) in that time period too.

Coincidentally my CB isn't working now. The wires are hooked up as they were before I brought it in but it gets no power. Now my friend and I have to pull that apart and find out whats wrong.

[Sal-XK]

Check the fuse your CB is running to. Did they fix that yellow wire everyone is having problems with underneath?

[DetroitMarauder]

The CB is powered directly through the battery. Im thinking when he took the cables off the battery he started to pull them away and didn't see the CB hooked to it and may have pulled out the inline fuse.

I'm not sure if it was yellow or not. Part of it was the battery cable that went down to the starter. I haven't had a chance to really get in there yet and check it out and I may not until Friday. I found it quite telling this is a manufacturer issue that may end up with a recall eventually. After it not starting the mechanic popped the hood, stuck his hand down behind and to the left of the battery and jiggled the wire and tried starting it again. The fact that he knew exactly what it was so quickly leads me to believe this is a common problem.

[Sal-XK]

I think it might be that wire that runs down to the starter it get corroded real bad for some reason and several people found that to be there non start issue. Chrysler won't recall that it's not a safety issue so I don't think they will receive enough pressure on that one and they aren't doing anything out of the kindness of there heart LOL