2000 Elantra with Electrical Gremlins

[imjumpin]

I am hoping that someone can give me some advice on electrical gremlins that are plaguing my 2000 Elantra.

About 6 wks. ago I started getting an intermittent start failure, which looked like a classic dying starting motor. I took it with a local mechanic, and he disagreed. He told me it was some safety lockout switch which was located very near the battery and was corroding. I still thought it was the starting motor, but I let him replace it. A couple of weeks later I drove the car out to Columbus, Ohio, and got the same dead-start symptoms. I called AAA, they told me it was my starting motor. The tow truck driver whacked it with a mallet and the car started right up, so it seemed to be the case. I drove home and had the starter replaced.

Today I again got a dead-start when I turned the key, but this one was different. My dash lights came on at about half brightness, there was some rhythmic blinking of my check engine light, and the needle on my tachometer
was hopping up and down periodically. I called my local dealer's service dept. and he thought it might be the alternator. His theory was that I had drained the battery just below where it would crank, and those were the symptoms. I put the battery on a charger, and confirmed it was fully charged, but I am still getting the same symptoms. What's worse, the shift lever will not allow me to shift into neutral, so right now I can't even push it out of my garage to get it towed. Any ideas??

[joyfromabove]

You might want to check recalls for the 2000 Hyundai Elantra. You can either google "2000 Hyundai Elantra recalls" or go to the AAA website where they are posted. I'm surprised they didn't mention it when you contacted them. This is the exact recall listing for the 2000 Elantra: "VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SOME SONATA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 2.5 LITER V-6 ENGINES AND ALL ELANTRA MODEL VEHICLES MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED INTERMITTENT LOW-SPEED ENGINE STALLING, WHICH COULD OCCUR IF THE MAF (MASS AIR FLOW) SENSOR ELECTRICAL SIGNAL IS INTERRUPTED AS A RESULT OF ENGINE VIBRATION TRANSMITTED TO THE MAF SENSOR CONNECTOR WIRING HARNESS.... Consequence: THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.... Remedy: DEALERS WILL RE-ROUTE THE MAF SENSOR CONNECTOR WIRING HARNESS".

I hope this solves your problem... and that it's not too late.

[imjumpin]

Thanks very much for the advice! In fact Hyundai did notify me of this recall about 6 months after I bought the car and I had the defect corrected. Basically they just installed a plastic clip which kept the distribution wiring from vibrating loose. I have had nary a problem with the car since. Current problem is also taken care of. The battery terminals which come with this car are incredibly cheesy, basically just a pair of thin copper straps. They had corroded and weakened to the point where they could no longer be properly tightened down, resulting in slow death for a new battery. A new battery and pair of decent terminals later and I am good to go. I would advise anyone who owns one to make a pre-emptive strike and replace the factory installed battery terminals.

[jerryls]

What was the problem with the starter ?
I'm looking at buying a 2002 Elantra, and they told me I would have to whack the starter occasionally??
Thanks

[PlanetDude]

If you`re whacking the starter, it`s time to replace it.

If you`re thinking of buying a car that needs to have a starter whacked, plan on replacing the starter. Or ask for one in the deal.

[jerryls]

Originally Posted by PlanetDude

If you`re whacking the starter, it`s time to replace it.

If you`re thinking of buying a car that needs to have a starter whacked, plan on replacing the starter. Or ask for one in the deal.

Of course- It was $800 below book value so I was interested, but someone beat me to it.