Q: I jump started my car and now it won't stay running.

asked by on December 16, 2016

The light in the car got left on and made the battery go dead. Well a few nights later when my husband got home I went to put the jumper cables on it to jumpstart it. I had them on backwards, which could be because I was trying to do this in the dark. Well it made a huge spark. I then corrected the cables and tried to start the car, well it would turn over and try to start but couldnt fire off. I figured out that my alternator fuse had blow. I got that changed and jump the car off again and it started, but within a couple of minutes of it running it died.e that it could even while I had the rpms up. I put the cables back on after I tried to start it before that and it wouldnt even make a sound. so after i put the the new fuse in the camry I go to jump it off and it starts, but in like 3 minutes of running it died again with rpms up. I try again and it starts and stays on a lil longer, now it just tries and wont fire at all.

My car has 152578 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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When you hook the jumper cables up backwards, it only takes an instant to do a lot of damage. The electronics on modern cars are very sensitive to voltage surge. Any or all of the Electronic modules may be damaged. You may be able to replace some parts and get the car working, and could continue to have problems related to this incident for months as some of the damage will not be immediately apparent. It’s going to take some diagnostic work to figure out where the problems begin and work them out to the end. If you contact Your Mechanic, they can send a technician to your home or office to check out your car and give you some advice as to what you should do with it next.

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