No power to anything?

[BurnBarfield]

Okay, so the other day, I am going to leave for work..

I get in the car, it starts and idles fine. I begin to let the clutch out and go, and it stumbles really hard and dies.. Restart the car, and same thing happens, except now the car won't start, and nothing at all is working.. No beep from the door open, no interior light, exterior light, no crank, no nothing!

I was wondering if anyone had experienced this before, because I have no idea what it could be.. Could a bad ECU do this? Battery is reading full voltage, and I don't see any burnt up wires coming off the battery to the starter, alternator, or fuse box.

The motor only has 200 miles on it and runs great, just rebuilt it myself.. I just get lost when it comes to electrical.. Please let me know what you guys can think of!

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

You might have blown a mega fuse at the battery. You could also have a bad connection at the battery. You probably at this point are going to have to either break out a multimeter or take it to a shop. Check your fuses first though.

 

[BurnBarfield]

Explain mega fuse?

Do you mean the clear top fuses in the bay box that are of a much higher amperage? They all look intact, but I may be mistaken..

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

You are correct in where. However under no circumstance trust your eyes. Use a multimeter always. I have done the same thing and paid the price of losing my mind "assuming a fuse was good"

Get a schematic and a multimeter and once you find the problem and fix it, you have bragging rights. Let me know what you find.

Good Luck

 

[91 TSi GP]

i had this problem happen to me. i was driving went around a curve and it started to stumble. i went to slow down and then everything cut out so i coasted to a parking lot. tried everything there and still nothing i had no power to anything. i got towed home checked everything i could think of, then i took a grinder and cleaned off my brand new battery terminals and reconnected everything and it started right up. Try that.

 

[BurnBarfield]

Okay, so I jsut spent about an hour out there.

Battery terminals were cleaned, no luck

All of my mega fuses pulled out and checked out okay

But I think, one way or another the batterys + may have grounded out. I don't see any burnt or discolored wires, though I haven't opened them up, and ideas of anything specific to check?

 

[snowborder714]

Have you checked your ground/ground wires?

Is your battery properly secured down so it won't slide?

Do you have a strut bar that runs above the positive terminal (which might be uncovered)?

 

[91 TSi GP]

i know this is kind of stupid sounding, but does your battery have power?

 

[ampm27]

The same thing was happening to me a while back. I figured out the positive battery terminal post was just barely touching the metal from the underside of the hood and was shorting out my whole system so it wouldnt start.. you may want to make sure your battery posts have good clearance from the bottom of the hood.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Same prob here it hit the hood, look at the altenator fuse see if its blown.

 

[BurnBarfield]

Battery does indeed have a full voltage +12v

I do believe the battery grounded out on the strut bar, one way or another.

So, if no fuses popped, what should I look for...

Is tracing the battery wires to the fusebox, alternator, and starter all that I can do? I will go pick up a clamp multimeter today, if that is all I can do..

My other question if that's the case is this. Since it did not pop any of my fuses in the engine bay's fuse box, would I just trace it that far, or is it possible to still have caused problems past it if it didn't pop anything?

 

[BurnBarfield]

This may be a noob question, but does the ecu control accessories and whatnot? like lights and whatnot like that?

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

OK, at this point you need a service manual with a schematic. Consider it like driving from New York to LA with no map. You can do it, but it's much easier if you know ahead of time which roads to take. The same applies with electrical repairs. I've been doing this professionally for many years and I always get out a schematic to look at what the commonalities are. Then an investment in a good multimeter is a must if you are serious. Not a test light. Start at the battery and start tracing to a system that has lost power. Each wire will be color coded. Sooner or later you will find your problem.

Do that first then post what you have found.

Good Luck