Dead Battery

[Jetmech]

My battery died this morning and I couldnt get the tranny shifter out of park to move it back to jump it. Why is this? what scares me more is what caused the battery to drain, I had the ABS light come on and never got a chance to look at the codes.
Mike

[Earthworm]

Because the shift lock is electrical you run into this problem. Early SVX's have a shift release button you can use to manually override it.

With later SVX's you must remove the cover where the shift lock would be (oval port in front of shifter) and use something to manually push down to unlock the shifter.

[angrydan]

I believe the shift-lock mechanism relies on an electronic relay to release. If your battery is dead, it may not be capable of releasing when you press the brake pedal down.

Did you try using the shift-lock button on the center console to release the mechanism manually to shift it out of park? That should operate regardless of if the battery has a charge.

As far as why the battery died.... how old is the battery? It may just be reaching the end of its life. You could also check and make sure that your battery's terminals are clamped down nice and tight. I had a similar problem in the past where the car was just completely dead... a few tightens with a socket wrench and the problem was solved!

If you get the car running again and random diagnostic lights come on, or you notice that your lights start dimming, stereo cuts out, or the car stalls while running, you may want to get your alternator checked. It is possible that it is on its way out.

If you don't notice any erratic behavior after the car starts back up, I would start making sure you don't have anything left on (parking lights, map lights, etc...) and eliminate the potentially obvious. Since the switch for the parking lights is on top of the steering wheel, I had the dealer bump it on and kill my battery more than once.

If you have any after market stereo equipment (especially amps), I would make sure that they are wired properly and turning off when you shut off the ignition. Also, if you wired any extra 12v outlets that you leave things plugged into, or have something like a radar detector hard-wired to the cars electric system, make sure they are all turning off with the car.

Electrical phantoms can be a pain to track down, but give this stuff a shot and see where it leads you. Good luck!