Ok, so heres my situation. I just completed my head gasket install the other day, topped off fluids, and re charged my battery with my little charger. I get my car started the next day, takes a *little* bit to turn it over, but it does fire up. I realized though that I didnt put the EGR block-off plate back on so I was blowing flames out the side of the head. Put that back on, she starts right back up fine.

So then, I take it around the block a little bit and I notice that my car is intermittently losing electrical power (dash dimming, radio turning on and off, etc) and she finally does just die. I get out, check under the hood, shrug, then get back in, try it again and notice that my car is making a weird humming noise inside that seems to be corresponding to the electrical charge from my car (ex. if I hit the window button the sound changes). I check my connections, and notice that my CAS was basically just dangling there (forgot to tighten it in all the way) screw it in all the way, try to start it, nothing. I dont understand how I was able to start it in the 1st place (Could it be upside down or something?)

The car will turn and turn and turn but never just fire up now. When i open the door to my car, the humming noise comes back, the little red light that says if a door is open is dim, and my oil pressure gauge goes to 100 psi. With the key in the on position the noise is still there. The lights wont turn on, the windows wont roll down, radio doesn't come on, nothing. When i go to turn it over, the humming noise will go away for as long as I try cranking it. I dont have a battery tester, but i did try jump starting it and using my little charger. I guess what I dont understand is how it did fire up, I let it warm up for ~10 minutes (however now that i think about it, it did randomly die while warming up and re-start itself), drove a little bit, and now its just like this. I had to push it home 1/3 of a mile which sucked. I havent driven this since May, I miss it bad :( I know this is alot to read, and if i remember anything else or if more detail is needed, ill chime in with it. Thanks!

battery may have enough power to start the car, but it may lose power and not hold a charge. I'd start with something simple like that. Try probing the battery & terminals before, while and after cranking. If it starts, try probing the terminals when you notice it to die.

Yep, it sounds like your battery took a shit adn can no longer hold a charge. I would also double check your alternator. This is just my first thought of course.

find it odd that with the key in the on position, the windows wont roll down, radio wont turn on, and my lights wont even turn on. What is the explanation for that?

What else is on and what else doesn't work? Are the gauge cluster lights dim? More than likely, the battery is just too weak. Check the fusible link also in the fuse panel under the hood for the alternator. If that is blown, the alternator won't charge the battery and of course the battery will die. Check your alternator connections along with the tension of it. You might not have unhooked the alternator but there is a chance that it might have gotten unhooked by some odd instance.

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21
find it odd that with the key in the on position, the windows wont roll down, radio wont turn on, and my lights wont even turn on. What is the explanation for that?

Thats happened to me.

Its called a bad battery.

Originally posted by teklein

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21 find it odd that with the key in the on position, the windows wont roll down, radio wont turn on, and my lights wont even turn on. What is the explanation for that?

Thats happened to me. Its called a bad battery.

Ok, dang. I just bought this red top too :wallbash

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21

Originally posted by teklein

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21 find it odd that with the key in the on position, the windows wont roll down, radio wont turn on, and my lights wont even turn on. What is the explanation for that?

Thats happened to me. Its called a bad battery.

Ok, dang. I just bought this red top too :wallbash

I would try a different known good battery.

Check your cables as well.

Ok so i just had my friend w/ his brand new red top come try jumping me. We kept his battery in his car, took mine out, and hooked the jumper cables from his battery directly to my terminals. The issue still persists (humming noise, oil gauge goes to 100 psi, lights wont turn on).

What we did notice is that when I tried to turn my lights on, the tail lamp relay clicks loud. Hmmm.

So what do you guys think? ps, I hate electrical gremlins.

Havent had time to work on the car and figure it out, but, anyone have any ideas?

I'd bet that your cables are toast. If you're using a known good battery and you're still getting the same results then the power isn't getting where it's supposed to. Cut open the jacketing a few inches back from the terminal. If the wiring isn't a nice birght copper then you should replace it. Other colors are BAD

I've had this happen to me on a few cars. Drove me nuts pulling off batteries, alternators, and starters only to find that they weren't bad at all. I've rewired EVERY wire that connects to the battery in my 2G because they were crapped out.

Alright so i cut the jacketing back a few inches, and the wiring is still a solid copper color. This is rough.

Alright so i just went and tried figuring it out, but still with no luck. I noticed that the fuel pump also doesn't even prime when switching into the "ON" position. The lights, radio, nothing work (except dim dash lights, and my oil psi gauge with goes to *past* 100psi). Also, the humming noise I hear inside the cabin seems to be coming from somewhere behind the radio for more information. Could it possibly be some fuse that may have gotten f-ed? They all look good, but maybe looks are deceiving? How about the possibility of my ECU being the problem? What can we immediately eliminate as the problem? and in doing so where will that lead me to?

Anyone with solid knowledge of the electrical systems in the car, please help!

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21
Alright so i cut the jacketing back a few inches, and the wiring is still a solid copper color. This is rough.

I don't think that technique is 100% sensitive in finding a problem with the wire. When jumping your car with your friends car, I would have tried to connect one end to your positive cable, and the ground wire directly to the chassis and not the ground cable (this rule out a bad ground cable.)

I know a guy that grounded his battery/engine/tranny with practically a dozen wires. That may be overkill, but it beats dealing with these stupid little headaches when you are in a rush to get going

Originally posted by ez

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21 Alright so i cut the jacketing back a few inches, and the wiring is still a solid copper color. This is rough.

I don't think that technique is 100% sensitive in finding a problem with the wire. When jumping your car with your friends car, I would have tried to connect one end to your positive cable, and the ground wire directly to the chassis and not the ground cable (this rule out a bad ground cable.) I know a guy that grounded his battery/engine/tranny with practically a dozen wires. That may be overkill, but it beats dealing with these stupid little headaches when you are in a rush to get going

Sounds like my engine bays LOL.

Honestly though, it amazes me how crappy the ground systems in most cars are. It's been proven over and over that improving the grounds in a car can actually allow the electrical components to work at their full potential

nvm

Check this thread: http://forums.2gnt.com/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=125348&mesg_id=125348&listing_type=search#125778

Cliffs notes: take the little brass insert out of your positive battery terminal, clean thoroughly all 4 surfaces.

Originally posted by thedawg
Check this thread: http://forums.2gnt.com/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=125348&mesg_id=125348&listing_type=search#125778 Cliffs notes: take the little brass insert out of your positive battery terminal, clean thoroughly all 4 surfaces.

Wow, that sounded exactly like my problem. I thoroughly cleaned all 4 surfaces, terminals, posts, etc, and it still has the issue! I am completely stumped...?

Originally posted by ez

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21 Alright so i cut the jacketing back a few inches, and the wiring is still a solid copper color. This is rough.

I don't think that technique is 100% sensitive in finding a problem with the wire. When jumping your car with your friends car, I would have tried to connect one end to your positive cable, and the ground wire directly to the chassis and not the ground cable (this rule out a bad ground cable.) I know a guy that grounded his battery/engine/tranny with practically a dozen wires. That may be overkill, but it beats dealing with these stupid little headaches when you are in a rush to get going

Just got back from up north for about 5 days and tried this technique. I hooked the positive jumper up to the positive cable and the negative jumper up to the chassis, and nothing worked in the car. Then, I tried attaching the negative jumper to the negative cable and the problem came back. While I let the negative jumper sit attached to the chassis for a while, the power actually came on, everything worked-lights,radio, windows, etc. The only thing that didnt happen was that it didnt crank this time. So, does this mean that I need a new negative cable then? or what does that mean exactly (what grounds should I check, etc)?

Found and fixed the problem. The ground that goes from the firewall to the throttle cable wasnt even attached. I feel so glad its finally fixed though, wow.