Bird dies completely..randomly

stas

Registered User
Hello all, there's a weird problem with my 90 SC. It shuts off randomly while driving, or at start. The engine suddenly dies, and absolutely nothing functions...not even the emergency lights. After several minutes pass, it starts up fine.. and everything is back to normal. Could someone suggest what that could be...can't even trust the car now, as this occurs absolutely out of the blue.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Stas.
 
id say

id say check the grounds-esp. the one that comes off of the battery-that could be causing it-sounds like you have a bad connection somewhere that builds resistance as it gets warm or looses its connection when it gets bumped around. clean the batt. cables and the ground where it attaches to the car. Mike
 
Charkly said:
id say check the grounds-esp. the one that comes off of the battery-that could be causing it-sounds like you have a bad connection somewhere that builds resistance as it gets warm or looses its connection when it gets bumped around. clean the batt. cables and the ground where it attaches to the car. Mike

When the car is running it isn't relying on the battery though, right? Just the alternator. You should be able to take the battery out of the car after it is running right? Maybe the ground wire from the block to the chassis?
 
mine would go dead my battery terminal was touching the hood. eventlually the terminal melted off or i may have never found it
 
Last edited:
Thank you for your replies,
Could it possibly be the alternator itself? Also, just wondering, how would a bad connection from the block to the chassis explain that the car starting up fine after a few minutes. Is there some sort of relay that could malfunction as heat builds up?
Thanks,
Stas.
 
this exact same thing happened to my friend with his 91 sc. It was a broken balacer bolt, he got lucky and it didnt hurt anything. If I were you I would check it fast.
 
Also check your ignition switch. I just bought a '92 5 spd that had the same exact problem, and found out that the switch inside the steering column was not making full contact. To verify this, start your engine and move the key back and forth- see if there is any play in it. If your engine shuts off while doing this, then it is the ignition switch mounted on the right side of the steering column (not the barrel that the key goes in).
 
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