SprayedLT1

iTrader: (8)

I went to drive my car tonight, and as the engine was cranking, I lost all power. The dash went black and the starter stopped. I turned the key off, and back to run, and nothing. I tried turning it to start, and I heard a very faint door chime, and the seat belt light lit up, but was very dim. I popped the hood and left the key on. As I got out to check the battery cables, the power popped back on, so I sat back down and started it up. I noticed that the headlights and dash lights flicker as the car idles, and because of my cam, they really flicker a lot with the rough idle. I checked the battery cables, and they were secure. I noticed that all my presets and settings were missing from my radio. I backed out of my drive, and the car died and everything went black again. I started pushing it back into the drive, and the power came back on again.

Anyway, I have a few other electrical problems that seem to me may be related to this problem.

- I have a slow drain. Takes about 2-3 days to drain the battery.

- I go through batteries like crazy. About 1 a year or year and a half.

- I also burn up ignition switches. One of the wires is melted; either pink or red I can't remember off the top of my head. Eventually the switch also gets overheated and melts. Takes a couple months to kill a new switch. I've tried hunting this problem down but haven't found the problem.

I'm starting to wonder if my battery cables are worn out or damaged. Sound about right? Car has about 235k on it now, with original cables.

fergymoto

iTrader: (129)

Check all your grounds. It sounds like a ground problem.

Black94Z28

iTrader: (12)

Mine did the same thing, the ground wire was loose in the engine bay.

SprayedLT1

iTrader: (8)

Grounds seem to be ok. I did my engine swap last spring and made sure they were ok. There's just the negative battery cable and the braided ground cable on the driver side correct?

RED PUNISHER Z

my car is doing that same thing but its not melting the wire like yours i have a small drain some where and the alternator is giving me a low charge but passes a the part store i don't know what it can be im fed up with it already i feel you pain lol

SprayedLT1

iTrader: (8)

Thanks for reminding me... when I datalog, according to Datamaster, my voltage never goes above 12.8 or 12.9 while driving.

fergymoto

iTrader: (129)

There are several grounds by the ignition coil, a ground strap that runs from the coil bracket to the frame rail, a ground by the oil dipstick brack on the block, one on the passenger side motor mount, etc. You definitely have a bad ground or a short somewhere.

SprayedLT1

iTrader: (8)

I remember the one by the dipstick, it's secure, and the one that goes to the pass motor mount is good. I remember the one on the driver side head by the coil, and it's good. I did all those when I did the engine swap.

I've been having this problem before the engine swap, so I was hoping it would be fixed after the swap, which apparently it hasn't. That's why I'm kinda thinking battery cables, at least the neg one.

Stroked97TA

This is not an easy problem to diag by any means. If you are having a drain on the battery, especially overnight, then you should try a parasitic load test with a dvom and a quick disconnect for the negative terminal which you can usually find at any auto parts store for under $10. Try that and see if that doesn't locate a circuit to test and that might make it easier to test. Does your PCM store any codes? I agree that this sounds very much like a ground problem, double check them simply because I have had grounds rattle loose and ohm your ground circuits as well.

fergymoto

iTrader: (129)

There are also grounds on both sides of the core support, the driver's side fame rail below the ABS pump, etc

What year is your car? I know I have at least one good set of spare battery cables. I might have two.

SprayedLT1

iTrader: (8)

Hmm... I know of the one on the driver side of the core support because that's where I have the relay for my EWP grounded, but I don't recall one on the pass side.

Anyway, mine's a 94.

SprayedLT1

iTrader: (8)

Just to rule it out, I went out and got a new ignition switch the other day and swapped it in yesterday. The old one was discolored like it had been hot, but wasn't burned up like the rest of them have been when they failed.

Drove the car for about 2 hours last night with no problems.