Everything Electrical!

[scotty2hottyoki]

Car info:(1993 ls400. approximately 167,000 miles). This has happened occasionally a few times. While i'm driving, all of a sudden my car dies, power steering goes out, audio turn off, check engine light turns on, and i have no power (acceleration or anything)...so i have to coast to a parking lot or pull over to the side of the road. When I pull over, i turn my car completely off, and then turn in back on and everything is normal again. I think it may be my computer, but I dont want to buy a new computer and have whatever in my car burn/mess up the new computer also and be back in the same predicament. Any suggestions or thoughts on what could cause this type of situation? Thanks

[Bali26]

Check your Battery connections, dont only check, clean and tighten them. Then go up all the way to sparks. Its usually something simple. Oh and also it can be a fuel supply problem, My car behaved exactly like that when once i ran out of fuel.

[aarman4]

Check your Battery connections, dont only check, clean and tighten them. Then go up all the way to sparks. Its usually something simple. Oh and also it can be a fuel supply problem, My car behaved exactly like that when once i ran out of fuel.

Bali might be very correct, I had an older GMS Suburban a few years back that had the same symptoms... I opened the hood, and the ground cable was just a bit loose on the battery, but it was enough to kill the power.

[1990LS400]

A bad battery can cause the same problem - had the same problem several times during 17 1/2 years of driving LS400s. A repair shop owner told me that a connection between battery cells can break and cause intermittent problems. After coasting to a stop, I could restart the car.

This has happened so many times now that I just get a new battery at the first sign of a problem. Usually the battery was between three and four years old when the problem occured.

But it could be something else causing the problem. Power steering fluid leaking on the alternator can cause some wacky problems too.

[scotty2hottyoki]

Ok i'll check the battery connection. I had the spark plugs replaced a few thousand miles ago..so i'm pretty sure the spark plugs are good. thanks for the advice. what else should i check besides the battery connection?

[aarman4]

Ok i'll check the battery connection. I had the spark plugs replaced a few thousand miles ago..so i'm pretty sure the spark plugs are good. thanks for the advice. what else should i check besides the battery connection?

You should check the connection between the battery cables and the battery posts, also check for corrosion on them. Follow the cables away from the battery and make sure they are connected securely on the other end (alternator and ground).. Be careful when working with batteries..

[90LS400Lexus]

Ok i'll check the battery connection. I had the spark plugs replaced a few thousand miles ago..so i'm pretty sure the spark plugs are good. thanks for the advice. what else should i check besides the battery connection?

Make sure no PS fluid is leaking onto the alternator.

[1990LS400]

Ok i'll check the battery connection. I had the spark plugs replaced a few thousand miles ago..so i'm pretty sure the spark plugs are good. thanks for the advice. what else should i check besides the battery connection?

Exactly how old is your battery? Have you put a charger on it to see if it will readily take a charge and fully charge up?

[scotty2hottyoki]

the battery is about a year old. I know one of my battery connectors is not on the node tightly...so i'm going to tighten it up and see how that works. thanks a lot for the info and suggestions.

[Beowulf]

the battery is about a year old. I know one of my battery connectors is not on the node tightly...so i'm going to tighten it up and see how that works. thanks a lot for the info and suggestions.

That is likely your problem. Also check the small wire from the negative terminal to the body ground point.

-B-