This is a post a made about a month ago about an ongoing problem I've had


Odd problem

This problems happens every 4 to 5 days, when I start my car everything shuts off it doesn't start and my key gets locked in the ignition. All the power goes out because once I do start the car the stereo's memory is reset and so is the clock on my dash meaning there was no power. The odd part of this is that I get the car started by leaving the key in the ignition(as oppose to wrestling it out), closing my door, locking it and then opening it. Once I do this the security icon on my gauge lights up(which is always does when the car is off and the door is open) and I'm usually able to start the car, there have been instances where this has not worked and I have to disconnect and reconnect the battery, this work also.

So a few days ago it happened again, I went to turn on my car and it doesn't start, no power. So I go through the usual closing and locking my door, then unlocking it and opening it. At this point I hear the little "Security" clicking that happens when you open the door with the key in and I attempt to start the car, doesn't start I do the door lock/unlock thing about 3 or 4 more times and get it to go. Now when I say "doesn't start", I don't mean like when you need a jump start and you turn the key and you can hear the car struggling. I mean the ignition turns but the car doesn't started because it thinks, for some reason, that the battery is dead.

So saturday I my battery to Autozone and got it recharged back to life. But today guess what happens? Yup. It seems to happen once a week or once every week and a half. What to do, what to do.

The sucky party is having to reset all my stations, especially on my Sony that has the station naming feature.

 

omg!

this exact situation happened to me today, and it is quite
frustrating. it's like all power is disconnected to the battery...but
my battery is fully charged. then all of a sudden, i'd get power back...try and start the car...no....oh wait, no power...oh here we go...and then out of the blue it would start up like nothing.

same thing about my clock resetting. also i have aftermarket fog lamps hooked up to the battery and when the car is in it's 'i'm going to act like there is no battery' mode...they don't come on either.

i'm curious as to if you've remedied this problem...i'd take the car in, but i have no idea what to tell them, it's so bizarre.

i get home..and it starts no problem, two times in fact.

you stated in the other post that you pulled the alarm fuse...did this yield any results?

*jared

 

Nope, a week after I disabled the factory alarm it did it again. But it hasn't done it in like month and a half, knock on wood. I'm pretty sure the reason it hasn't happened is because I haven't driven as much since school's ended. Don't know, my car has a long hrrrrrr when I turn the car on, like it needs a jump start but my battery is fine. Maybe the alternator? Who knows. The lockout thing is defin. crazy though, did your key get stuck in the ignition also? Like the car thought you put the wrong key in and were trying to steal it?

 

Mine did that once or twice. I just cleaned my battery posts and terminal clamps with a wire brush. That fixed my problem.

 

yeah, my key was positively not coming back out (the little *push* button to get the key back was stuck out further than usual). i must have been wrestling with the key a good 10 minutes.

actually the only reason i noticed something was up was because i kept opening and closing the car door because i was suffocating in the 90 degree heat (in a shirt and tie...ichh) and started to notice that my little door lights weren't coming on....and then were again.

it's reassuring to me thought to know that you and some other folks have been having this problem...and still driving the car. i can handle annoyances, tougher to handle a completely non-op vehicle.

totally bizzare problem this is...like an x-files episode.

 

Wow, it's amazing isn't it? Really odd. Like I said if I lock my door, close it, unlock the door and open it, than the security light blinks and I can get a turn of the key. But often times I have to do this like 5 times and if it still doesn't work I disconnect and pray that works (it doesn't sometimes). Crazy.

REALLY sucks having to set my stations all over again.

It's good to know that somebody else has this problem b/c when I originally posted this I got like 1 or 2 replies.

 

I would lean toward a problem with the security system, but I don’t really see a connection between that and a complete loss of power. It does remind of a problem I had years ago with one of my 240z. I’d have power in the accessory and run key positions but every once and while when I turned the key to start position I’d loose everything. It turns out that I had a bad (corroded) connection between the negative battery cable and the engine block. When I turned the key to start, pulling most of the battery power, the connection would arch and sometimes complete the circuit and sometimes loose it.
I gather that the connections to your battery are good if you’ve had it out and checked, but it maybe worth checking the other ends.