Electrical problem

[Scooter79]

My VS has started acting up today. Driving along the CD will totally switch off for about 5 - 7 seconds then comes back on, and at the same time the engine feels like its cutting in and out. Seems to happen under acceleration at the lights and as yet has only done it when the air cond is on (could be only coincidence). Then tonight on the way home it did it 2 or 3 times. Thought it could be a bad battery connection but noticed the dash lights and head lights did not seem to dim when it happened.

Has this ever happened to someone else? Anyone have any ideas? She does have 375,000k's on the clock. but it has to be electrical.

 

[kopper69]

This sounds pretty strange, not something that I have come across before. I would check the age of the battery and replace that if necessary. Check connections. If it was flat battery though or battery problems the battery light would come on and the girl would conk out. I would get a multimeter and check the voltages of the battery when the car is off and when the car is on, and with the air con on. If you say it does it when accelerating you can try running some wire to a multimeter and checking the voltage of the battery when you accelerate. Check for voltage spikes or drops. Could be relating to the alternator also but that should just drain the battery if its not working right and again the battery light should come on and the car conk out. Let me know how you go.

 

[deserthead]

Hey dude, I'd be checking the earths on your car.
You might have a loose one thats causing your dramas.
Have a look round you battery and trace the cable as to where its hooked on to the body of the car. Also check the earth on the motor.
Might just need a tighten. . . . . .

 

[Scooter79]

Kopper69, yep. It's very strange. I thought it could be the battery but it still starts first time everytime. Thought it could be the alternator but that would be draining the battery. I have had a loose connection on the coil pack once before where it would cause the engine to stop suddenly. But that still doesn't explain why the CD player seems to be shorting out at the exact same time. It's very very odd.

 

[Scooter79]

Hey dude, I'd be checking the earths on your car.
You might have a loose one thats causing your dramas.
Have a look round you battery and trace the cable as to where its hooked on to the body of the car. Also check the earth on the motor.
Might just need a tighten. . . . . .

Deserthead, where am I likely to find the earth on the motor?

 

[deserthead]

Honestly I cant remember off the top of my head.
If you have a look at it, look for a thick cable bolted the the block somewhere. There is a small one located just under the alternator.
I'm lookin in the gregories as i type this, but cant seem to find it. . . .

 

[dlzn]

my car was having problems similar to that to.. it was to do with the battery leads and earthing leads starting to corode.

get them checked out and if need be, replaced.

 

[Scooter79]

Problem solved

:thumbsup:

Thanks to everyone for all the replys . I had a look at it first thing this morning and turns out the negative battery terminal had come loose and was just sitting there. Tightened it and seems to have solved the problem so far. Touch wood :bop:

 

[kopper69]

Aw i new it would be something like that, didnt i tell you.

 

[Scooter79]

Back Again

It's still happening. The other night driving home the headlights dimmed, instument cluster dimmed, stereo shorted out, had no tacho and the fuel guage was showing only half of what was actually in the tank. This happened for about a minute then everything went back to normal. Happened yesterday also when I started the car and I got a light that looked like (!) for a minute then went back to normal. Whats (!) mean?