My 2003 Aztek battery died (I think). It was parked in the garage for about 48 hours when I tried to start it and only heard clicking sounds. The lights would not come on and I tried to charge the battery but that failed as well. The car would not turn over with the charger attached and I thought it should at least start. To remove the battery it looks like a support bar and fuse box has to be removed. Is this something that can be done with standard tools? Thanks.

SOURCE: Car won't start

Check the lever for putting the car in park/drive.
If the switch/sensor that detects where it is at (i.e. P, R, N, D, 2, 1) is broken or loose, it may think the car is not in Park and cars with automatic transmissions will not start unless they are in Park.
It might also be the starter is bad.

Ken P.

SOURCE: Pontiac Aztek GT

Ours did the exact same thing. It eventually did the 'disco effect' where the head lights were flashing constantly and horn honking. It would only stop if we took the fuse for the Body Control Module out for 30 seconds.
Only that was a temporary fix. It finally got so bad that the car locked itself down and we had to take it in. The BCM had to be replaced (cost us $350) and it seems to do a lot better, but the radio is still locked but it might just have to be reset. Hope it helps!

SOURCE: 2005 battery replacement

Yes you do need to remove the brace "bar" above the battery. If I am not mistaken, the fuse box also has to be relocated for clearance. One thing you must do before you start is disconnect the negative cable from the battery. The negative cable is the black one. One of the oldest rules when working on any vehicle battery is negative is disconnected first and reconnected last. Since the vehicle is "negative ground" it will make it impossible to short negative to ground. The bolts that hold the bar in place are either 13mm or 15mm. The battery is held in place with a plastic wedge that is held down with a 13mm bolt. The battery cables are 8mm.

Marvin

• 85242 Answers
• Posted on Jul 20, 2009

SOURCE: car dies while driving battery light comes on

your alternator is not charging the battery up.

SOURCE: Key stuck in ignition,

try putting the vehicle in park and with the use of a small file run it up along side the key and pull the remaining key out

otherwise they sell a file torch-tip cleaning tool with various sized files and brushes these will help you a little better rather than replacing the ignition cylinder

but leave it in the park position while doing this