818sc400

whats up guys,

ok so here's wat happened. i get off of work and go to my car turn the key and BAMM! no power. NO radio,no nothing, only thing that was slightly dim was the lil car in the dash cluster that lets you know when a door is open. first thing comes to mind is man battery shatted on me.

i call up a friend and we go to autozone and pick up a set of jumper cables
came back and still nothing! im like wtf??? then my friend car dies cause he left his hid's on too long. Luckily my battery is still good so we used it to jump his car.

10 minutes of scratchin our asses we decided to call it a nite and call the tow truck in the morning. so i go to lock up the car and for some reason i decided to roll down the windows. to my surprise they worked. i looked at the open door light(car thingy) in the dash cluster and its bright red . i turn the key and the freakin cars starts

What the hell jus happened? it died mysterious then came back on mysteriously? i changed out the batt terminals two years ago because it died and that prob was fixed.

so the car is back to normal now except that the telescoping wheel wont telescope automatically. could it be fuses? can someone tell me where the fuse box is? if anyone has experience this or know wats goin on pls chime in.

thanks,
-tony

SHOLEXMAN

The fuse panel is under the steering wheel on the floor left side. Black cover that you pull off and it should be there. You might need to reprogram your seat cause it might have lost the memory for it. You might have a bad ground or power connection on the battery cables. Make sure there isn't any corrosion on the terminals. How old is the battery? Keep us updated...

818sc400

no corrosion on the terminals they are only 2 years old at the max and the batt only 1 year old.

im gonna check the fuses in the morning.Luckily my uncle owns a shop so imma bring it down there in the morn also.

ill keep you guys updated. im scared imma get stranded somewhere or worse the car shuts of on me while im driving like it did when the terminals went out

madmax98

That crap just happened to me the other day; I get back to the car and nothing, my brother tries to jump the car and it wouldn't start even though the dash lights are bright and strong, i check my fuses in disbelief of what's goin'on but nothing was wrong, then i try one more time and it started!!!!!!!!!!!! i put the metal to the metal to home fearing it would break down on me again. Here's some history: 4 weeks ago i change the battery to optima battery; a week later my car wouldn't start so we jumped it, i go inside my office <while the car is on> came back and the car is dead so i jumped it again. i thought it was due to my underdrive pullies, now i keep my RPM a little higher; I also checked my alternator and it provided no power under 2000 rpm, the manual said it's supposed to provide 10 amps.......So i don't know man, i'm just as puzzled as you are...........

madmax98

Bump for the electrical ghost...

TheMole

iTrader: (13)

If all the other electrical components such as the starter/alternator are working well, then try cleaning the grounding points on the chassis. My issues involved dimming interior lights when I would signal/brake and it was fixed with a 1GS negative battery cable.

818sc400

where are the grounding points located?

p.s. my telescoping steering wheel came back to life. this is so weird...

TheMole

iTrader: (13)

Theres one right by the battery. Just follow the negative cable and you should find another point under the intake manifold.

madmax98

the same here man, the auto telescoping didn't work in the beginning then it came back days later!!!!!!!!! Our symptoms are very similar! we need to compare our cars and narrow down the cause. Also, give us a little history about your car...

818sc400

ok guys i took it to the shop and they dont know wats going on with it .
it wouldnt start on thursday and friday morning and today.

i would get in the car turn the key ,all the lights and radio comes on but as soon i turn the key to start the engine i hear a click and everything shuts off.

on each day i would pop the hood ,check the battery cable give the engine the stare of death ,wait about 2 mins then try again and like magic it starts right up. wat can be wrong??? relay??? ignition??? should i get the car rewired???factory alarm ??

i really need this fixed because school is startin in 3 weeks and ijus took out a $40k loan.i cant afford the car to die on me . pls someone chime in

some info about my car-
1995 sc400
176k
bought the car in '05 with 147k. replaced battery and battery terminals brakes radiator when i bought the car. been runnin perfect until this happened

TheMole

iTrader: (13)

Did you clean all the grounds and test the negative battery cable?
Could it be the starter?
Check every single fuse.

madmax98

It can't be the battery or cables from what he said. However, make sure that the starter is properly connected to the power source and ground. When the same thing happened to me, i was stuck for an hour, i checked all fuses, took the cables off then reconnected them, then i checked my wiring from the R154 conversion to make sure it was still intact. Everything was normal, but the car started right after that, Here's what i have on the car: Optima battery, electrical fans relayed to the ignitor power, underdrive pullies, SAFCII and the 5spd conversion. See if we have something in common and maybe we can narrow it down....

schwarz

iTrader: (3)

I had the same problem on my 92...if you wiggled the + cable, the car would then start...problem solved with new battery terminals even though the ones I had were only a few years old and looked fine. And don't replace them with aftermarket terminals, get the OEM ones as they last longer.

818sc400

Im pretty sure the terminals are fine. i get power, the lights and radio comes on. its the last turn to start the engine that completely shuts every thing off.

it could be the starter wiring i guess, ill have that check out. may contacts in the ignition switch?

schwarz

iTrader: (3)

Mine did just that...I would put the key in and all the dash lights lit up, the radio turned on, etc but when I turned it to start, everything shut off...radio, lights, dome, dash, everything (as if there was no battery at all). New terminals fixed the problem in my car.

Try wiggling the wires as well to see if you can recreate the problem. Before, I could make the car shut down and and come back up with just touching the + wire. Now, I can yank on the things and nothing happens (not that its recommended but I wanted to make sure I fixed it).