I've asked a question here before that seemed to help, so I'm trying again... same car, added problems

In advance... sorry this is kinda long, but the problem has been going on for months now. Yuck!

OK, so my car has been acting weird for a while now. I don't know if this has any bearing on whats happened, but my car tends to idle low, it's never died but no one has ever figured out why it does it. All was fine until I was in a car accident.

At first it drove normal but about a week after the accident, an issue popped-up. The check engine, check oil, and check battery lights all came on within about 2 seconds of each other. I've been driving this car for 3 years now, and have never seen them before, so I instantly pulled over, turned the car off, and got it towed home. The lights all worked, as did the stereo, but I didn't try turning the car back on. The belts were still on, and everything looked normal under the hood.

2 weeks later, I was forced to use the car again. It turned on fine, and lasted all of a day and a half. The second day all the same lights turned on again. I noticed check engine first, a few seconds later the other 2, then realized the car was dead and I was coasting. The normal drive lights were working perfect, as were the dash lights. I tried turning the car back on as I was coasting, but I just heard a strange noise, the car shuddered weirdly (sorry, I really can't describe it better), and refused to start. Tried again a few minutes later at a dead stop, and it still wasn't turning over at all. Tried reving the engine a bit (it helps off and on) but the RPMs didn't even register.

I got the car towed again, and about a half hour after it died, the tow-truck guy tried turning the car on. It started perfectly normal. I've been told by a few people that the alternator might have gone out on me (including people on this site), and I was hoping that was the case.

So, I replaced the alternator. Well, yet again it turned off randomly. Sometimes it would last an hour, sometimes 20 min. Now, however, I didn't notice the check engine light go on. Last time this happened, I parked it and left it at my apartments. I left for a trip, car was stolen (I'm pretty sure the only reason it was found nearby was because it died on the thief. Lol) My dad got the car from the impound yard and drove it home. Part way there it died, so he got out, shoved all the plugs he could find back together, and the car started fine - first time it didn't need a jump.

4 months later I'm now trying again. I've cleaned all the plugs I could get my hands on with a spray on that cleans them. I've replaced the battery because it was sitting for 4 months. Now it won't even turn on! Lights come on (all the normal dash lights, and everything else seems to work fine), car turns over, but doesn't catch. Stuck 2 gallons of new gas in the car (I left it with about a 1/4-1/2 tank, but figured it might be a bit old). The car seemed to try a bit harder, but still not catching.

I called a cousin who's car savy, he said to try a tester to see if all the wiring is ok. I ran out and was trying it, but up pops more questions. Some of the massive plugs (with 8 or so connectors inside...), well, only one of two of the connectors will light up, while the rest do nothing. Heck, one plug with 3 connectors in a line, the outer 2 worked while the middle one didn't. Now, does this mean the plugs are ok? Or does this mean that they are fubar'ed? All the fuses were fine, at least, the ones I checked without having to grab a screw driver for.

So... does any one have a clue what's going on with this car???? I'm outta ideas, and the one I'm working on I'm not even sure what some of the lights mean. I can't pay for a visit to the mechanic (I've been buying parts and having my cousin install them, but now he's busy so I can only call for advice). So, if someone has something to suggest, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks for any help what-so-ever...

~A Desperate Girl With An Extremely Stubborn Car

 

To add something more...
I tried starting the car with some started fluid in it. Car actually started, ran for a second (tops) then died again. Looked up this, next step I'm seeing is testing the EFI Main Relay. I think I know where it is, and how to get it. But the tests I'm seeing on the tegger website also show hooking it up to a battery. How do I do this? I can do the 2 tests w/o the battery, but am unsure if I have to run all 5, and if so, can someone do a step by step of hooking it up?