alright guys this all started this morning after i got to the gym. the car cranked up fine when i went to the gym. after i left however my car would turn on but then immediately shut off, this went on for like 10 mins. finally it stayed home and i was able to get home.

when i got home i showered and changed and left my house to go to school (the car turned on fine). alright now after class the car started to act up again. i would turn it on and then it would immediately shut off. anyone have any clue as to what is going on. i really need my car.

Unusual things ive noticed:
-on my way to school i noticed my seat belt light was going on and off, also my maint. required light was changing colors (go from amber to a light amber and then back to normal)

-when i turn the keys two clicks over NONE of the lights in the guage cluster come on , however my radio does work.

-also if i turn my car on and i leave my hand on the key the car will stay on....however as soon i as i let go, the car shuts off.

any help is greatly appreciated guys....



Modified by stRtypR25 at 11:55 PM 4/14/2006

 

does the car struggle to "turn over" when you try to start it? if so, might be your battery going, and/or your alternator might not be charging the battery properly.

otherwise I would check your cap/rotor and spark plugs.

if you are throwing a code, see what it is.

 

the car does not struggle to turn over. i also thought it was the battery possibly, however the only reason i dont think so is because my car alarm works fine and the radio works as well. spark plugs, cap, and rotor are all new. yea i have to check any codes.

thanks for the input rtw...keep em coming guys

 

I think its your alternator, probably gone

 

is there a sure proof way to check that its my alternator

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stRtypR25 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is there a sure proof way to check that its my alternator</TD></TR></TABLE>

You need a volt/ohm meter. You can also use it to check your battery. How are the grounds in your car? Everything making good contact? Any corrosion around the battery terminals? Battery connections loose?

 

alright guys i have a slight update. i tried to jump the car and the same thing happened, the car would turn on and then would shut off. also i tried to see if i was running any check engine codes, but it would not work.

once i put the paper clip in and turned the ignition to the II nothing would come on in the gauge cluster. how ever when i turn the ignition to III the lights in the cluster come on, but the check engine light does not flash.

one thing that i found particularly weird was that when the ignition is in II the radio works but nothing in the gauge cluster is on. but when i put the iginition in III the lights in the gauge cluster come on but the radion does not work.

thanks for all the help guys
- i guess im going to have to have AAA tow my car to my house....sigh

 

i have a question is it possible that my alternator could be shot but my battery is good???

 

Sounds to me more like an electrical problem. Does the car have an alarm? Kill switches? Did the person who installed them know what they were doing. Just another thought, or that the ECU may be going. Maybe take it somewhere to get the codes.

 

yes the car does have an alarm but no kill switches. the alarm was prof. installed. is there anything i can do to see if the ecu is going bad???

 

check your interior fuse box. see if the fuse that contorls your VSS/alternator is blown.

 

what fuse is that?? underneath the driver side plastic panel right??

 

I had the same problem a while ago, it turned out to be the ignition switch.

This may sound dodgy, but if I held the key in the start postion the car would run, but as soon as I let go it would shut off, and I wouldn't have the different ignition positions.

Just take off the steeing column cover and you will see a white round cap. Take that off and clean up all the contacts inside. Make sure there are no high points (its what I had).

Good luck

 

yea that is exactly what i had to do to keep my car running....weird...did u have any of my other symptoms???

also, what do u mean high points

 

Its kind of hard to explain, but here goes.

Once you take off the steering column cover, up by the wheel itself, if you look to the left by the tumbler you will see two small phillips screws across from each other, they are both gold.

Undo those and you will see a white cap.

Pull off the cap, it is hard to do, but till come off.

You will then see that contact is made by one section spinning against the other.

How I was able to tell was that the contacts would get very hot (bad) and that they need to be ambient. As such when manually spinning it I could see there was a high spot.

So just sand it down unitl it is smooth and no high spots.

Whats happening is that the contact gets to hot and the circuit is broke, or there is not enough surface area contact to keep the current.

Hope this helps,

Edit--its 1 am and I am too tired to correct my grammar

 

well guys, i got AAA to tow it to a shop since i cant work on my car up here. damn tallahassee our driveway is on a 90 degree incline, ill give u guys posted on what the prob was.

thanks for the help and ur patience guys

 

If what was happening to you was the same as me, then do as I suggested. It will take 10 mins at most, rather than the $$$ the shop will charge you.

 

i sure will arsenal.....any specifc type of sand paper u used????

 

sounds like an ignition switch to me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stRtypR25 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i sure will arsenal.....any specifc type of sand paper u used????</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well to be honest I used a flat head screw driver, and slid it across, and when it stoped or caught something down I used it to smooth it out.

Bare in mind I was doing this at 9pm outside my restaurant with a flash light!

Also a new one is around $250!

If you do take it apart, post some pics and I can show you where to do the procedures.

 

great info, almost sound like your car is possesed lol... i'd have no clue where to start looking if this started to happed to my R, now i do. thanks

 

Not a problem, its about time we got some "-tech" in here!

 

Part 24 is the white cap you need to take off, I can't seem to make it bigger, I'll try Len's site and see what I can find.

Also the wires which come off of it, those soldered parts are the parts which shouldn't get hot!.

 

what kind of car alarm do you have?

 

thanks for the pic arsenal....yea ill give it a try