Electrical Issue - Windows Up + BOSE = Shuts off Driving
 

Car sat for 3 days, drove home for an hour at highway speeds no issues, started right up, drove fine, but note no windows were used, just audio, heat, and heated seats. actually said to my self I missed the car and i like how it drives...

Towards end of the trip noticed some wind noise so automatically I tried making sure windows were all rolled up by hitting both front auto windows up and this is when the issue started. So that first time I hit both front windows i heard and felt a pretty big draw on the car, and beyond a normal symptom of a electrical draw (dash lights and slightest rpm dive are normal) I actually saw the oem BOSE screen flash brighter at the same time of the rest of the lights doing a electrical draw symptom. It was so abnormal I hit my windows again to see whatsup, and this time beyond the first abnormal symptom (HU led flash) i actually saw the HID low beams flash a bit , I am not kidding (and of all lights to be affected by electrical drains and surges these are not the lights to be affected in such a way hence ballasts etc.) so that got me really confused so...

for a third time I did the test of this surge from using the window buttons, and I saw the same heavy symptoms mentioned above but this time I was stopped at a stop sign, and guess what I hit the windows and the surge happened and it shut off my car while in D, everything shut off and I was there in D and had to start the car up in the middle of the road.

Now on the final mile or two home, the bose HU would not come back on, it will not even eject the tape. The car does not do this surge with the windows and they work fine, and i drove to work and everything was normal except the HU never came back on and does not respond to power or eject or buttons etc.

I am hoping fuse? How could a blown stereo fuse mess with the entire car to shut it off? Is it possible a blown fuse would be contageous to shut a whole car off indirectely? Did my testing the draw so much just blow the fuse on its last straw? Why would the windows surge the entire system enough to shut the car off?? How could the HIDs pluse with this electrical trip up.

few notes - I have a grounding kit, battery is a little dated by couple years, but everything else in car seems fine and dose not exhibit battery draining issues, replaced alternator with new 2 years ago. so its not so much that i do not believe.

one newest change w car was a suddle one - a tiny insurance tracker constantly plugged into the obdii (it is made for this and offered for a discount on insurance policy) so cant to rule it out just yet (smart drive with allstate )

Thanks in advance, will check interior fuse panel today where the stereo and windows are (windows are working fine though)

With those types of symptoms - drain and surges under heavy draws/load, I would guess your alternator more than anything else. (Yes, even though it was recently replaced)

Doesn't hurt to have a local store do a free electrical system check.

thanks man !, and thoughts on how it could it be this sketchy obdII passive tracker from the insurance company?

since you know our cars well, have you ever heard of the BOSE HU blowing fuses? that is the only symptom I am still left with (it will not turn on or even eject tape)

Anything's possible, but I'd would say more unlikely than likely.

When an alternator starts to show early signs of failure, all sorts of things go wonky. Electronics (and in this case, 14 year old electronics) perform strangely if they don't *quite* get the right amount of juice. Or, varying levels of juice. In this case the lack of a steady flow is only partially charging the caps, etc.

Think of it like a freshly installed pipe feeding a faucet. All sorts of air bubbles mixed in with water spewing out. Just strange behavior.

Again, this is just my assumption. It could be something completely else.

thanks man makes a lot of sense, and it rings true with all my symptoms i went through in Nov 2013 when the (probably orig) alternator went

well guess what, drove home fine (with no bose) and everything was normal, checked the fuse and it didnt look burnt or busted, so i swapped anyway, and for what was my only residual symptom the bose came back on, and so then since after having a new fuse work, I unplugged the new one and and replugged the original (old) fuse and it worked fine.

So it was not the Fuse :confused: fingers crossed that's it for a while

Sparatic freaky electrical issues = Alternator or CPS !!
 

ok so update.....

drove to work normally about 30 mins highway speeds, music and all, heat, rewired fogs, all running fine, i am on this straight away down a long hill at 35 mph and notice the BOSE HU LED letters flashing sparattically.... (this was the only sign of a symptom when my car would shut off from a CPS sensor two years ago)... well i mess with the dimmer and all the way up it doesnt flash, and anything below that little click at the brightest dimming setting the led letters are flashing almost to the music or bumps in the road, as soon as I hit the brakes at the next red light...... car shuts off loose brakes and power steering. Very scary as usually loosing that, thank god it happened when it did at a straight line red light scenario and not high speed highway ramp or such.

I am thinking it is the CPS sesnors again, there are 3 total , and at the time when i had the issue before the shop was morons and said only 1 censor fit which helped untill now.

I am thinking of getting 3 all over again (and oem) to be safe and done with this issue.

anyone got the part numbers on them?

I suggest if you have this issue or suspect you have any CPS issues put the interior dimming just under max brightness (just below max click) as this is the single only indicator that gives you any warning the car may shut off while driving ! yes scary !

ok so updates.....

after 24 hours of no problems or symptoms, the car shut off again after driving for only 3 mins, doin 20 mph in a traffic light town area, the BOSE HD did the flashing and it was a clear warning it would happen.... then I turned it right back on and drove 45 mins home and around town that night no issues.

Then this morning i drove 30 mins to work no problems but carefully waiting... and so i get on it about 4,000 rpm up a long sweeping hill where lanes merge, and for one of the very few times in the cars life when I pressed the pedal to go it didnt go... and it felt very werid please note no BOSE HD flashing no warnings except the foot the pedal feeling of no response of rpm...the radio may have skipped a beat, but no flashing. So luckily i was able to use hazards and pull over to a rolling stop with no power brakes or steering, put it neutral and started it right up , drove thru town to work no problems again. The only thing i could say on this incident in hindsight is the cps acted up as soon as I got on it to go 60-70 mph up the hill, i did 55 mph average before that.

This must be CPS, as no SES light, (maybe ghost codes, i doubt it tho). I have an appointment ready for 5 days from now so fingers crossed i can keep it going safely till then...

No throttle response isn't typically alternator, so that is now less likely to be the issue. Still I would pop in to have your battery/alternator checked.

CPS is interesting. Or MAF?

i feel the no throttle response was because the car was actually off, or in the midst of turning off..... i will closely watch this and see if it could be MAF at all, but for the past 9 years I have not had any MAF issues with this car, as I have cleaned it and havent dont any intake crap or mods (just rode with a GAB box last year maybe 2 months)

Good point. So maybe alternator is back on the table.

eh... im banking on CPS, alternator is less than 3 years old, with a solid grounding kit, but i will have all 3 options to suspect (MAF, ALT, and CPS)

thanks man, i will post updates.