car's lights shut off and engine dies while driving

[chavez408]

so i was driving down my road and my aftermarket deck just dies and my interior lights go very dim and than die so i pull over to a parking lot to inspect the car and i realize my tail lights and gone.. they went dim. Than i go and shut off my car, and now she wont start!

 

[ECLIPSEESPILCE]

Does the car crank over? Assuming no, Check battery, battery connections, and the alternator. Odds are the alternator has failed.

 

[90gsx16g]

First check battery connections, if thats all good then charge the battery up full and drive aound. If it dies again its your alternator, it wont last very long if your alternator is dead. Or.. as an afterthought your battery could be dead or getting there..

 

[fhudsonjr]

For a quick check to see if your alt. is charging, take a screwdriver and w/the engine running (be very, very careful), touch the the rear center of the alt. w/the tip of the screwdriver. If it is charging you will feel the screwdriver be magnetically attreacted to the alt.

This does not tell you how well the alt. is working, only that it is charging. If you feel no magnetic attraction the alt. is broke.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

Sounds like the alternator is going. Then the car starts to run on the battery alone, which of course drains slowly, and by the time you shut it off and try to start it agian, that too is drained--obviously from the alternator not going and keeping it charged. Had this problem before. You might have it too.

 

[c5chris]

A similar situation happened to me. The negative cable to my battery was corroded and not providing proper connection to the terminal. i would run a few meters and the car would die completely.

 

[1gDSM4g63]

It's probably the alternator and/or battery. Usually the power steering fluid leaks out of dripping on the alternator underneath it and that may will cause lack of charging and it will die when you throttle the car.

 

[chavez408]

i would think it was the alternator, i was more afraid that this was happening because one of my cly is reading 0 compression. But i got it started after 3 times of it dying at me on the road, and the car rocking like crazy, i could barely go pass 45mhp

 

[1gDSM4g63]

Okay, you failed to mention that but a blown head gasket is probably the case for the matter.

 

[Evil04c]

Could be head gasket. Could be your alternator, yet my buddies gst had the same problem and he has a short coming from somewhere *not sure where but determined to find it tomorrow*, or it could be you ecu. My first dsm used to just die...and then it would randomly start, but there was no telling how long it would run w/o the car dying again.

 

[90gsx16g]

i would think it was the alternator, i was more afraid that this was happening because one of my cly is reading 0 compression. But i got it started after 3 times of it dying at me on the road, and the car rocking like crazy, i could barely go pass 45mhp

Yeah...that sounds like a blown head gasket. Hmmm are you burning coolant?

 

[chavez408]

problem solved, it was the battery

 

[90gsx16g]

Word thats alot better then a blown head gasket.

 

[bobster22388]

Good thing it wasn't the alternator, they like to go up on DSM's. I work at NAPA, I have quite a few guys come in with that problem. Hopefully mine never goes up anytime soon. Those things are getting expensive.

 

[chavez408]

problem is back haha
weird i test drove the car last night, started multiple times and it ran like a champ. Now this morning i crack her up and she fire up and died. Than i tried again, and all tthe power was gone. I am guessing its one of the terminals that is loose or something around that matter. Man i am never going to buy my br20g with her running like this

 

[tlikethedrink]

damn, there must be something draining your battery then, i would charge the battery and drive it to a Checkers er somthing to do a free electrical test. you should change/clean your terminals just in case too.

 

[chavez408]

there is not many places here where they do free checks, but im going to mess with the car a little bit more after i get off school and work. By the way nice car!

 

[19Eclipse90]

Check voltage coming from alternator -- of course, with the car running, so you'll need to recharge the battery. Start the car, put the red wire to the B+ terminal on the alternator and the black wire to a ground. Very simple and will tell you whether or not your output is sufficient. Then measure the voltage at the battery.
Let it run for 10 minutes or so and recheck both output at the alternator and battery voltage.

 

[chavez408]

thanks guys. But today i realize that my terminals were a little bit rough up. The neg one had a little bit of corrison, and both have cracks on them and were a little bit loose. So i tighten up and she fire up right away. But it looks to me that there is a short somewhere because everytime i turn on my head lights my deck would shut off, and ones i turn them off the deck will turn back on. same thing goes when i open the door, the deck would turn off and vice versa. And of course my anti lock brake light would turn on. I feel like im going in circles with this issue

 

[PieEyedPiper]

thanks guys. But today i realize that my terminals were a little bit rough up. The neg one had a little bit of corrison, and both have cracks on them and were a little bit loose. So i tighten up and she fire up right away. But it looks to me that there is a short somewhere because everytime i turn on my head lights my deck would shut off, and ones i turn them off the deck will turn back on. same thing goes when i open the door, the deck would turn off and vice versa. And of course my anti lock brake light would turn on. I feel like im going in circles with this issue

To me, that sounds like you have a bad ground still. Double check your negative cables and use some goop from your autoparts store to prevent further corrosion.
I suspect that your ground is only up to the task of x amps and your trying to get more juice than your electrical system can handle, in its current form.

I experienced this exact phenomena only 2 weeks ago. It was definitely the negative terminal/wire and I too had my deck going on and off whenever I used more electricity.

 

[chavez408]

thanks man ill purchase a neg and plus terminal and cable and see what it does