2GN.ORG

about four days ago i was at the local mall and as i was pulling in to a parking spot i could feel the car start to loose power and all electrical components shut off but the car was still running. So i went into the mall to get some of the things i needed and came out to start the car and it wouldnt start. I heard a ticking when i turned the key so i assumed it was the starter. i called a friend to come pick me up so i could go talk to my mechanic and he said it may be something electrical so i go back to were my car was a tried starting it for the hell of it ( figured it wouldnt hurt to try) and viola it started drove it to my mechanics place and parked it. Mechanic told me my starter was fine. He told me that some of the grounds in the engine bay were loose. so he fixed those. Great my cars fixed. (i missed driving it )

Last night i get it back and it was running fine, although it was idleing at about 1500K rpms i wasnt worried about it much cause when it cold it does that. Went home and parked it. This morning i had to go to class and the whole way there it ran fine until i had to come to a stop. The rpms and the mph didnt make up while slowing down. Example ( at 40mph my rpms were at 2500) didnt down shift or anything. Then after class i went to start the car and it wouldnt start again. It didnt start until i had the key and the clutch held for atleast 30 seconds. No ticking this time. Driving home it was perfect, turn onto my road the electrical components start acting up again ie: dash lights dimmed down and radio went in and out. So im thinking wtf is it now....go to start just to make sure it will and low and behold it wont start and its ticking again.

FML
someone help me out please

Starter Solenoid maybe. Might want to check the battery and Alternator as well.

battery is perfect, and so was the alternator. had those checked a few weeks ago

superdan wrote:battery is perfect, and so was the alternator. had those checked a few weeks ago

Ok ... did you have them check AFTER your problems happened? They could be bad now.

Passt wrote:

superdan wrote:battery is perfect, and so was the alternator. had those checked a few weeks ago

Ok ... did you have them check AFTER your problems happened? They could be bad now.

glad you said something.about an hour and a half ago my buddy came over to try and jump the car and again i tried to start it for the hell of it and it started so i got it over to my mechanic and asked him to check the battery and it was loosing voltage by the minute. when he put the multimeter on the battery the first time it had 9 volts going then it dropped to 8. so im thinking either the battery is shot or the alternator is.

good thinking passt lol

Haha no problem. Sometimes the easiest solutions are the hardest to think of, because they're that simple lol.

I got the ol jack hammer noises last winter. Some days it would start some das not so much, we tested it and it was running 4.5 volts lol

Passt wrote:Haha no problem. Sometimes the easiest solutions are the hardest to think of, because they're that simple lol.

and those are always the ones that happen to my car lol it acts like it something seriouse then it really is. bastard of a car

sxmania wrote:I got the ol jack hammer noises last winter. Some days it would start some das not so much, we tested it and it was running 4.5 volts lol

well mine was a so called jack hammer noise, but it wouldve been if i had gotten more pissed off at the damn thing lol

Sudden electrical power loss like that is usually a bad alternator. Even if the battery goes bad the alternator can manage to supply enough power to run the car and accessories. Sometimes it's as simple as a missing alternator belt, but that's easy to spot.

If it turns out to be the battery

But this part

" i could feel the car start to loose power and all electrical components shut off but the car was still running."

makes me wonder.
No voltage would have shut down the engine via PCM not functioning.
I would also check the ign. switch. I can do the exact same thing with mine if I hold it in the right spot. Everyting dies, but the engine.

^^ well that scares me for one reason, and that is my mechanic is thinks its the alternator so hopefully that is it and not the ign. switch

EDIT: forgot to mention he is also putting in a new alternator

If the alternator doesn't fix it, then you shouldn't have to pay for it.

I would hang on to the original for a while just to be safe. If they won't let you have the core, then tell them you want a refund if the problem reoccurs. I bet they will do a thorough dianostic of what the problem is if you give them a good "incentive".

yo i had the same problem happen to me, when i would turn the key it would show codes on the dash etc. and i would click everything.
it was my key thing its expencive as hell.
so i go a push to start at a junk yard and wired to my starter now i has push to start. lost cheaper then new key thingy for sure. its like 400 for the eltrical part then u got have some one make a new key.
not sure this helps but that what my problem was.

WTF? You still celebrating 420?

occasional demons wrote:If the alternator doesn't fix it, then you shouldn't have to pay for it.

I would hang on to the original for a while just to be safe. If they won't let you have the core, then tell them you want a refund if the problem reoccurs. I bet they will do a thorough dianostic of what the problem is if you give them a good "incentive".

yeah i really hope that its the alternator. i dont want to have to buy a new key "thingy" or put a push start button lol
should find out tomorrow when its done

Well an aftermarket alternator may be cheaper than getting a new ign. switch, and then getting it "reprogrammed" to work with the key you have. Otherwise the doors would need done also to match the key.
This would apply to either SKIM or non. Or you could just have the doors/trunk on one side and the ign. on the other. But you would still need a new key matched to SKIM if applicable.

Yeah, they bought stock in Vaseline when they came up with that one.

ha well anyways i get the car back tomorrow so i will take her for a cruise after i put these on:

If it's not the alternator, it's probably the ground or power wire somewhere between the alt. and battery.

Donkeypuncher wrote:If it's not the alternator, it's probably the ground or power wire somewhere between the alt. and battery.

i had those checked and they were loose, had them tightened and new bolts. thats what got looked at/fixed the first time.

the car runs good now. so far so good

I'm the gearhead of my family and group of friends so this problem comes up pretty regularly. Nearly all the time it's alternator related with a sudden loss of power, and it's the battery when it just wont start all the sudden. It helps to have a standard so you can push start it. If it won't push start and stay running it's the alternator, if it will it's the battery.

cool thanks for the info. i dont think i ever knew that when you push start if it stays running its the battery.
thank you sir

If the battery is near 100% dead it will not push start even if the alternator is good. Alternators need voltage to make voltage. Without energized coils, it can't create a magnetic field to generate electricity. Generators (old school) have permanent magnets in them, they truely generate electricity from just rotating parts.

But generators are heavy, and only made 25 amps output on a good day.

well i sort of new some of what you just said, going to school for Industrial Electronics Engineer, then again thats a whole another ball game.

I put that out there mainly so someone doesn't toss their alternator, when it might be fine.

yeah well thanks you guys for all your help and suggestions. hopefully this thread wont ever be bumped by me with another problem.

Another way to check your alt is to take the ground off the battery while its running. If it dies its bad, if it stays running its good.

hm didnt know that either lol