[luckyRT]

Hi, on Monday, the CHECK ENGINE light came on, along with a blinking CHECK TRANS light. My nearest Isuzu dealer appointment isn't for another week (said they didn't have anything available). They say I should be able to drive it ok.

Anyways, the next day while driving on the freeway, both problem lights turn off. So I'm thinking maybe somekind of loose electrical wiring? Well, I turn off the engine and after a few hours, when I try to start it back up, it barely starts like there's a dead battery but the battery indicator says it still has a good charge (green eye)!

I"m able to barely start the car and drive it home. On the freeway, the CHECK ENGINE light came back on. Once home, I turned off the engine and immediately try to turn it back on. It barely "cranks" over. Several attempts later, I'm able to start it. Turn it off and try back on again..still the same, barely cranks like the battery is bad?

What is wrong with the car? Whats up with the warning lights and then the car barely wants to start. Are they related somehow?

Someone please help!!

 

[mepr]

well im not too good with newer cars, but it seems like your starter is going out at first thought. But that still wont explain the check engine/trans lights coming on. It could be that theres some wiring off the batery that is bad and or shorting out. Try tracing the cables and making shure conections are tight. Pull the ground cables off the engine block and the chassis and clean the contact areas. Beyond that im afraid i cant realy think of much... Hope that helps!

 

[onetouch]

The ground, allways the ground with these things.

New, old, dont matter.

Check the grounds.

Jim

 

[Tad]

When the alternators go bad on these trucks one of the first things that people notice is that the transmission either starts shifting funny or it spits out an error. You also had slow starting which can indicate a battery that isn't fully charged. Both of these things point to the alternator.

If you don't want to wait for the dealer, have the alternator tested. You can do an initial test with a volt meter. It should read between 13.5 and 14.5 volts.

It wouldn't hurt to clean the battery terminals (inside and out) while you are messing with it.

You could also have a battery with a dead cell. That would leave you with 10 volts which is low enough to cause hard starting, and it could create enough of a draw to drop the voltage while running too.

-Tad

 

[luckyRT]

Thanks everyone for your help. I will give them all a try. I'm not much of a mechanic. Where are the ground wires? Are they difficult to find? I'll also get the battery checked out today.

 

[luckyRT]

UPDATE, well I decided to use process of elimination and took the car to SEARS for a battery check. As it turns out, the battery needed replacement. Had the battery changed out and so far so good. Car starts up great and no more warning lights.

Should I still take the car into the dealer for a check up?

 

[serranot]

If this is the alternator like Tad suggested, this is fixing the symptom but not the problem. Recommend that you still test the alternator or you will possibly be trashing the new battery.

Regards,
Tom