I've been having a repeating problem with my car dying. I see in someone's old post Sept 07 - with similar problem. I came to the same conclusion: If you leave the door open for any amount of time (ie: unloading groceries), the car will not start the next time I try. This does not sound right. A chrysler tech suggested keeping the car running which is a stupid idea.
Anyone with a similar problem?

 

My Interior lights are on a timer that shuts them off after about 10 minutes (door or hatch). I leave my hatch open in the garage all the time with out problems.

 

I knowone post mentioned that the "time out" feature may be failing.
I also noticed that one gal had a 2006 with no problems but bought a newer one with more bells and whistles and that's when the problems started.
Just doesn't seem right - some suggest a stronger battery

 

There may be a problem with your charging system. The alternator may be putting out 2/3 or 1/3 of normal capacity and not keeping the battery fully charged. You have no warning when this is happening. The battery dash light will not come on.

I had the same problem that you are having withlittle battery reserve.I had thealternator tested and repaired. I now have no problem with not being able to start my Pac after the doors were left open.

 

I have a 2007 Pac Touring, it has NO daytime running lights which I want, So I just leave the headlights on all of the time, when I shut the engine off I just leave the headlights on and they time out and shut off in a couple of minutes. have not had any battery problems yet.

 

I would suggest that the battery may be at fault, with the load that you are suggesting, (eg: interior lights)when the vehicle is parked, and it's losing a charge that quickly, then something has happened to the batt or there are some poor connections that are not allowing a correct charge.

A quick way to check if there is an unknown load in the vehicle that is supposedly "OFF", (not the safest way to checkI might add), is to have a fully charged battery, everything off, including any lights under the hood, then disconnect the ground, and reconnect, if you get the slightest spark (the unsafe part) when you reconnect, then something is drawing from the battery.

With the info that is given in this situation, it sounds to me like the battery is toast.

Atip on jump starting a vehicle... with all the computers in cars today, and jumping these vehicles from an outside source, be sure to turn on the headlights, BEFORE you hook up cables. Any energy spike from the outside source will be directed to the lights, not computers. And this does happen, it's rare, but it does.

Hope this helps.

 

THANKS for all the ideas. I had the service guy check out this sight (good job Terrill!!) Gave him some things to try. He's put in a heavier duty battery and going to leave the doors open last night to see if the "time out " feature was working. Just frustrating on a vehicle with only 5000miles on it![>:]

 

What year is the car? I would be heading back for warranty. Depending on the year and date of purchase, you could be up for a new one, or maybe a small betterment. Just a thought tho.

 

Hi!
One simple way to check if you have any draining of your battery is as follows:
Remove the negative battery wire.
Connect a test lamp between the negative battery terminal and the negative wire.
If the lamp lights up you've got a drain.
Next step, which is boring..., is to remove fuses one by one and check if test lamp goes out. Unless you suspect the alternator. If so, read the last paragraph.
Replace each fuse before removing next one.
When test lamp goes out, it means you've got a drain on that circuit.
Make sure you test all circuits.
If you still got light after all fuses have been removed, you're in for a bigger task, that normally means you have a drain on multiple circuits. So then the easiest way to find out where it is, is to remove all fuses and put them back in one by one. Make sure you put them back in at the correct position!
When the lamp lights up, note which fuse, pull it back out and continue with the rest. This way you should be able to register if there are several circuits that causes the drain.

By removing the negative cable and connect the test lamp, you may also find if you have a faulty alternator. This of course if you suspect so, ie. if the charging voltage is low. Then you remove the cabling from the alternator to see if the lamp goes out. If it does, it normally means you have a problem with your alternator. If it doesn't, it's back to the "fuse pull".

Hope this might help.

 

Any luck on your dying battery? I see this post is an older one.

I had the same issue when my '04 was brand new. Dealer tested and said it was fine. I got tired of the problem and put a new battery in '06 which solved the problem. I also installed a new alternator last year and it has continued to work fine until last week. Battery started going dead again with the doors left open. I had the battery tested today and was told it is fine.

Just looking for other suggestions or solutions.

Thanks!