[stm305]

Hello all, and thanks in advance to anyone who can help out.

Quick backstory. Had a P0420 code for the past few months, which never recently gave me any issues, until a few weeks ago. I noticed bad fuel efficiency, slow/hesitant acceleration, and also started noticing the need to let the car warm up for a few minutes in the morning, or else the car would stall out when pulling off, but would start right back up when pushing the button.(I'm in Miami, so no cold weather).

Fast forward to the present, decided to change out the O2 sensor on my lunch break. I found out the sensor was the wrong sensor because the clip didnt fit the wiring harness. Out of desperation, I switched clips from the old sensor to the new one and clipped it into the harness and screwed/tightened the sensor in. I go to start the car, and heard a "pop" sound and car wouldnt crank/start. Only all my dash lights/gauges, radio would come on, but only a 'click' when I press the start button.

Car sat for a week. I found a youtube vid that suggested I'd blown the main fuse block(the black box that bolts onto the + terminal)specifically the 400 amp fuse where the starter wire is bolted to and runs from, which I verified via a test light, so I replaced it. (car in the video was doing the same thing as mine, after jumping off car incorrectly). Had a friend use a code reader and I get 2 additional codes, p1011 and p0299 that I never had prior to this.

Get car towed home and car still won't crank. Tested the battery, and the volts were around 5.2 V, so I bought a new battery. Car now cranks but still wont start. It sounds as though it wants to "stumble" into a start sometimes, but just doesnt.

My question is simply, could I have shorted something out in the electrical system when I put the incorrect O2 sensor in? I really dont know what else to check. I know it was foolish thing, but I was so desperate to "fix" the issue and get my car back home.

Apologies for the long read, I just want to make sure all details are known. Thanks again

 

[DrivenDaily]

I'd start with replacing the O2 sensor with the correct one. You may have damaged something by using one that is foreign to the system. It could be wired differently.

Once that's done, you may still need to have a shop take a look at it. I hope it's a simple fix.

 

[stm305]

Thanks for your speedy reply. I did go and get the correct one the next day, which also how I learned about needing to replace the dist. block on the battery. Im just totally scratchin my head on this issue now. Thanks again.

 

[stm305]

Update:

turns out the battery was the ultimate issue. I did originally blow the + battery terminal fuse block prior to this by installing wrong O2 sensor. However, Once I installed both a new fuse block and new(correct) O2 sensor, car still would crank, but not start.

Original battery from dealer was reading 5V, when tested w/multimeter. Went to walmart, bought a new Everstart Platinum battery(AGM H6 760 CCA), which itself was a dud(had a huge crack/dent underneath and dry, brown rust-like substance coming out, that I didnt see at first).

Finally went back and exchanged said battery for the exact same one, which I inspected thoroughly, and popped into car, and car started right up after a few tries. Just wanted to share in case others had this problem, which was a crank and no start. Thanks for the reply @DrivenDaily.

Edit:

Also forgot to mention that now I get the "steering assist reduced message" and light and also noticed the temperature on the screen is wrong(lol its 70 degrees outside, but reading 32). Any way I can reset that? Also, going to drive the car around a bit to see if original p0420 code goes away. Other than that, car is fine. Thanks again

 

[DrivenDaily]

The temp readout may correct itself after driving around for at least 10 miles and/or going faster than 50 mph.

 

[stm305]

The temp readout may correct itself after driving around for at least 10 miles and/or going faster than 50 mph.

Thanks again