Expert: Stephen Sokol - 3/21/2007

Question
Yesterday - I had a completely flat battery. Seems the stereo was left on, judging by the way it has progressed through the CD changer. I know I turned it off when I left the car though.

And recently the alarm keeps disabling itself, and unlocks the car.

So, following a bump start yesterday, the car runs dreadfully until it gets warm, like it's running on 2 cylinders (like it's running out of fuel), very choppy accelerator, crappy idle, backfiring noise coming from the engine bay, and a slight smell of electrical burning.

And every so often when I shut the door I get a nasty static shock. Any ideas?  

Answer
You need to replace the battery first off. Then, it will take 10 miles of driving for the computer to reestablish parameters. After that let me know if trouble persists.

The static electricity comes from a combination of clothing type and seat material.