HELP!!! Car completely and suddenly dies while driving!
- Thread starter GToddyT5
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fords2fast4u
Founding Member
I had this problem - the car would straight up die in gear, usually under acceleration, but not always, and it never died at idle... this was on a 95 GTS, so I pulled in a 94 GT vert beside it and started swapping parts until I figured it out -
it was the ignition module in the distributor.
I find it hard to believe that it's alarm related because the car only dies when in gear - and if it were strictly related to an alarm glitch, then it would die whenever... unless something about the engine applying torque caused enough vibration to loosen a bad connection somewhere - but my money's on that module.
it was the ignition module in the distributor.
I find it hard to believe that it's alarm related because the car only dies when in gear - and if it were strictly related to an alarm glitch, then it would die whenever... unless something about the engine applying torque caused enough vibration to loosen a bad connection somewhere - but my money's on that module.
I think I may have found the problem. I was looking under the hood right after my car died because I thought my intake hose popped off again. So I looked at the back of my alternator and the wire was dead hot. The rubber boot was pretty much cooking on the terminal and the nut was covered with rubber. What would cause this? Why is it drawing that much power?
Chances are that you have a loose connection. Loose connections = resistance, which = heat. I'd clean up that gooey mess and clean the other end of the alternator charge cable at the PDC terminal. The PDC is a connection known to become resistive. And the stock charge cable sucks. The PDC connection being screw up can cause some really strange issues with the car.GToddyT5 said:
Good luck.
Power Distribution Center.GToddyT5 said:
On the side of the underhood fusebox is where the alternator charge wire attaches (along with the positive battery cable). If you ever had a fox, it's like the battery lug on the starter solenoid.
OK, so I pulled the cover off of where the power connects to the power distribution box and the terminal is clean. I traced the wire back through where it connects to the two white wires and those are both fine as well. I'm confused here, should I just run a new cable?HISSIN50 said:
Although right now, the terminal on the back of the alternator is pretty gunked up with rubber from the boot.
The alternator connection we were concerned with was at the PDC because that affects so many other systems. You can clean up your old alternator charge cable, or replace it if you desire (I have done both, in that order). I've seen the cable terminals that attach there get corroded or the bolt gets a little loose.
It still might not be related to any of this - I think you had a CEL coming on at some point.
Good luck.
It still might not be related to any of this - I think you had a CEL coming on at some point.
Good luck.
I had the local stereo shop make me a 4 gauge cable, so I'm going to see if that makes a difference. I also cleaned up my connections in the trunk where the battery grounds to the chassis. There was a lot of battery dust on it.
I missed the rear battery info before. Achieving a decent ground in the back of the car is problematic for some (see Badstang's set-up for an overkill way to do it). Nice work with the new ground cable.GToddyT5 said:
Be sure the new alternator cable has circuit protection. I chose to use a ANL fuse, though fusible links or a CB can work.
Good luck.
I just drove it around and it died once again. But the new cable wasn't roasting like the old one. I still have a ton of gunk on the alternator terminal that I can't get off though. I scrubbed all the burnt rubber away with a wire brush, but the terminal is still black instead of gold.
What really bugs me is I didn't have these problem earlier this summer. I had changed alternators about four times until I figured out that one of the cables from my amp was grounding in my trunk and killing the alternators. So I took all that stuff out, and now I have problems with something else.
Tried driving it again today and it would start and then cut off, so obviously the connection with the new wire was no good. But I'm wondering why it didn't work. I was looking at the wiring diagram and it seems like that wire connects to the alternator on one side, splits into two white wires with fusible links and then connects right up to the PDB. So why wouldn't the new one work properly if I connected it straight up?
I'm not sure I follow but will try and give some observations. If you have a new charge cable for the alternator (4 AWG or numerically smaller cable) to the PDC, it can indeed replace the stock charge cable. I did this because the stock cable looked like poop and was dropping 400 mV.GToddyT5 said:
You dont need the alternator for the car to run and run decently. Were it not for the fact that the charge cable ties into the PDC, I wouldnt even care about it. But since one end of it is tied into the PDC connection (one of the most important connections on the whole car), that connection has to be tight and not susceptable to movement from vibration.
This thread is getting long. Refresh us: When it goes 'dead', how dead is dead? Do the idiot lights stay on? Or is it like someone removed your battery? If it's the former, this might be another issue.
Good luck.
Today I put the old cable back on and drove it to work without issue.
To answer your questions:
There are two scenarios when the car goes 'dead'. Sometimes it's the momentary stutter. In this case, the RPMs drop slightly, the car bucks and the CE light flashes on and then off once. The second scenario, the car cuts off completely. The RPMs drop to zero, the CE light comes on, the battery light comes on and I have to turn the ignition off. When I turn it back on, it starts right up fine.
To answer your questions:
There are two scenarios when the car goes 'dead'. Sometimes it's the momentary stutter. In this case, the RPMs drop slightly, the car bucks and the CE light flashes on and then off once. The second scenario, the car cuts off completely. The RPMs drop to zero, the CE light comes on, the battery light comes on and I have to turn the ignition off. When I turn it back on, it starts right up fine.
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