Hello, sorry to bother people with my car problems but the mechanic I go to is closed because of recent events. If anyone could read on and make a diagnosis off the top car, that would give me some direction.
This morning my hybrid wouldn’t start so I got a jump start from my dad. When I pulled out of the driveway and was ready to go, it died! After another jump start in the street I pulled it into the garage and revved it for 5 minutes for the battery. I hit the air conditioner to check and it died again. Battery test says it has charge.
But the car doesn’t recognize it because it suffers from mental illness like me. Angst of automobile.
Did I blow a fuel fuse? I’m getting ready to check, the panel box inside the hood is tricky. In any event, I’m going to use the internet to YouTube my way through whatever it is with my very first car problem.
Used to be when I was 17 and got my first car back in the late seventies we used to work on our own cars. It was a lot simpler back then. We tuned up our cars, replaced fuel pumps or thermostats, replaced belts and hoses, even pulled a few engines out etc. I didn’t know a lot about cars but me and my friends could do basic stuff and spent quite a few Saturdays working on each others cars and we learned as we went along.
It was easier back then because you could open the hood and see everything and there wasn’t a lot of clutter like there is now. Everything was in relatively easy reach. Now working on cars for the average person is too complicated. Every square inch of the engine compartment has some gadget or hose or whatever. It ain’t like it used to be, that’s for sure.
I’d venture to say a cable loose or something. Know practically nothing about hybrids and electrics so no expert. Youtube is pretty good these days for finding some answers.
Look up Chilton repair manuals. They’ve been around for more than 90 years and I think they are about the best and most detailed and thorough manuals for almost any car.
Thanks guys. As of now after checking, I’m betting on it being the alternator, and subsequently the battery. I’ll call roadside assistance on Monday to change the battery and have it looked at closely at an auto center.
Now we have a dashboard with lights because of sensors all over the car. How the lights behave tells us something about what’s wrong. My car actually has a slippery road action light. It seems pretty useless.-
Yeah, lots of cars are computerized these days. My “check engine” light went on and eventually the problem cost me about $1500 and prompted 3 or 4 visits to the mechanic. It took 4 attempts by my mechanic to fix the problem. I have a Volkswagen which is hard to work on and my mechanic moaned, “Nick, why couldn’t you have got a Camry?”
I know quite a bit about cars as I tinker with them and am a licensed aircraft mechanic but I know nothing about hybrids but if it’s the alternator charging the battery might get it to crank but it will soon die afterwards.
Battery chargers are fairly inexpensive. I would think a hybrid would come with one also.