brianp-cali
Registered User
First let me say that I belong to forums for most of my other vehicles, and this one has some of the best and most helpful users. Now that I've buttered you all up, I'll start with the basics:
95 SC 5-Speed. 101K miles, all options except electronic rear view mirror and factory alarm. Car does have factory keyless entry. The original owner (I am the 2nd) installed an aftermarket alarm and stereo back in 1995.
Last night I drove the car for about 5 miles and shut it off. It was running perfectly like it had for the last 20K miles or so. I hopped back in about 10 minutes later to head out to dinner. The car started right up and I drove it about 100 feet when there was a sudden electrical surge that made the engine stumble. All of my warning lights were on and shutting back off in the order they usually do upon startup. (Airbag, ABS, etc.) The stereo was going through it's usual startup screen. It was if I had a problem with the ignition switch and it suddenly opened for a split-second. After 10-15 seconds the ABS light was still lit. I thought maybe shutting off and restarting the engine might reset things. At this point, everything was still working, all lights, etc and the engine was still idling smoothly. When I shut off the motor though, all power was lost. No cranking, no headlights, no dome lights, no power locks, nothing. It's like the battery was disconnected. The alarm started chirping erratically like it was trying to go off. (When the battery is reconnected, the alarm automatically goes off so a thief cannot use this tactic to disable the system.) I pushed the car over to the side of the road and came back this morning.
My battery is one year old and shows 12.75 volts between the posts. There is no indication of a major short to ground anywhere. I used a DVOM to ensure positive and ground are completely open. I disconnected the alarm "brain" which effectively disables it completely and nothing changes. I did however hear some clicking from the trunk area where the keyless entry computer is when I reconnected the battery this morning.
I am hoping someone out there has seen this, because I don't know where to start. Sorry for the long post, I am just really stumped here. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Brian
95 SC 5-Speed. 101K miles, all options except electronic rear view mirror and factory alarm. Car does have factory keyless entry. The original owner (I am the 2nd) installed an aftermarket alarm and stereo back in 1995.
Last night I drove the car for about 5 miles and shut it off. It was running perfectly like it had for the last 20K miles or so. I hopped back in about 10 minutes later to head out to dinner. The car started right up and I drove it about 100 feet when there was a sudden electrical surge that made the engine stumble. All of my warning lights were on and shutting back off in the order they usually do upon startup. (Airbag, ABS, etc.) The stereo was going through it's usual startup screen. It was if I had a problem with the ignition switch and it suddenly opened for a split-second. After 10-15 seconds the ABS light was still lit. I thought maybe shutting off and restarting the engine might reset things. At this point, everything was still working, all lights, etc and the engine was still idling smoothly. When I shut off the motor though, all power was lost. No cranking, no headlights, no dome lights, no power locks, nothing. It's like the battery was disconnected. The alarm started chirping erratically like it was trying to go off. (When the battery is reconnected, the alarm automatically goes off so a thief cannot use this tactic to disable the system.) I pushed the car over to the side of the road and came back this morning.
My battery is one year old and shows 12.75 volts between the posts. There is no indication of a major short to ground anywhere. I used a DVOM to ensure positive and ground are completely open. I disconnected the alarm "brain" which effectively disables it completely and nothing changes. I did however hear some clicking from the trunk area where the keyless entry computer is when I reconnected the battery this morning.
I am hoping someone out there has seen this, because I don't know where to start. Sorry for the long post, I am just really stumped here. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Brian