bloody odd ! WTF ?

[Trei]

I was driving along yesterday in my VR Berlina, pulled up at a set of lights and the engine warning light came on.
Ten seconds later, the stereo turned off...then the headlights started flickering, gauges turned off. It was as if the electric power of the car decided to go on Holiday. All that remained on was the engine.


When i pulled in the driveway I turned the car off expecting it not to start. Ten minutes later it started perfectly fine and carried on as if nothing happened.

Quite possibly the weirdest problem I've come across. Just wondering what the bloody hell it could be and how I can fix it before it turns into something more serious...

Any ideas guys? I was leaning towards an alternator issue...but god knows. IT certainly wasn't the battery or fuel related.

THanks all

[gendi]

i know you said "IT certainly wasn't the battery" but try making sure the battery terminal are done up enough, had a similair problem when my battery terminal wasnt tight enough

[Chris E]

Checked all the connections on the alternator?

[Fonzie]

I had similar problems when the ground on my battery decided to unscrew itself. Ignition on, everything's fine. Starter motor kicks, shakes the car, terminal breaks its connection. Let go of key, negative terminal touches battery again, all lights on. Had me thinking my starter motor was in need of some therapy.

[xitekamelion]

Checked all the connections on the alternator?

It would definately stuff things up, even if it looks ok its a good idea to unbolt it and check it properly or strip it back and reterminate it corectly so u know its right! this is a similar fault i was scratching my head over for a while till i found the sticky , my insulation looked fine but inside it was coroded and brittle.

[GAMBLR]

sounds like the alternator is on it's way out. mine did the same thing on the side of the road. mine actually smoked the day after, so it was stuffed already, but its a fairly common problem