Charger Forums banner

Car is DEAD ! Please help !

4K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  shortfuse 
#1 ·
Ok, I dont want to write a story because I'm sure nobody wants to read it, so I'm just going to sum everything up over the last 4 days as short as I could.

Wednesday (morning): Drove home from work in the morning like I normally do, everything was fine except I kept getting a faint smell of rotten eggs. Got home in the AM, dropped my son off at school, he also smelled eggs. Went to bed.

Wednesday (afternoon): Had to pick up my son, started the car and it started shaking like crazy, check engine light came on and the whole car just kept vibrating / shaking. I drove it anyway because I would have been late for my son and I had no choice. It drove but wasn't as peppy, and sometimes at the lights it felt like it was going to stall out. The whole trip back and forth took about 10 minutes.

Wednesday (late night): Went out to start the car just to check on it, it was doing the same thing. I knew I had to take it to get looked at in the morning. Did the key trick and pulled a code P0304(cylinder 4 misfire)

Thursday (morning): Went to go in the trunk to empty it before I dropped it off and realized I couldn't open it from the remote. Turns out the whole car was dead, NO POWER at all. No headlights, radio, nothing. Absolutley no juice.

I'm just really confused because of the rotten egg smell, at first I thought maybe cat converter but then the P0304 code popped up, then the car lost all power. None of it makes any sense.

Some history, i have a 2007 charger 2.7 with about 140,000 miles. I don't abuse it and take good care of it, Usually dealer maintenanced unless it's a small job. I've been hesitating on where to take it because I literally have no idea what it could be. I know the code could be something small like plugs, coils or something or something major. I just don't have a personal mechanic anymore who I can trust. I would hate for somebody to charge me $2000 for a $40 job.

Any help guys, please.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Rotten Egg Smell #1 Catalytic Converter:

A smell of sulfur coming from a car's exhaust pipe is a good sign that there is a problem with the catalytic converter, according to Cars Direct. The smell, similar to rotten eggs, indicates that the sulfur present in gasoline is not being converted to odorless sulfur dioxide.

Rotten Egg Smell #2 Car Battery:

One of the first symptoms of a problem with the battery is a rotten egg smell. Conventional acid lead automotive batteries are filled with a mixture of water and sulfuric acid. As the battery wears, some of the acid and water may evaporate which will disturb the mixture. This may cause the battery to overheat or boil, which will produce an unpleasant smell, and even smoking in more severe cases.

No Power to Vehicle Electronics:

Probably the most common symptom of a battery problem is no power going to the electronics. If a battery goes bad or becomes drained, it may not hold a charge and will not be able to provide power for any of the vehicle’s electronics. Upon entering the vehicle, you may notice that turning the key does not activate the electrical system, or that the lights and switches are not functioning. Usually, a battery drained to this extent will need to be charged or replaced.

My best guess...you have a bad battery. I would replace it, clear any codes you have, then try and start her up. Let her run for a bit and if all looks, sounds, and smells good, take her for a short drive.
 
#3 · (Edited)
If you're battery has been going bad to the extent of it boiling, like Vmkeith said, it should be replaced. Trying to charge a bad battery can result at best, the same symptoms, or at worst, an explosion. Seen it happen once, hope to never see it again.

Also, those battery vapors can be poisonous in high enough concentrations and depending on how the gas interacts with other materials, it could also be flammable.

I would assume the battery has leaked acid, so use rubber gloves and safety goggles. Have a watery mixture of water and baking soda to clean the terminals and surrounding area to prevent further corrosion and clean the battery tray area. Clean with a soapy solution next, wipe clean and let dry.

Before installing new battery, check all terminals and wires for any damage/corrosion and clean/repair/replace as necessary.

Hope this helps.
Shortfuse
 
#4 ·
I appreciate it guys very much. I'm going to get a battery first thing in the morning. I'll report back.

What about the P0304 code, could it be false ?
 
#5 ·
It could be.
One extra step you can take, since this problem seems to be electrical, switch the #4 cylinder coil with #2 cylinder coil. If it's time to replace your spark plugs, do it now or at least replace the #4 cylinder spark plugs with the same type.
Do a good once over, make sure all connectors are connected etc etc.
It's also a good idea to have a multi-meter ready. After you start your car measure the voltage at the battery, it should be about 14 volts DC.
Hook up your scanner and clear the code.
Turn the key to off, disconnect the scanner then start the car.
If your car starts to shake again, wait for the code to come back before shutting it down.

Shortfuse
 
#6 ·
Update:

Bought a new battery today from Advance. Installed it and crossed my fingers. She started right up and no shaking. I let it run 10 min and then drove it around, tried to pull a code but there are none.

Seems to have lost some pick up, but I could just be used to my wife's Rogue for the last week. LOL.

I didn't know a bad battery could throw a faulty code and smell like eggs. I'm still confused on how it was shaking so badly, but it's gone.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it alot.
 
#8 ·
Quick question ?

Is it possible for there to be a underlying issue and not throw a code.
I know anything is possible, but technically if there is some sort of error, I should be able to pull a code either with the key trick or from the scanner, right ?
Is it possible for the car to not register an error code ?
 
#9 ·
Always possible. There are things that do not report errors to ODBII as well that need special scanners to read the codes.

As for sluggishness, I believe if the computer loses it's power source for long enough it basically resets it. So it could be relearning things like air-to-fuel ratios and whatnot.
 
#10 ·
Monitor everything for a week or so, chances are the alternator went and when the battery couldn't keep up with the demand it basically cooked itself trying. It happens.

Make sure all accessories work correctly and that the car starts every morning without any slow crank. A slow crank may mean you have a draw on the system somewhere, like a dome light, bad module or faulty wiring. Modules going bad could have a larger than normal draw even with the engine turned off and bad wiring could also zap cranking power forcing the battery and alternator to work harder than they should.

Shortfuse
 
#11 · (Edited)
Update to everyone that helped.

So I've been using the car for the last week like normal, runs good. All of a sudden yesterday I turn it on and the CEL light comes on and still no code. I drive it to my local mechanic and the light starts to flash, thankfully I made it in time. He checks it and tells me that I have a misfire in cylinder 4 and it's my fuel injector. He quotes me a price which I think is insane so I tow it back to my house and now it's sitting in my driveway, CEL is on but key trick shows no code.

I don't work on my car myself, I always pay to get it done. I noticed my engine is filthy and there is alot of soot and it realy pissed me off and made me realize that whenever someone is under my hood, they don't give a shit. So I've decided to tackle this myself. I'm just scared regarding the injector because of the fuel, any tips ? My spark plugs were changed 40,000 miles ago at the dealer but I wonder if I should change them again since I'm going to be under there. Also, should I change that specific coil pack for the hell of it because of the misifire code ?

So basically my questions:

1). How hard are the fuel injectors, any tips ?
2). Should I do the spark plugs anyway ?
3). Should I change the coil pack for the hell of it ?


I don't have experience with anything, I would be doing the work based strictly upon the write ups from the forum and youtube videos.
 
#13 ·
The injectors are pretty easy to change.
Remove the fuel pump relay then start the car, it will stall, start again, you're just trying to run the fuel out of the system.
Disconnect the negative ground off the battery.

This is a video for a dodge ram with a hemi, skip to the 3 minute mark.


The coil pack, just switch the #4 cylinder coil pack with the #2 cylinder coil Pack to determine if the coil pack is the problem.

Shortfuse
 
  • Like
Reactions: joeydes
#14 · (Edited)
Shortfuse, thanks alot. I know it's a million questions but I appreciate it.

If the coil pack is ok, is it something that should be changed anyway bc of age or just leave it ?
Since I'm going to do the spark plugs,if the gasket around them is ok should I change them anyway ? I heard I shouldn't even touch it.
Also, do you know if I can use aftermarket fuel injectors or should I go OEM for them ?

Just a reminder, it's a '07 with almost 150,000 miles.


Sent from my Galaxy Note 7 using Tapatalk
 
#16 ·
With fuel injectors, go with oem unless someone else has specific experience with another brand.

With coils, switch the coils from one cylinder to another, if the fault stays with the original cylinder, it's not the coil. If the fault shows up on the new cylinder, the coil pack is bad, change it.

The gasket you're referring to is for the valve cover gasket over the spark plug. If all you're doing is replacing the spark plug, then don't remove the valve cover.

Shortfuse
 
  • Like
Reactions: joeydes
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top