Help! Something just happened to my car

[08Venom]

I was just out for a drive.Stopped to fill up.When I went to restart my car,it turned over,started for about 1 second and died.I started it again right away and my voltage red indicator light came on.The battery voltage which has always been over 14 dropped to just above 11.I drove home,car ran fine except the voltage kept dropping slowly so now it is at just over the 10 volt minimum mark.Dash lights are very dim.I could not park it at my secure underground location tonight for fear it won't start again tomorrow and a flatbed can not get into the lot.What happened and what should I do?I have an appt on Monday for oil change and tire rotation but obviously did not anticipate this.Should I put it in hibernate mode to reserve what power is left?Will the alarm drain whatever power my battery has left overnight?Could somebody please help me?

 

[HSSSSSS]

Check obvious? Fan belt OK? Alternator not working if it lost amps all the way home. Put a 6-10 amp battery charger on it overnite if you have one. Security will be OK with charger on it.

 

[08Venom]

I don't own a battery charger unfortunately.I am going to go take a detailed look under the hood.

 

[kcobean]

Sounds definitely like alternator or voltage regulator failure. Not sure how long the car will run without....sounds like flatbed time.

 

[Black Mamba 47]

Bad or shorted Battery will cause an alternator to show low voltage!
Body control module regulates voltage I believe.

 

[Steve-Indy]

After you look under the hood...call me if you like.

By the way, applying a charger just might help direct you to the problem area...and MIGHT give you enough juice to get there. Chargers can be found everywhere, and are much cheaper than a flatbed(with or without the damage often done loading and unloading).

As I recall, more than one 2008 Viper had the battery changed at the time of delivery to the new owner.

 

[TAILWAG]

battery or alternator would be my guess...

 

[08Venom]

Thank you for the helpful replies.I saw nothing unusual under the hood,fan belt is fine.Alarm is still working this morning.Where it is parked there are no plug ins to hook up a battery charger unfortunately.Am I risking the car dying on me enroute if I attempt to drive it to the dealership Monday morning?
I had a p.m.saying I should try my spare key,is there any logic in this?

 

[RoadiJeff]

I had an alternator go out on me while driving along in my DD. If that's what's going on with yours you'll be lucky if you can drive it to the dealer. The spark will be very weak, almost no power and you'll have to maintain high RPMs to keep it running.

However, if you can borrow a charger and a long extension cord from someone (you said there's no plug where it is sitting), you could charge the battery fully and that would probably be enough to drive it to the dealer Monday, if that's what you decide to do.

The spare key idea makes no sense. Make sure all battery connections are tight and there's no corrosion at the terminals.

 

[Steve-Indy]

How far is it to the dealer?

Do you have a spare 12v battery?

Are you close to a Sears, Wal-Mart, or auto parts store?

The ARE ways to drive to the dealership.

 

[08Venom]

I live about 12 miles from the dealership and do not have a spare battery.The closest Canadian Tire is about 5 miles away from me.To make matters worse,I split with my wife a while ago and all my sockets are still uncollected on Vancouver Island (TMI?).The closest tools I can access are about 10 miles away.I am going to though,double check the tightness on the remote battery terminal.Plug ins are not an option where the car is situated,even with a long extension cord.Steve,what are the ways to drive to the dealership?I would like to avoid flatbedding if I can for fear of damage to my vehicle.

 

[Steve-Indy]

<p>Consider giving me a call.

 

[VENUM INJECTION]

It sounds as if you are worried about theft. I'm not sure what your area is like, but I agree with the others it is a battery or alternator prob. If you think it is safe enough, remove the battery and take it to walmart and have them check it for you, or you can take the battery to the dealor and they can check it and if it is ok they can charge it for you. Then you would have a fresh battery to drive to dealer for further eval. I have an 08 and have had several battery issues as have others on this site. But taking out battery and either charging or switching out might ensure the fastest solution that will get you back to your car if you are worried about leaving it alone where it is unprotected. Good luck and let us know what the prob. was.

 

[Mission Won]

I'm in Mission BC call me if you need assistance from fellow Viper bro,

Norm

09 convertible red /white stripes

 

[Steve-Indy]

Any update??

 

[08Venom]

Yesterday I received another p.m. telling me again,to try an alternate key fob.This morning I went out and tried it.The car fired up a little hesitantly,and the volts remained low for about 10 seconds,in the 11 volt range.Then they started to climb,the red indicator went off and the volts went up to normal,just above 14 volts.The car was perfect again.I drove to the dealership with no change in the gauge or problems.I told them at the dealer about what happened as well.I am just off now to pick it up.Very strange but pleasing nonetheless.I will recommunicate when I get back.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Glad you got there OK...will be interesting to hear what they find!!

 

[08Venom]

They said they located no problems,made a note of the incident and placed it in my file.They did though install a different oil filter (black in color,no SRT or Viper markings)on my engine.When I noticed it was different then the previous white filters with the markings,they told me the black filter was OK to use and not to worry.Service manager pulled out his book but his filter # was listed for an 8.3L engine.He still said the filter was OK.I insisted they change it to the white one,which they did but they made me pay for the filter.He told me the black one was $8.00 and covered by my extended warranty but the white one was $21.00 and not covered.They still use Mobil 1 0W-40 fortunately.

 

[Larry Macedo]

They said they located no problems,made a note of the incident and placed it in my file.They did though install a different oil filter (black in color,no SRT or Viper markings)on my engine.When I noticed it was different then the previous white filters with the markings,they told me the black filter was OK to use and not to worry.Service manager pulled out his book but his filter # was listed for an 8.3L engine.He still said the filter was OK.I insisted they change it to the white one,which they did but they made me pay for the filter.He told me the black one was $8.00 and covered by my extended warranty but the white one was $21.00 and not covered.They still use Mobil 1 0W-40 fortunately.

We have witnessed a few charging system problems with 08-09 Vipers over the past few months and both instances were related to wiring. issues

 

[08Venom]

The only thing I did notice was the wire that leads to the alternator seems to make slight contact with the area above the exhaust manifolds.There are no burn or melt marks on the wire.The key fob idea was based on the premise that the key might have some dirt accumulated on it which may hinder contact in the ignition causing some problems.I noticed my key I was using when the problem occured did have a little bit of dark gunk attached to it.I have since cleaned the dirt off.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Happy that your car started and made it to the dealer...but, I'm not at all confident that your troubles are over just yet. Maybe you'll be lucky!!!

I'd be lining up a backup car...or at least a few friends-on-call to bail me out.

 

[kcobean]

Happy that your car started and made it to the dealer...but, I'm not at all confident that your troubles are over just yet. Maybe you'll be lucky!!!

I'd be lining up a backup car...or at least a few friends-on-call to bail me out.

Agreed. Pro mechanic I'm not, but the fact that a charging issue was fixed by using a different key fob...just doesn't compute with me. I'd think you're looking at a coincidence if anything. Hope the problem doesn't come back though.

 

[08Venom]

I think you guys are right.Even though the battery voltage is back to normal now,my feelings are that this problem will rear it's head again.The whole key fob thing does seem strange and may just be coincidence.At least now I know how to change the battery,if need be,thanks to Steve's help.I hope though that it does not turn out to be something more complicated,like the wiring.
I have noticed,since this happened,that when I do start my car,the voltage stays longer then it used to at about 11.5 volts before rising to 14.I will be putting my car away for the winter soon and will be prepped with a new battery for next spring.

 

[Larry Macedo]

I think you guys are right.Even though the battery voltage is back to normal now,my feelings are that this problem will rear it's head again.The whole key fob thing does seem strange and may just be coincidence.At least now I know how to change the battery,if need be,thanks to Steve's help.I hope though that it does not turn out to be something more complicated,like the wiring.
I have noticed,since this happened,that when I do start my car,the voltage stays longer then it used to at about 11.5 volts before rising to 14.I will be putting my car away for the winter soon and will be prepped with a new battery for next spring.

The problem will come and go w/ key cycles, not key fobs.

 

[08Venom]

You are right.I should have termed it differently.