Electrical problem?

[suavyx1000]

Hi,

I have a 91 eagle talon NT. I got into my car tonight and turned my key to the point where my cd player came on and the dash lights started, everything was fine. However, when I turned my key to start the car nothing happened and all the dash lights turned off, the engine didn't even try to start. I turned my car off and back on, the dash lights were dimmer and again my car died when I tried to start it. At this point a ticking sound came from my rear left, kinda behind the gas cap, the ticking continued for a good 10 seconds. At this point I opened my hood (even though the ticking wasn't coming from there) to check things out. Everything seemed in order. I then went to my car and it started right up. I'm wondering what the heck is going on. This happened one other time at the beginning of the summer. It just seems like the car loses all power altogether, but then it comes back in about a minute? I swapped the ecu over Christmas break, and the electricity did reset (my car cd player's time changed), so i'm thinking it may have been a bad ecu I got, however I don't know. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Nate

 

[DSM90AWD]

Check that your battery terminals / connectors are in good shape (i.e. tightly on, not pitted or corroded).

The ticking you heard is likely your fuel pump relay and or ISC resetting due to loss of power.

BTW.. the ECU is independent from the radio w.r.t. power. So since your radio clock "reset", likely not an ECU problem.

 

[1990EclipseGSX]

Check that your battery terminals / connectors are in good shape (i.e. tightly on, not pitted or corroded).

The ticking you heard is likely your fuel pump relay and or ISC resetting due to loss of power.

BTW.. the ECU is independent from the radio w.r.t. power. So since your radio clock "reset", likely not an ECU problem.

I agree. This sounds more like a battery related problem. My car does the exact same thing whenever my battery gets drained. Interior lights go completely dim, and the car usually won't even turn over. I just connect my battery to a trickle charger, let it sit for a few hours, and it always starts right back up.
As DSM90AWD said, the clicking sound is most likely a relay clicking, due to lack of power. If your terminals look fine, hook up some jumper cables and I bet it starts right up.

Chris

 

[suavyx1000]

Thanks guys, that was really helpful feedback, glad it's nothing too serious!