[Talldaddy]

Hey, new Hellcat owner here. Found a neglected 2016 6spd with 1000 miles. Looks new. Ive been driving it for the past 3 months and put about 2500 more miles on it without a hiccup until Tuesday.

Started the car as usual (about 7 days from prior driving, it had rained the night before), but the dash went blank. Thought it might just need to reboot so hit the start button to turn it off and it wouldn't turn off! Hit it about 20 times and nothing. Car idling normally. Went inside and found the nasty black key to see if that might be the issue, but sitll nothing. So I put the car in 3rd and stalled it.

Car had dim dash lights, the lights on the mirrors indicating someone in the blind spot were both on, the halos were on and the right rear parking light was on. I could not turn them off. Lights wouldn't turn on. Trunk wouldn't open. So, I popped the hood and began pulling fuses. Heard several items whirring when I pulled fuses, but the lights never turned off. (didn't know there is another fuse box in the trunk). I was already late for work, so left the car with the lights on hoping that the battery would discharge and a recharge would reboot the car and remove any gremlins.

Had my skinny daughter climb into the trunk and open it. Battery is now 100%, no lights, door doesn't move the glass when opening or closing, horn doesn't work. I pulled every fuse in both boxes and they are all good. Starter button does nothing.

HELP!

 

[baabootoo]

"Neglected" how? If you are 100% sure the battery is good (charged for many hours and holds a charge for days) then make sure all the big red and black wires are solidly connected to the fuse boxes; front and rear. Maybe they hooked up an aftermarket stereo and messed one up?

 

[areuriding]

Low voltage from battery will cause all those electrical gremlins. For the window dropdown you need it reset, I went through the same issue on my 17 hellcat. Make sure the battery is holding a charge, mine was a year old and went bad. Dealer replaced battery, reset window dropdown and cleared all the electrical issues.

 

[Talldaddy]

"Neglected" how? If you are 100% sure the battery is good (charged for many hours and holds a charge for days) then make sure all the big red and black wires are solidly connected to the fuse boxes; front and rear. Maybe they hooked up an aftermarket stereo and messed one up?

Thank you for the reply. Neglected by only having 1000 miles in 3 years. Otherwise it is mint.
I checked all the primary power lines and they are snug, look like they have never been touched.

 

[Talldaddy]

Low voltage from battery will cause all those electrical gremlins. For the window dropdown you need it reset, I went through the same issue on my 17 hellcat. Make sure the battery is holding a charge, mine was a year old and went bad. Dealer replaced battery, reset window dropdown and cleared all the electrical issues.

Hopefully you are correct. Battery read as 100% after a 6 hour charge on with a 26A charger. My battery charger has a jump start feature with 50A, I'll see if that wakes up the beast.

 

[GreenMachine15]

I bet the battery has a bad cell. Put a new battery in it. Sometimes the radio, navigation, and windows still act weird for a little after a new battery fyi

 

[Skrelnik]

Hopefully you are correct. Battery read as 100% after a 6 hour charge on with a 26A charger. My battery charger has a jump start feature with 50A, I'll see if that wakes up the beast.

We picked up our 2016 Hellcat with 29 miles back in 2019. The dealer said the battery was no good and they needed to replace it before they could legally sell to me.

Seems like you may be in a similar situation. Get a new battery and see how that goes, your current battery probably is not holding it's charge...simply too old and time to replace with a brand new battery.

 

[baabootoo]

You need to let the battery sit for days and check the before/after voltage. What was the warranty of the current one? Maybe a free load test at an Autozone?

 

[Rockster]

Thank you for the reply. Neglected by only having 1000 miles in 3 years. Otherwise it is mint.
I checked all the primary power lines and they are snug, look like they have never been touched.

A battery sitting pretty much with no use since 2016 may look mint -- have a pretty fresh looking housing -- but it is no way in "mint" condition otherwise.

The battery is junk.

I'd start by replacing the battery.

Also, you have to be concerned about a car being left unused for long periods of time suffering from rodent damage. Rodent damage -- specifically to the wiring -- can result in all sorts of issues.

 

[Skrelnik]

A battery sitting pretty much with no use since 2016 may look mint -- have a pretty fresh looking housing -- but it is no way in "mint" condition otherwise.

The battery is junk.

I'd start by replacing the battery.

Also, you have to be concerned about a car being left unused for long periods of time suffering from rodent damage. Rodent damage -- specifically to the wiring -- can result in all sorts of issues.

Tires could also have issues and need to be looked at.

 

[trakpak]

Agree 100% on the battery. Just get a new one and be done with it.

 

[66stingray]

Agree with everyone else about the battery. Unless you have chewed up wires from rodents or a loose connection, you'd be surprised the havoc a bad battery can produce.

 

[2ndAmend]

I agree with the chorus that the battery is suspect, but I am the King of Cheapness so I would check a couple of things first. (I also have time on my hands!)

First I would wire brush the battery terminals (on the bat and cables), make sure all contact surfaces are clean and shiny. Then with clean contacts, make sure you have a full charge. If the problem persists, I would take it to an auto parts store that does a free battery load test. If it fails, then buy a net bat!

 

[Talldaddy]

I bet the battery has a bad cell. Put a new battery in it. Sometimes the radio, navigation, and windows still act weird for a little after a new battery fyi

New battery installed, no improvement.
I have the light on the bezel of the start button saying OFF lit. The driver window has gone down as if to allow it to close, but doesn't go up. It is now stuck open about 1 inch.
The dash has fainted lights saying depress clutch to start car. Lights dont work, no horn. No reponse to the push start button, but occasionally the dash message about the clutch will go off and just be black.

Any other thoughts? Perhaps a Relay is out??

 

[Talldaddy]

Agree 100% on the battery. Just get a new one and be done with it.

NO luck

 

[Talldaddy]

I agree with the chorus that the battery is suspect, but I am the King of Cheapness so I would check a couple of things first. (I also have time on my hands!)

First I would wire brush the battery terminals (on the bat and cables), make sure all contact surfaces are clean and shiny. Then with clean contacts, make sure you have a full charge. If the problem persists, I would take it to an auto parts store that does a free battery load test. If it fails, then buy a net bat!

Good idea, but a 5 year old battery was not worth gambling... Howeveer it is not the problem. Some other gremlin.

 

[2ndAmend]

Did this car spend time in a costal area?

 

[2ndAmend]

What I would do:

Put a meter on the + terminal under the hood, you should see 12.3-12.6v. Push the button to the “run” position, you should see less v but still have 12 or better, if not you may have a poor power connection somewhere. Otherwise you might have a hardware problem.

 

[2ndAmend]

How I spent my weekend:

I cut down some trees and used my Bobcat excavator and tractor to move the wood out. Next morning the Bobcat wouldn’t start! When I turned the key to “on” the display lit up but when I hit “start” everything went dead, even on “on” no power anywhere, like the battery was disconnected. I cleaned terminals, nothing. It’s a diesel, easy to jump, put cable ties on the fuel shutoff and shorted the solenoid terminals, nothing! Not even a spark!

Ok brought the tractor down to try a jump. Still nothing.

Rolled out 200’ of extension cord and put the charger on it, it had a full charge, nothing!

Suddenly, the gremlin jumped to the tractor and it acted like the battery was dead! Turn the key to “on” and nothing, the display did not even light up.

Fast forward, the 2013 battery in the tractor and the 2017 battery in the Bobcat were fine. The connection between the battery cable and terminals in the tractor had corroded, but this was not a problem until it was in the damp hole (where I was cutting trees) for several hours. Suddenly, they would not carry enough current to even light the instrument panel.

I’m not sure about the Bobcat, but I suspect the same thing happened. After f’ing around with all the contact points (and jumping the + to the dash on the Bobcat), I got them both started and drove them to my barn. So far I replaced the + and – cables in the tractor, and it is perfect, even the starter turns faster now. Waiting for more cable terminals to finish the Bobcat. I suspect it will be perfect after replacing the two – cables and the + cable.

Moral of the long story, no juice, no go!

 

[Talldaddy]

Did this car spend time in a costal area?

None,. Just recently sleeping outside