This is my wife's account and as you can see she has never posted. That being said we have a major problem with her crossfire. I washed the car today as normal, same as I have done 1000 times. Only problem is that when I finished drying her off she took it to the local grocery.

Upon returning ALL of the warning lights around the cluster are on but the odometer is blank. Also the radio works but has no backlight even with the headlights turned on. The car runs and seems to drive fine.

I have no idea what could be wrong. Hopefully some of you guys can point me in the right direction. I hate to take it some place and spend a small fortune having them try and fix it.

 

Disconnect the battery for about 15 minutes. Hook it back up and see if that reset everything.

 

Unfortunately this hasn't fixed the problem at all. The lights come right back on and will not turn off even with the key out of the ignition.

 

Okay, that's a weird one. I don't have a clue as to advise you further. Maybe some harness connection came lose somewhere, but where to look, I don't know. Sorry.

But when you find out, please let us know what it turned out to be. This is the first new problem we have had in a while.

 

Check the fuses. If you have instruction manual you can find them there. If not, one of those are when you open drivers door and on the left end of the dash board you will see like two plastic screws. Check those. Then check the ones under the hood. When you open the hood if you stand in front of your car, it is on the left side (i think) box that said "fuse box" on it if not on left, it is on right. Check those two. MAKE SURE THAT THE CAR IS COMPLETELY OFF!!!

 

Also try to touch around metal parts on the car while the car is on. BUT BE CAREFUL. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT ELECTRICITY WILL SHOCK YOU. If you are waring any kind of pace maker or any other electronic device, or you have weak heart or you are afraid and un-secure, DON'T do it. If it shocks you it means that some wire is touching metal and creating short-circuit that can mess you car, light and everything else.

 

Sorry for the delay in the response. My parents came in town to visit so while they were here I left the batter disconnected and we never moved the car. Once I plugged it back in the BAS ESP light came on but after a short drive it went off and all has been well since.

The only thing i can come up with is that water got into one of the electrical connections. Everything was dry when I checked though. I even checked every single fuse and didn't find a single blown one or a hint of moisture anywhere.

Well I hope all stays well. It would be nice to have some good luck for a change.

 

did you wash the engine bay the alternator is exposed easily and so it the computers by the battery in the black box

 

I did not. I washed it just as I have done 1000 times before. I am very careful when getting near the engine bay. It was very odd to say the least. Thanks again for all the tips and suggestions!

 

Almost sounds like a grounding issue ! Just for insurance and peace of mind, I'd check the ground wires to the body and engine. Odd though that it went away !

 

If you do get this again - check the relays, these have been known to fail and cause strange things to happen. They are very cheap to replace and pull out just like fuses.

 

A couple of things I want to add here.
The BAS ESP light will always come on after a battery disconnect but resets once turning the steering wheel fully left and then right.
As far as the engine bay getting wet I was always paranoid that if I washed the engine that something would get wet that shouldn't and I would have problems.
NOT TRUE
After some guidance from Maxcichon and others here I sprayed the entire engine and engine bay with a mixture 50/50 of Simple Green and water.
After 10 minutes I sprayed the entire engine and engine bay with the pressure from my household garden hose and rinsed everything for about 10 minutes.
I got in the car and it started right up with no issues at all.

 

Gary, what areas did you steer the water stream away from, if any?

 

The area you want to watch out for is the cowl area under the wipers don't spray water there. i found out the hard way. especially if the drain in the middle is stopped up with leaves and things water will spill over into the vent system where the blower motor is and cause all kinds of problems. it ruined my amp.

 

posted in wrong thread

 

I always place a plastic grocery store bag over the alternator to keep moisture from getting inside. Don't know that any other precautions need to be taken. (Note: I realize this thread is an old one, but I couldn't help myself with a reply!)