06 PT Issue: Electronic Key/Ignition??
 

Hi -- I am not a car person, but I know very well how to get to my dealer. And I have been having a problem that, thus far, the dealer has not been able to resolve. Maybe one of you can help??

I will be driving along and all of a sudden all the idiot lights come on. Sometimes gauges drop to zero, but not always. All obvious electrical stuff (lights, AC, radio) keeps working. This typically lasts but a few seconds and things return to normal (idiot lights out) until the next time. When the gauges drop to zero, it seems clear that the engine has actually died, though at speed this is barely noticeable. The whole sequence may occur multiple times in quick succession. Or just once. Sometimes I travel a few feet before a repeat and sometimes several hundred miles. The dealer has looked at it multiple times over a period of 8 months and "fixed" multiple things (for multiple $) without fixing the problem. He says it doesn't throw a code and he cannot replicate the problem.

This morning I was talking to somebody who said it might be caused by a chip in the key?? Could it be?? Is there any way to determine for sure? Any ballpark on how much it might cost to fix?? If not the key/ignition, what are the other possibilities??

PT has 114,000 miles on him but I really like him. So I don't mind paying well to get the problem fixed, but I sure don't need to be paying for the wrong thing yet again... So what do you all think??

Thanks for any wisdom you can offer!

Tweaks

I have seen this b4 be an ignition switch

Thanks for your reply... Car is back at the dealer as of this morning. This time they say there is a problem with the wiring harness coming from the battery. Is it THE problem? Or are they just guessing?? I guess I can only hope they are right this time. Is there any recourse for an out of warranty car where you take it to a dealer repeatedly to fix a problem, but after many $, the problem is still not fixed?? Does it make sense that a problem with the battery harness could cause the kind of problem I am having? Thanks!!

I cant answer any of those questions because I have not looked at the car myself