Whats Going On Here??
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Whats Going On Here??
Rolled up to a stoplight, engine went to idle, and then cutoff. Immediately restarted normally. Thought "Oh no, cps is going out".
Bout three hrs later, after being parked during this time, turned ignition on, and everything on instrument panel is very very dim. Barely can see ABS light, no WTS at all.
Turned on overhead cabin light and its very dim. Wiggled key & steering wheel, tried again, same condition. Raised hood, checked battery cables, all secure.
Back inside, tried again. Same condition.
Turned headlights on to check brightness, seemed dim in the lighted parking garage.
When I turned them off, you could hear an electrical component(s) making a buzzing(?) in front of my left knee under the dash.
Turned ignition back on, instrument panel immediately lit up normally, and started normally.
What the heck happened?? What do I have to do to not have this happen again??
Bout three hrs later, after being parked during this time, turned ignition on, and everything on instrument panel is very very dim. Barely can see ABS light, no WTS at all.
Turned on overhead cabin light and its very dim. Wiggled key & steering wheel, tried again, same condition. Raised hood, checked battery cables, all secure.
Back inside, tried again. Same condition.
Turned headlights on to check brightness, seemed dim in the lighted parking garage.
When I turned them off, you could hear an electrical component(s) making a buzzing(?) in front of my left knee under the dash.
Turned ignition back on, instrument panel immediately lit up normally, and started normally.
What the heck happened?? What do I have to do to not have this happen again??
Senior User
Joined: May 2010
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From: Southern IL
X2...........Maybe just a bad battery or batteries?
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 718
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From: Chattanooga, TN
Don't overlook the hot cables and grounds on the batteries as they can corrode within the insulation and appear to be full 100% conductors while they may be corroded to half size or less. I'm sure there are some voltage and continuity checks to verify this. Just don't overlook the possibility.
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Nah, batteries checked out good on the tester. Cables look good, no soft spots, very little corrosion.
The clicking/buzzing noise under the dash, coupled with the fact that after turning on headlights, noise stopping, then lights being turned off, then immediately starting normally with all instrument indications normal, means, to me, there was something going on in the fuse/relay box.
If theres identical relays in there, I'm gonna try switching one for another and see if it ever reoccurs.
The clicking/buzzing noise under the dash, coupled with the fact that after turning on headlights, noise stopping, then lights being turned off, then immediately starting normally with all instrument indications normal, means, to me, there was something going on in the fuse/relay box.
If theres identical relays in there, I'm gonna try switching one for another and see if it ever reoccurs.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,404
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From: Wheatland, Mo
Double check the cables. I know what you see may not seem like a lot of corrosion, but I had the same issue with my wife's car. Turned out the corrosion was about 2ft into the cable under the insulation. I just started cutting back the cable until I reached clean copper then attached a new piece of cable with an end on it.
How I figured out it was the cable, I took a length of 10 gauge wire, attached one end to the battery then took the other end and touched it to where ever the original cable attached to and split off to. Finally found it when suddenly everything on the dash lit up as it should, buzzers and bells started sounding normal and the car started normally again. Then started cutting back the original cable and replaced with new.
How I figured out it was the cable, I took a length of 10 gauge wire, attached one end to the battery then took the other end and touched it to where ever the original cable attached to and split off to. Finally found it when suddenly everything on the dash lit up as it should, buzzers and bells started sounding normal and the car started normally again. Then started cutting back the original cable and replaced with new.
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Well, its been 3 days now since the problem and its never repeated itself. Starting and stopping probably 6=8 times each day.
Starter continues to spin up vigorously each time with instrument panel all reading normal.
Still think its in an electronical gadget under the dash.
The fact that turning the headlights on and off made the "gremlins" go away (so far) in that singular occurrence is baffling.
Starter continues to spin up vigorously each time with instrument panel all reading normal.
Still think its in an electronical gadget under the dash.
The fact that turning the headlights on and off made the "gremlins" go away (so far) in that singular occurrence is baffling.
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