Turner'Nichols Valencia

Hello all... I drove my 08 2.2L HHR literally like 10 minutes up the highway without the coolant sensor bring plugged in. Before that happened my car was running hot sometimes even with a new thermostat. After getting stranded on the highway, car towed home.. It won't start.. It acts like it wants to start but the sound fades after i turn the key to start... Just had battery charged and used a scanner that didn't tell me anything. Another thing there was black smoke coming from the back lower side of the engine when i cut it off on the highway... Any suggestions at all will be greatly appreciated!

donbrew

Sounds blowed up to me. Have you ever checked the oil?

Oldblue

Possibly the wire touched the exhaust pipe , that would be the source of the smoke. Did you inspect the wiring?
you could try a battery lobotomy, disconnect the negative battery cable for a full 30 minutes to reset the computers.

Turner'Nichols Valencia

No haven't checked the wires but i did change a couple fuses related to the crank & power steering. I will have to put some oil in it... I had an oil change last month though and i don't do much driving due to the pandemic etc... But i looked under the oil cap it looked extremely dry... Though the dipstick was wet... I had the battery charged yesterday do i still need to disconnect it?

Oldblue

To reset the computers, yes.
if it was low voltage, and you charged it , where did you connect the battery charger? Under the hood? Or in the back at the battery?

Turner'Nichols Valencia

The battery in the back...

Cat Man HHR

If you could smell the black smoke. What did it smell like ?
Did the car backfire or buck when it happened ?

Cat Man HHR

What wire would be that ?

firemangeorge

"I drove my hhr about 8-9 miles with the temperature sensor unplugged"
I'm still waiting for an explanation to this. As in Why and what for ?

"I will have to put some oil in it... I had an oil change last month though and i don't do much driving due to the pandemic etc... But i looked under the oil cap it looked extremely dry... Though the dipstick was wet..."
Put oil in it ? Why ?
Oil cap looked dry. (yes it should but what does that matter)
Dipstick was wet(again. means nothing. How was the oil level ?)

Honestly. Find a good mechanic to help you out. No offense but from reading your posts it's obvious you don't know anything about cars and how they work.

Oldblue

The coolant temp sensor wire that was left unplugged, CatMan



#10