Signs You Should Visit Your Chrysler Dealer Today for an Alternator Repair

The key to a long-lasting catalytic converter is keeping your engine healthy, thereby avoiding most of the problems that deal damage to a cat. If your converter has already become clogged up or somehow harmed, there's a chance you'll be able to clean or repair it. But unfortunately, most faulty cats need to be replaced. If you notice the following eight signs of a faltering converter, ask a technician at your local Dodge RAM dealer to take a look as soon as you can. Your Check Engine Light Comes On Malfunctioning cats often clog the outflow of air and emissions trying to escape your car. All the backed-up fumes eventually prevent fresh air from entering the engine, which causes the cylinders to become fuel-rich: too little oxygen and too much fuel. more In the combustion process, excess fuel leads to all kinds of engine problems. This will quickly be picked up by the computerized sensors, which will alert you by turning on the Check Engine light on your instrument panel. Your Engine Loses Power As the unbalanced fuel-air mixture fails to ignite as efficiently as it should, your engine will rapidly lose power. You might find it hard to gain a burst of speed when overtaking another vehicle. And your fuel economy is going to drop too. You're Idling Roughly An excess of fuel inside combustion chambers creates a sooty carbon residue that coats the chamber walls and spark plugs. This soon leads to misfiring, which is easiest to notice when you slow your car or pause to rest in idle. Your engine will begin juddering and sputtering noisily, and it might also stall altogether. You Feel Extreme Heat From Below All the fumes blocked by a clogged-up cat begin to create an enormous amount of heat. You might even feel this heat from below you. You See Black Smoke in the Mirror Excess fuel tends to travel back into the exhaust pipes and eventually reach the cat. Here, the fuel might ignite in the tremendous heat that a blocked cat creates, destroying the cat and causing black smoke to pour from the tailpipe. A Sulfury Stink Fills Your Car One of the toxic emissions that a healthy cat cleans smells strongly of rotten eggs. If you pick up this sulfury smell, it probably means your cat has stopped doing its job. Open all the windows and pull over, as the gas you're smelling is poisonous. You Hear Rattling From the Cat If the meshwork inside the cat breaks down because of age or deteriorating contamination, the loose parts of the mesh will start to rattle around. You'll hear this rattling when you rev the engine and also sometimes when you corner while driving. Your Dodge RAM Dealer Finds a Flaw During your periodical servicing visits, the technician will check your engine and cat. If they find any developing problems with your cat, it's best to act upon their advice, as you can see how many additional car problems a faulty cat can cause. Have your cat repaired or replaced today at Longley Bros. We offer a fine inventory of Dodge and RAM vehicles and excellent customer service.

Driving without air conditioning on a hot day is never much fun. If you find your car AC not working one morning, it might be due to one of the following six reasons. Get your AC fixed at your nearest Chrysler dealer to enjoy a cool and pleasant ride once more. Clogged Cooling Fan The fans of your AC draw in air from outside the car. But sometimes they draw in more than just air. A build-up of dirt and debris can begin to clog your fans and eventually stop them from working altogether. To solve the problem, all you need to do is access the fans and clean them. more On occasion, a stone will fly in and crack a fan. In this case, you'll usually need to have it replaced. Clogged Condenser As an AC's refrigerant flows around the system, it transforms continually from a gaseous state into liquid and then back again into gas. As the name suggests, the condenser condenses the gaseous form into liquid form. The condenser is situated near the front of your car behind the grill where things can sometimes come in from the road. Over time, dirt, insects, algae, and even congealed refrigerant can start to clog a condenser up. If your condenser becomes clogged, you'll need to remove the entire part and clean it, just like the cooling fans. But if it's cracked or seriously corroded, you'll need to buy a new one. Refrigerant Leak Sometimes an air conditioner's refrigerant can leak at the connections of its hoses. If your AC system has a leak, you might notice a clear, glossy liquid coating a hose. If you can't refasten the loose connection yourself, have a technician do it for you. Snapped Drive Belt The drive belt converts power from your engine to the AC compressor. If the drive belt comes loose or snaps, your entire AC will stop working. A new drive belt is relatively inexpensive, so this is an easy problem to fix. Faulty Alternator The alternator provides electrical power to your AC and also to all the other electrical components of your vehicle. If you notice that multiple accessories stopped working at the same time as your AC, you can safely assume that the alternator is to blame. You'll need to have it repaired or replaced. Fuse or Wiring Issues On the other hand, if only your AC alone stops working because of an electrical problem, then your fuse might have blown or the wiring for your AC might have come loose somehow. You'll probably need a technician to diagnose the problem. Have your AC repaired today at Longley Bros Inc. We're a one-stop-shop for all Chrysler purchasing or servicing needs.

When you drive, it's important to have the security of knowing that your brakes will work when you need them to. To keep your braking system in great shape, regular services and maintenance are needed. Parts can wear out, and you'll need a brake repair. As your Dodge dealer, we want to tell you about some of the signs your brakes need to be checked. more Hard Brake Pedal You expect some resistance when you step on the brake pedal. The resistance is generated by the pressurized brake fluid. If, however, you have so much resistance that the pedal almost won't move, there's a problem with your brakes. When you press the brake pedal, the pressurized brake fluid is forced into the brake hoses. Overcoming the pressure of the brake fluid requires extra assistance. The brake booster provides this assistance, as it generates 10x normal pressure. The booster uses a vacuum to generate this pressure, but this also means if the vacuum is comprised the booster won't work. Any damage to the booster will prevent the vacuum from working, and this means your brake pedal will become very difficult to move. Soft Brake Pedal This is the opposite of the pedal problem above. In this case, stepping on the pedal provides almost no resistance. The lack of resistance means there's a lack of pressure in your braking system. Two reasons for a lack of pressure are an air bubble in the braking system or a lack of brake fluid. Either of these situations will reduce the pressure in the system, and this is dangerous. Air should never get into your braking system, as it can form an air bubble that will block the brake fluid. A brake fluid leak will reduce pressure in the system as fluid is lost. A lack of pressure in the braking system is dangerous as it means you can't rely on your brakes stopping just when you need to. Our technicians can find and fix the problem. Brake Warning Light If your brake warning light comes on, this means that you have a problem with the braking system. Sensors are attached to the calipers, hoses, and other sections of the system to monitor it for signs of trouble. If a problem is detected, the relevant sensor will signal your car's computer, and the warning light will go on. The brake warning light is different from your ABS light. If either the brake or the ABS light lights up, it's important to come and see us ASAP so we can find the problem. If you experience any problems with your braking system, call us right away at Longley Bros Inc. Image via Pixabay.com