Please read to the end
First, welcome. This forum is a long-running group of owners and lovers of the Crossfire. We support one another in two major ways: Organizing driving and social events, and supporting one another when technical or service issues arrive with our cars.

This post addresses fundamental issues concerning requests for technical help. When asking about what can be VERY complex technical issues, communication is important. Many here spend a lot of time trying to help others, at times, it seems like we who are trying to help are impeded from helping by the very people asking for help. This post is an attempt to correct some issues as well as help newcomers understand how to obtain the most accurate information as quickly as possible.

As our cars age, it seems the influx of new members asking for help is beginning to overwhelm those here who spend a lot of time helping others with their cars. I have had PMs asking for me to call people on the phone or simply help them in PMs and not the forum. I don’t usually help anyone one-on-one like that, as our posts in the open forums help a LOT of people we will never know even visited here.

I only call someone on the phone if I am being paid for my time. I come to the forum when I have extra time, if I’m not here, my time is being spent on other things. I can no longer give so many hours a week away and I speak for a few others who have discussed this with me.

For these reasons, I offer this post. It is clear it is time to help newcomers ask for, and get, help with their cars. The following are not rules, although I may enforce them as rules from time to time even if other ‘elders’ here do not. If you have come here for technical help, again, welcome. Please read through this post. Herein are “Ground Rules” and “Helpful Tips” for you to use to get your issue(s) resolved.


Understand the relationship
You came here asking for others to take their time and help you for free, keep that in mind. We do not owe you our time, knowledge, politeness, kindness or a gentle attitude. It took us YEARS to learn what we have learned, show appreciation for our efforts, and understand the favor we are doing you. You are getting a LOT of free help here and if you can make our life easier, we can do the same for you.

On that note, EXPECT someone to bite your head off for:
…. Not using the (lousy) site search or Google. (Keep reading, search instructions are below.)
…. Not clearly explaining what you are asking about.
…. Not answering CLEARLY every question asked of you by those trying to help you.
....Crying that you are not getting the level of (FREE) help you think you 'deserve' or that we 'owe' you.

KEEP IN MIND that many here try to help, but we have some posters who don’t even change their own oil and yet, seem to think they can help you bleed the brakes, replace the clutch, diagnose your no-start or help you with that battery that keeps running down. In your hurry for a quick answer, be careful what advice you take.


How to proceed
Make every effort to ask in the right section of the forum, they are clearly titled. If you post in the wrong area, your post will be moved, and a “redirect” will be posted so you can find the post in it’s new location. You will be messaged a notice of the change. Make sure you go looking for the new location, when the re-direct expires, your browser won't know where it went. I usually leave the re-direct up 3-7 days depending on the topic and how quickly you are getting answers.

It is almost always a good idea to start your own thread, not simply post at the end of someone else’s, however there are times when it is fine to “piggy-back” on an existing thread.

The best example of when to post in another person’s thread would be when you see the answer posted that seems to be right for your issue, but you do not quite understand the procedure. Also, there are some LONG threads on REAL COMMON issues (like the “Sticky Key” and the “Mystery No Start”), these are well-established issues that virtually every car will have – go ahead and piggy-back on one of those threads. A tech thread with HUNDREDS of posts is an example of such a case.


What to say
Make your posts count. Most of us are very busy, our time here is precious, you MUST put forth the effort required to communicate to us all of the following:
…. What the basic issue is (wont start, battery keeps going dead, car interior smells like a skunk)
…. How and when this issue started, insofar as you recognized it. ("It was fine until yesterday" or "it was fine when I stored it last year.")
…. Has anyone worked on the car, if so, what did they tell you was wrong, and what did they claim to do? ("It all started when I got it back from the dealer when they replaced the brakes...")
…. If someone has worked on the car, what changes in its behavior have you seen since they returned it to you? ("The shop worked on it, now it starts but the speedometer doesnt work.")

Other concerns:
Tells us in your first post if the car just had a performance mod done or any other mod that was done just before the issue started.
In fact, we recently had an issue where the windows would not act right after putting the top up - turns out, the guy never told us he has an aftermarket top controller in the car. For the most part, you should tell us of EVERY aftermarket mod done to the car that you know of - such mods can cause issues the day after installation, or years later. We cannot diagnose a car properly if it has mods unless we KNOW it was modified.
Photos or short video of what the car is doing often helps, but usually you can wait until we ask for that.


When we ask questions of you
We are trying, but NONE OF US are under obligation to work harder on this or care more than you do. If we ask questions, answer EVERY ONE OF THEM in your next post. "I don't know" is a legitimate answer in some cases, although not very helpful. If you can’t be bothered with this simple request, we can’t be bothered with your problems. Again, we are under no obligation to work harder on this than you do. Do not try to make your car OUR problem without paying us for that service. Please read this paragraph one more time.


How to post
When starting a thread, try to give the thread a title that means something. I will edit any thread title as needed (to help members use the search, titles must be relevant – i.e.: “help needed” is not a thread title. TO CLARIFY: Google Bots as well as the search engine here index partly on thread titles. The reason you can't search easily is that thread titles drive the search function and far too many thread titles are vague or incomplete; this is the reason I edit many thread titles here.

You are WRITING, not texting. Posts such as, “Whut u do to fix top broke” will be removed and if such posts continue, the user will be banned. Take the time to form sentences, be detailed and clear about the problem as you perceive it. If you cannot communicate effectively, take the car to a dealer where they are paid to deal with you.

If you are posting a complex technical issue from your phone, you are doing it wrong. Again, we are not here to work harder than you do on this. Sit down at a computer, type out an informative post, separate long text into paragraphs and make yourself understood.

If English is not your first language or your native language, please tell us in your first post. When possible, we will respond in other languages or simply take more time with you.


Form Paragraphs
Throwing out 400 words with little punctuation and no line breaks makes your post hard to read, and gives the idea you can't form a complete thought. Usually such a person cant describe the problem and we just guess and let the newcomer suffer in their situation, because that's all we can do. SO, hit "Enter" twice to start a new paragraph when moving from thought to thought (like making the transition from "what my car is doing" to "what I have tried" to "thanks for any help you can give"). How hard would THIS post be to read and understand had I not put forth the effort?


After you get help
If our help does not fix the issue, come back and let’s keep working on it. DO NOT start a new thread for the same problem. Just post again that we still have work to do.
If our help fixes the issue, come back and tell us. This does two things: It makes helping people more worthwhile and helps others who come along later with the same problem(s). Not coming back to let us know how it goes tells us that you were a waste of time, and do not appreciate our efforts or care about those who have a similar problem.


IMPORTANT LINKS
There are two threads here you MUST know about. The first below is our collection of manuals and printed materials for the Crossfire.
The second is a link to a collection of common problems and fixes. Thanks to Dave (onehundred80) for that one.
Do not overlook the value of these two resources.

For Service and Owners Manuals, Crossfire Student Guide and other stuff click here

Common problems and fixes click here


HOW TO SEARCH
The forum has a search feature - I do not use it. I use Google. To search this forum for, say, help with a convertible top issue, open a browser window. Go to Google.com if that is not your default search engine.
Enter "Chrysler Crossfire convertible top not working". (Always put in "Chrysler Crossfire" then enter your search item.)

Hit ENTER and go thru Google's responses and look for a return that looks like this:


Now, to try each link, RIGHT click on a line and select "Open link in new tab" from the popup menu; if the thread in the window is not good enough, close the window and try the next line above.
As a last resort, try that "More results from..." link.

After thirteen years here, I use Google a few times a week to find stuff here on the forum. It saves TONS of time.

 

Again, please read the above post. We have a shrinking number of us here answering tech questions, those asking must keep this in mind and help us to help YOU.