UPDATE !!HELP!! car died

[acke61]

I checked the battery terminals they have power and the wire that goes to the main fuse block has power but i pulled a couple of the big 60 amp fuses and none of those terminals would light up the test light....i'm not sure if they are supposed to have power going to them when the car is off or not...any help?

 

 

I was driving tonight on the way back to college. I'm goin like 70 on the highway and my motor shuts off and all my lights go out, so its raining and i'm doin like 70 in the dark with no lights tryin to see and almost go off the road into the ditch...so anyways

 

i checked all the fuses and they all were fine, i turn the key no power to anything , no radio no headlights, no nothing, yet my cig lighter still works for my radar detector, the mirror lights work if u turn them on manually but not when the door opens, my 4 ways and hood and trunk lights all work, has a new alternator in it and battery seems like its fine, as of now its sitting on the side of the road so if anyone has any idea on what you think may be wrong???

 

I work at a napa so i'm not like some idiot but i honestly have no idea what is wrong with this thing. i'm thinking maybe like bad ignition switch or something along that lines but i dont understand why even my courtesy lights dont come on when the door opens...

 

so if anyone can help... thanks in advance

[Brian P]

year make and model?

[mihela816]

how new is the alternator? reman alternators sometimes don't work for very long before they die.

[acke61]

year make and model?

 

 

95 grand prix GTP 3.4

[digitaloutsider]

This doesn't sound like an alternator problem at all. In fact, it sounds like your firewall block has become detached somehow. Dig under your dash and see if your C200 is securely fastened together. That would explain a lot.

[acke61]

whats a c200?

[Brian P]

yeah maybe the bulkhead connector at the firewall....but also when you say your underhood and trunk lights "work" are they at normal full brightness?

[digitaloutsider]

whats a c200?

 

It's the firewall connector where all the wires that need to come into the interior of the car, do. It should be under your dash on the right side. It's held together with a Torx bit.

[acke61]

yeah maybe the bulkhead connector at the firewall....but also when you say your underhood and trunk lights "work" are they at normal full brightness?

 

they appear to be at full brightness, my mirror lights work perfectly good also.

what is this block that i should be lookin for? i'm gonn hafta try and find a ride tomorrow to where my car is. its like 20 mins away so its not like i can just run out and check, hopefully i can find someone to tow this i dont have AAA

[acke61]

if that block got disconnected wouldnt u think all my interior lights woudlnt work at all?

 

could this be a symptom of a neutral safetey switch or ignition switch burning up?

[digitaloutsider]

 

That's off my '90, but yours should be essentially the same.

[acke61]

i believe mines a lot different than that, i have one fuse box that is on the right side of the dash, and then two more that are under the hood, i'll check it out and see if i can find any plugs under the dash like that, any other ideas on what it could be?

[digitaloutsider]

i believe mines a lot different than that, i have one fuse box that is on the right side of the dash, and then two more that are under the hood, i'll check it out and see if i can find any plugs under the dash like that, any other ideas on what it could be?

I know your fuse box is in a different place, but your C200 should be in the exact same location.

[acke61]

i believe mines a lot different than that, i have one fuse box that is on the right side of the dash, and then two more that are under the hood, i'll check it out and see if i can find any plugs under the dash like that, any other ideas on what it could be?

I know your fuse box is in a different place, but your C200 should be in the exact same location.

 

so i'd just check to see if one of those plugs got pulled out?

[Brian P]

Also check to see if your headlights or even parking lights even attempt to illuminate, pull the parking light bulb out of its housing and see if the filament is glowing. I'm tempted to say battery failure/ terminal problem and only the light load electric circuits work (reading lamp, individual trunk light, just the hazard filaments etc) definetly check the battery terminals for tightness, both at the battery AND the auxiliary positive terminal at the strut tower.

[acke61]

Also check to see if your headlights or even parking lights even attempt to illuminate, pull the parking light bulb out of its housing and see if the filament is glowing. I'm tempted to say battery failure/ terminal problem and only the light load electric circuits work (reading lamp, individual trunk light, just the hazard filaments etc) definetly check the battery terminals for tightness, both at the battery AND the auxiliary positive terminal at the strut tower.

 

if that was the case though....shouldnt my alternator have kept the car running

[DiscoStudd]

Here's another idea nobody's mentioned yet: Check the fusible links (I know there are a few that connect to the positive lug of the starter.) Not sure if all of them terminate there, so maybe check with a Haynes or Chiltons...

[acke61]

if anyone has any other ideas, i really gotta get this thing fixed asap

[acke61]

bump

[Brian P]

Also check to see if your headlights or even parking lights even attempt to illuminate, pull the parking light bulb out of its housing and see if the filament is glowing. I'm tempted to say battery failure/ terminal problem and only the light load electric circuits work (reading lamp, individual trunk light, just the hazard filaments etc) definetly check the battery terminals for tightness, both at the battery AND the auxiliary positive terminal at the strut tower.

 

if that was the case though....shouldnt my alternator have kept the car running

 

not if the terminals aren't making connection. It would stay running with the engine at a higher RPM but if you take your foot off the gas while the terminals aren't making contact, then there's a good chance it'll stall. It's all ideas but I won't know more unless I'm actually at the car.

[scorpion_x9]

Heh, I had the same exact problem. I was driving on the highway and all the sudden everything just shutoff (even all the lights), and I had no ignition and I could not start it. I had to mess with the drivers side fuse box under the hood. That was my problem, I found that it was a bad connection at the aux bettery terminal. Your issue may be different though.

[acke61]

I checked the battery terminals they have power and the wire that goes to the main fuse block has power but i pulled a couple of the big 60 amp fuses and none of those terminals would light up the test light....i'm not sure if they are supposed to have power going to them when the car is off or not...any help?

[Brian P]

Does your fuel pump whirr or anything happen when you turn it to "on"?

[acke61]

http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15747

 

thanks for the help guys, its goin for now