egypt123

iTrader: (1)

Hell, I'm not sure it's an electrical issue... But, 3 times over the last couple weeks my car experienced a weird issue when getting on the throttle (like dropping it in 4th or 5th gear and stomping on it on the freeway). Suddenly, the radio resets like it's been powered off and quickly turned back (oddly I lose the XM Radio options like they're not even there when this occurs) and the Traction Control (T/C) light will come on on the cluster panel. It seems to only happen when I'm getting on the throttle. Only turning the car off and back on will it clear the symptoms (TC light and radio).

I haven't had a chance to really dig into the problem yet, but was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. It's an '05 with about 60k. I've had it for a little over a year and haven't needed any work done on it at this point. Same battery/Alt/PCM, etc.

Would an old battery cause something like this?

whisler151

I had that issue and it ended up being my alternator wire. It was loose and had melted on the headers. When I would get on it, the wire would hit the header and ark.

If you dont have headers, i'm not sure if this could still be a possibility.

Best luck.

egypt123

iTrader: (1)

No headers here. I assume it might be a loose wire/ground or something like that. I wouldn't think the battery would cause it (especially while driving), but it does seem to take more cranks to get it started lately so I thought I'd throw it out there.

NEED MO POWA!

iTrader: (2)

Had a similar issue, the ground wire behind the passenger side head was loose. Might be worth taking a look at it.
good luck

4doorvetteLV

iTrader: (1)

This happened to me on a roadtrip down to Ariz. last weekend. It didnt even recognize the XM and just kept flipping from FM to AM in the cycle. I have an Ipod adaptor going through the XM and ever since installing it, my TC light and Service Theft System light come on when the Ipod is in use. Just like you, if I really get on the pedal, sometimes it randomly goes quiet for an instant as well. I dont think the battery is the problem, sounds more like a grounding issue or induced by external factors like mine probably is.

egypt123

iTrader: (1)

These are my symptoms almost to a tee, but it doesn't appear to be triggered off from my iPhone playing. It occurs even when my iPhone isn't hooked up.

I've checked the ground wire behind the head (tight as can be) and removed my AUX/iPod connection and wired my XM feed back to the way it was and am still having the issue. It seems to occur at any time time now (started before wiring everything back) even without getting on the throttle. Usually the T/C light and/or Theft light will come on first giving an indication of things to come. When the radio resets, my A/C control unit dims as well.

This is very frustrating! If anyone else has experienced this or can provide more insight, it would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Another odd thing I see from time to time, and I don't think it related, is on the cluster panel where you see the little LED image of the car/frame, tires and tire pressure readings, sometimes the car/frame piece of the image disappears and I only see tires and pressure readings. LOL. Anyone ever have this happen?

Stepside

Hmmm, ask yourself, what happens when you accelerate?
Engine lifts up on the left side.
What's on the driver's side?
An alternator.
Is there any slack in the wiring harness to accmmodate the engine movement?
Are your motor mounts good?
Hmmm, to be determined.
Good Luck

egypt123

iTrader: (1)

Well, this happens sometimes now even without hard acceleration when there would seem to be little or no engine lift. Anyway, I checked the wiring harness, any ground connections I could get to and all harness connection points I could get to and it doesn't appear like anything is binding, cut or worn. Engine mounts seem good. I assume I'd hear a lot of racket and feel a lot of vibration if one was bad??

KamaSutra

If all grounds are solid and there is no burnt/loose wiring to be found, it sounds like your battery is dying out and it might be possible due to a failing alternator. I would switch your info center to display your voltage and monitor that while driving.

I had experienced some of the same issues mentioned with the NAV resetting itself or the T/C and Theft light staying on constant. While it might not go bad instantly, eventually driving like this for a long time will cause all types of notifications to pop up.

CORNER CARVER

If you want to test your motor mounts there are two symptoms that you can look for :

1 - the shifter will move to the right 1" going from an idleing roll to throttle on acceleration.

2 - find a slight grade (the incline of my driveway worked well) open the hood, give yourself plenty of room. Let the car roll back, and clutch out to drive up hill and watch the drivers side of the engine or engine cover. If it lifts up your mount/s are bad. My drivers side mount was SMOKED and it lifted up about 1.5 inches doing this.

If your mounts are fubar I would think the amount of movement that is allowed might have an adverse affect on electrical harnesses and components.

My .02

egypt123

iTrader: (1)

Just to follow up on this... I think I fixed the problem (knock on wood). I checked all the wire harness connections and slack and ground points, which all looked fine. Motor mounts looked fine. I then unhooked the battery leads and cleaned the connectors. What I think may have fixed it though, is I pulled the 10a fuse to the PCM and left it out for about 30 minutes.

Once I plugged the PCM fuse back in and drove the car, sure enough, it still experienced the symptoms. However, this time the 'Check Engine' light was on. After a few start/drive cycles, the engine light went off and since then I haven't had any of the issues I posted about.

Strange... I guess something went haywire in the PCM and pulling the fuse reset it causing it to relearn the system. Hell, I don't know... I'm just happy everything appears to be working as it should and no more annoying messages and radio resets.

Thanks to all who responded.