Tyler2191

I'm nervous about bringing my car into the dealership because I'm out of warranty and know that an electric short can be hard to find if I do have one.

Here is my problem:

A few days ago I pulled into my house, and was about to turn the car off, then all of a sudden all of my idiot lights came on, my radar detector turned off and on, and so did my radio, as if I almost stalled the car but didn't.

Today I pulled into a spot for lunch, and was completely stopped. I went to turn my wheel to straighten it out, and then my idiot lights came on, my radar detector turned off and on, and so did my radio.

Tonight I was driving down the road and turned my high beams on. My idiot lights game on, my radar detector turned off and on, and so did my radio.

All these happened real fast, on and off. And it all seemed to be when turning the wheel and in the other case turning the high beams on.

I turned my high beams on and off several times but was unable to duplicate the problem. I also can't duplicate the problem with turning the wheel. But every few days I will get an incident like this.

Does it sound like a short? It seems like this will be expensive to fix since it will be hard to diagnose. Is there a way at the dealership to pinpoint a short if i do have one? My car was on and running for a long time each time this happened, so I don't think it could be the battery.

A little help please ... ?

Silver06

Hey.

The common point in the first two of your three examples is that you were turning the steering wheel.

The electric power steering takes a lot of power. In your third example with the high-beams, they take a lot of power as well.

From cheapest to most expensive (my favourite order for doing stuff...):

Check battery terminal connections. Remove terminals, clean, grease with silicone di-electric grease, replace and tighten.

Check battery electrolyte level. Check electrolyte specific gravity. Check battery voltage.

Check alternator output. (use an ammeter).

Go to a garage to have them load-test the charging system.

If it isn't the battery, I'd be surprised.


If it isn't, then I'd bet on a bad ground somewhere rather than a short. - a short would probably blow fuses.

Let us know what you find.


Edit: I have some more ideas - involving corrosion in the connectors to the power steering rack. But check the above first.

Mazurfer

Go ahead and make sure your battery terminals are clean and tight. Also clean all the connections that go to it if need be.


Then

Go start your car.....(don't forget to not shut it off cold!) Once the car is started, if you have a multimeter then read the voltage across the battery terminals. It should read about 14.2 volts. If it doesn't, then you got alternator problems.

This doesn't seem like it could be it, but you have to start somewhere. Eliminate those two things first.

Tyler2191

Thanks guys.

I will check this weekend and let you know what I find. Electric problems are so difficult to troubleshoot I appreciate all your ideas.

Tyler2191

OK, so ... I haven't had time do check the things that Silver had mentioned but I came across another incident in which I think may be related.

While out to lunch today I was sitting in my car doing homework for my class tonight, the car was running for probably about 20 minutes idling. And then it shut off and came back on. After that the DSC off light was flashing, my traction control light was illuminated and the car was off, but again all the electrical stuff turned off and turned back on.

I didn't touch anything while I did my homework, it was just running with the heat on. I noticed though I was idling just below 1000 rpms. Does that seem low?

It seems to be battery related because the DSC Off and the traction control light come on after the battery is unplugged and plugged back in again, however my clock and radio stations still remain set.

This is driving me crazy because there is no consistancy to the problem from what I can tell.

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Silver06

Either something is pulling a hella lotta voltage and pulling your good electrical/charging system below 10 volts, or..... see above.

By chance, do you have an aftermarket stereo system with huge-*** amps?



oh, the idle is set within the EMS. It is not really adjustable. Mine idles at ~850-900 on the tach. Sometimes it moves a bit, but is mostly smooth.


EDIT: What year is your car? If an '04 or early '05, it may not have the upgraded battery spec. Also, please post the approx. age/identificaiton of your battery.

Mazurfer

Dude, as I said before and as the previous poster has said...............I'm not sure about the 10 volts, but I am really sure now that your battery terminals and connections are probably very dirty. See....when you disconnect the battery, your DCS and TCS light will come on. You have to perform a reset whenever you disconnect the battery. This sounds like this is what is happening to you. It could be going below 10 volts, or it could be just loosing it all together due to either very dirty connections..............or it could still be your alternator. You need to get out there and do what I suggested in my previous post.

Tyler2191

@Silver no my car is completely stock. A '04 GT.

@Mazurfer I only posted this last night and didn't get a reply till today while I was at work, I wasn't quite able to just leave work and check my terminal cables, with that said, I checked my terminal cables and they are clean. I have no acid buildup. I also had a new battery replaced about 5 months ago.

I would have thought that if it were my alternator I would get the battery charge light on my dashboard.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

i'd take the terminals off, clean them and then put them back on anyway.

Tyler2191

I'm thinking of just replacing the terminal cables this weekend. I was wondering if anybody thought it could be the master computer? Because I thought the master computer has a schematic that tells the car where to relegate power to. So that if there is a power problem it will turn the radio off first, then the heater, then maybe the power steering ... and so on and so forth.


I had an issue again driving into work this morning. I turned my lights on this morning while driving and I got the same problem, idiot lights on and then off, radio on and off. When I turned my highbeams on it did the same thing.

Now, I decided to put my navigation system on just to draw more power and see what happens. I turned my lights on the problem happened, except this time, everything flashed on and off except the power steering remained on. I had no powering steering.

I pulled over and turned my car off. Tried to turn it back on, the first turn of the key nothing happened. "Oh ****" I thought. I turned it again the car started up, but now the DSC Off flashed and Traction control light was on. I turn the wheel, turned car off and on, and now the car runs as normal. (That sounds battery related to me as well)

I took video of the incident on my cell phone. I took videos on what was happening with the lights, what happened when i put my nav on and the power steering didn't come back and then showing my DSC light.

I could try and upload them, but I wanted to document the incidents for the dealer because it randomly happens.

Tyler2191

Okay so I took the terminals off, and cleaned them. They weren't bad though. One thing I did notice though is that the terminal connection to the batter is loose. In fact I tightened the screw down so tight that it actually snapped the nut.

I of course replaced it but it still feels kind of loose. Does anyone else have the same problem? Can the terminal ends be replaced or do I need to replace the entire battery harness cable? And it is really only on the + input of the battery. Do those inputs (battery nipples) come in different sizes? Maybe I can get a different battery with bigger nipples(..?). (What is the technical term for them anyways?)

Razz1

There's your problem.

If its loose, buy a new cable.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

yep,

and get the battery tested.

beers

J-Rex

Tyler... did you ever get this issue completely solved? I'm having the same issue with my car. Its mostly when turning the wheel or hi beams, but randomly as well. Seems more common in wet weather.

My car is mostly stock except for an AEM intake and a Cobb AccessPort.