[Oh Randi]

Originally Posted by DZLBUG

Hmmm...coolant migration?

Pull the connector off the coolant reservoir and take a look at it. If its wet with coolant or has pink crusties...you've got big problems.

If not, then you might have two separate issues going on...whatever is causing the lighting oddities (the pass. door issue is probably just the microswitch) and possibly a bad ground that is causing the starting issues. When it won't start, is everything completely dead? Or do you still have electrical power for lights etc until you try cranking? If so, take a careful look at the ground points under the battery tray and the cables/connections to the starter.

I'll check the coolant reservoir in the morning..

It's not completely dead, unless I haven't driven it in days. Usually, it tries to start but doesn't have enough power to do so. One time, it even started, then died and didn't have enough to start again. That sucked. haha. How would I look at the ground points under the battery? Get it up on a lift? What should I look for? My boyfriend works at a dealership so I have access to a lift if that would make it easier..

Originally Posted by FarrisK

Here's a test to find out where the draw on the system is:

You'll need a multimeter (with current (Amps)) and a helper.

Hook the multimeter in series with the positive battery lead. (Black wire from multimeter goes to positive battery terminal, red wire from multimeter goes to positive wire from car) The helper will need to stand at the multimeter (set to current mode) and watch what the current does as you start pulling fuses ONE BY ONE with the key out of the ignition and the interior dome light off (because the driver door will have to be open to pull the fuses).

One or more of the fuses should cause a dramatic reduction in current. Those should give you an idea of where the draw is.

Other than that, I'm not sure what else to do.

The shop says they checked for drains, but I'm thinking I should go ahead and try myself. Should I also check the ones on the battery fuse box? is it ok to pull those or no?

Originally Posted by D2Beetle

Just curious, if your statement is accurate... "The wiring in the headlights is SHOT. As in, the coating is just falling off..."

... if it were me, I would fix these issues before I started looking for unexplained electrical problems; on the other hand, I have read about problems with the secondary (electric) water pump running when it should not.

I covered the wires as much as I could with electrical tape, and I'm not sure what else to do about that..

I haven't thought of the secondary water pump.. perhaps that's something I should look into.



Thanks for the feedback, guys. I really appreciate it. I'll check into everything you guys have suggested. Keep 'em coming. My car's got major issues