Just had the alternator and battery replaced, on the way to the airport just after, the charge light comes on??? Then after a short stop the car won't shift out of first gear. Tried to start and stop, tried to put it into gear manually, nothing worked.
Since we had a plane to catch, drove it on. After about 20 miles, there's a beep, the charge light goes off and the car starts changing gears normally??????

So is there anything having to do with the alternator/battery change that could have caused this. It worked ok today (a week later) on the way home from the airport, but I'm worried it will happen again.

Thanks for any input.

 

obviously check fluids...make sure trans fluid isnt burnt up and you have enough. Then if that checks out, check ground wires since these things are notorious for problems. Clean them, make sure everything is connected and has a good connection. Also, sometimes if the trans/motor mounts are bad it could make it shift like crap for multiple reasons so I would check that. My vote is check connections to TCM and make sure there is no corrosion in plugs or on the grounds. As you check them, get some dielectric grease and put it in the plug to prevent future problems if they are OK. Also, before you unplug everything, undo you negative cable on your battery and leave it unhooked for about 45 mins to make sure all the power is dissipated from the capacitors in the computers. This is my opinion how I would handle it...

 

Thanks.
Car is dead again. I'm thinking that we got a Bad alternator. Trying to charge the battery now so we can drive it back to the shop.

 

Dealer was too busy to get us in, so I've replaced both battery terminals and the starter fuse under the hood, we'll see. . .

 

Battery terminals and fuse made zero difference, back in the shop for a starter.

 

ppritchard,

Sorry to hear you were having some troubles.
Did your dealer in fact determine the condition was related to the starter?
Are you able to post up the work order once everything is sorted?
It would be valuable info. for other members.

 

Dealer was "too busy" to get me in.
Took the car to Tires Plus, they changed out the starter and so far, it is working fine.

thanks for the inputs

 

ppritchard,

A busy dealer schedule can certainly be frustrating.
Glad to hear however that things are working well for you now.

 

New starter seems to have fixed it.

Now, my only remaining puzzle is the "howling" sound when we accelerate. It's like when you were a kid and took the air cleaner off -- deep throaty sound under acceleration and what seems like a loss of power too.

thoughts???

thanks

 

ppritchard,

What exactly are you driving, model and year?
It's difficult to diagnose, however I'd be happy to see if I could point you in the right direction with more info.