I was coming out of walmart tonight, and as usual i hit my unlock button on my key fob, but nothing happens.. hit it again, nothing happens. at first i'm like no big deal, battery in the keyfob is dead. i unlock my door with the key, interior light does not come on, i sit down and go to unlock my passenger door (my friend jeremy was with me) and the power door locks didn't work. i turn on my lights, nothing. put the clutch in, turn the key, no warning lights on the dash come on, car doesn't start... ggrreeaattt. So i start troubleshooting in my head what could be wrong.. dead battery, but could it be that acute and strong? with a dead battery usually it will engage the starter solenoid that kicks out the starter gear. in the middle of my thinking.. everything comes back on, lights come on, interior light comes on.. dash lights up. i turn the key and it starts. whats weird is, i didn't crawl under the hook and wiggle any wires or anything. so how can a problem like that show up, and just as quickly as it appears it disappears? on my way to walmart i did run it out a bit, its cool and not humid so i took the oppertunity of the weather lol. well on the way home the car behaved just like it should have. got out, used my key fog and locked it, amber lights blinked. so wtf? anyone else have this problem before.. could it be loose wires. ground? i dunno because how can a ground be bad one minute but not the next?
__________________
-- Howard
-- Aim: Superbrd15
--------------------------
-> JDM clear headlights w/ integrated city lights
-> WAI, JWT S4 cams, HS 5th gen header, high flow
-> cat, 15 degrees BTDC.
thats what i was gonna say, to check the battery terminals, because something exactly like that has happened to me, i popped the hood and the terminals seemed to be making a good connection but i wiggle them around and i get power, battery terminals suck
My Problem:
Put the key in to start; nothing. No lights, no turnover, no anything. A couple hours later, tried it again, it cranked right up.
I then jiggled the key back and forth to recreate what had happened, so far. and the problem showed up 2 out of next 20 times. Took it to the Dealership the next day, of course, they found nothing, but said that as long as you get it started you should have not problem. Well, I got a mile from the place and it just died while in the middle of rush hour traffic. My Hazards wouldn't even come on. I frantically tried to get it started back up and finally it does.
I mentioned all of this to a friend, and he came to the same conclusion that was mentioned here. Bad battery caused the car to lose electrical power. However, if that was the case. wouldn't I have also lost my presets as if I had removed the battery? That did not happen for me.
Just wondered if it could have been the ECU or something else.
hmm, it wouldnt be the ecu because the ecu doesnt control much in terms of electrical components...you say you dont lose your radio presets, so thats a sign that the car didnt lose complete power..im thinking its something in your ignition setup causing the power to come on/off..a loose wire perhaps, see, i'll try to explain
when you put your key in the ignition and turn it to ACC, you get ur basic power accesories to work, radio, wipers, etc. and when its in the ON mode, you get everything to work like power windows, sunroof(if equipped) and so on..what im thinking is happening is that the loose wire is causing the car to think you have turned off the car(even if the key is still in the normal position in should be)
Initially I was thinking it that it WAS in the ignition switch, simply b/c it SEEMED to matter how I was jiggling the key in it.
My father in law had this same problem. The Dealership told him that it was his computer. Since it was under warranty, they swapped it and he never had the problem again. So that made me think I've got the same problem.
you always want to start off small..with the easiest things to fix when brainstorming on problems, ESPECIALLY electrical problems..most of the times when people have electrical problems its because its something small and simple(burnt fuses, nicked wire, bad connection) and right away, they want to jump into replacing major components..its costly, and narrowing down electrical problems is a bitch, and i'll be the first to tell u that. unfortunately, you urself cannot diagnose whether or not u have a bad ecu just by looking at it..do you have any check engine lights you mightve failed to mention by any chance? it doesnt hurt to try this procedure..disconnect your battery terminals overnight..this will reset the ecu which may or may not help(it doesnt hurt to try at this point really)
Well, my mechanic could never get the car to act up, so I just changed the battery and told my wife to stay in town on the not-so-busy roads and call if it craps out again. If it does, maybe we will have a better shot of finding the real problem.
I'll never trust the car until it does, but we just cannot afford to replace it right now.
So far, so good. Since swapping the AutoZone battery out, I have had no problems. Seems that it was the battery that had just gone bad. This is my 2nd bad experience w/ AZ. I don't think that I'll be going back.
Linear Mode
