14myLexo

Hello,

Out of nowhere and without any type of warning or indication, my '02 RX300 decided to stay stuck in Park, with both the Brake & ABS lights on. As per the Owner's manual I manually did the shifter reset and got it out of gear, however the following day, the same thing occurred, except this time, the car began to shut off after a short distance driven (not even a block) and keeps draining the battery and even after a fresh jump-start, upon disconnecting the cables the vehicle shuts off completely!! Please help!! Thank you

code58

Would have been a lot cheaper in the long run to just replace the antenna mast. You can buy 'em on e-bay for $12.-$15. Started clipping wires? I know this doesn't help you, but your husband shouldn't be let near tools, especially wire cutters. This is probably gonna require a REAL mechanic, and Oh,.... a lotta money.

RuninRoach

looks like its time to take the battery to sears to get it tested and get the alternator checked as well.

code58

What's going on here? What happened to your original post (completely different) ???? that I responded to ????

14myLexo

Well, after reading your response and going over what I had originally posted, it seemed that I was not pointing out what the problem really was, so I decided that it would be best to better specify the issue. I do however, appreciate your feedback

14myLexo

I had a feeling that it may be the alternator, which is not good news, however, better than being a complicated computer/electrical issue. I will go ahead and have both of those checked out, thank you

code58

I appreciate you not becoming offended about my original reply, as it was quite blunt. I hope the problem is quickly resolved.

14myLexo

No Worries! Thanks again

14myLexo

So, I had the battery replaced and the vehicle started up normally and I thought I was golden and that had been the problem, then to be safe, I proceeded to have the charger checked for alternator issues and sure enough, it tested bad!
Can anyone tell me where the ground cables are located exactly, as I was wondering if perhaps that is what may be loose and causing the problem meaning that perhaps I haven't the need to replace my current alternator (just to exhaust all options)? Thank you!

RuninRoach

I Think LexMex might know the answer to your question. Very knowledgeable posts and a lot of DIY items.

Lexmex

There are so many grounding cables on the vehicle. However, if grounds were bad, there would be more a propensity for hesitation here rather than failure. In addition, I've seen grounding cables get rust over time in these vehicles, but rarely them becoming loose.

How has the vehicle been running since the battery has been installed?

14myLexo

Hello,

Well, in a nutshell..we installed a brand new battery and within 48 hrs. of hardly ANY driving, the battery had been fully drained!! (To answer your question, The car ran smooth on the new battery until seconds before it was about to die, of course). Which confirmed our suspicions that a new alternator was needed.
O'Reilly Auto Parts, which is the auto parts store who sold us our battery, conducted a test which confirmed that the alternator was in fact the cause of our problem; they warned that the vehicle would soon die should we continue to drive it in this condition, which we already suspected. Unfortunately, after having replaced said alternator, we now find that our ABS & Emergency Brake lights remain lit and the Gear Shifter remains Locked

I am quite frankly beginning to worry a bit as the uncertainty is driving us nuts!! I really do appreciate any input or expertise that may possibly shed some light on the issue we are faced with, not sure if our situation sounds familiar to anyone, as its quite strange in my opinion, however, if it rings a bell..PLEASE HELP LOL! Thanks again!!

Kindest Regards

code58

When you replaced the alternator, did you properly charge the battery with a battery charger? An alternator is NOT meant to charge a battery from a discharged condition, and especially a deep discharged one, such as you had when running the car on the new battery with a bad alternator. The proper thing to do would be to fully charge the battery with a battery charger (I prefer a "smart" charger) with the ground cable disconnected (IF this was not done before the alternator replacement) and reconnect the cable and see how things are at that point. With the electronics in todays cars, you may think you're in control, but the computer is ACTUALLY sitting in the drivers seat. Believe it or not, with a deep discharge as you experienced with the new battery, it can actually do damage to the battery in that one discharge. Most people would say, no it's fine, but I've tested batteries all my adult life and I can tell you, when tested, you can actually see it. A deep discharge to 1 or 2 volts on a BRAND NEW battery and left sit for a couple weeks and it's pretty much history from sulfation. See if any of this helps you and come back and let us know how things go.


BTW, IF you "hardly drove" the car in that 2 days, and the battery was the proper battery (At least 585 CCA's) and FULLY charged, there's NO WAY it should have run completely dead. There has to be a drain on the system. That battery should definitely run longer than that with NO juice flowing into the battery. When you charge the battery fully, reconnect the GROUND cable and see if you have a spark when you touch it. You may have a SLIGHT spark when the memories in the computers boot back up, but if you remove it again and reconnect, you should have no spark. If you do, it tells you that there's a drain somewhere. If you started it a lot in that 2 days and ran the A/C all the time, that would use a lot more juice and COULD run it down without any other problem. Only you know for sure.
The CEL's and any other should reset when the ground cable is of for recharging.