TruStylez

I spun out last night on my way home and stalled the car. It fired right up and i drove home about a block away and when I was pulling upto my driveway the car stalled. I put the car in gear and went inside and took a look at my rear tires to see how they were and when i got back into the car to start it again to pull it into the garage i had power to all my components then when i put the key in the ignition and turned it i lost power to EVERYTHING; seatbelt, headlights, dome lights, ect. when i turned the key back to off position i still had no power. i checked the battery terminals and engine bay fuses. i disconnected and reconnected everything and i had power again. then once i turned the ignition i lost power once again. anyone have any idea whats going on?

EDIT: its when i turn to the ON position i lose power not the ACC position.

DriftN7

did you check your grounds?

DriftN7

it was at night right? I would check the fuses once again, wiggle some wires. you have never had an electrical problem before have you?

TruStylez

yeah i checked my grounds today (afternoon). i checked the fuses in the engine bay and theyre all fine. and correct, ive never had any electrical issues before. its weird because i lose power instantly when i turn the ignition and it doesnt come back for awhile or until i unplug everything and plug it back in

DriftN7

i would disconnect the ECU and plug it back in, or find another friends ECU or something and try theres

TruStylez

could the ECU be the cause of this you think? i'll try that. any other suggestions?

jmkogut

See if you can use DriftN7s idea, and borrow an ECU to test.

ECU failures aren't uncommon. The old solder joints are weak, and a lot of the time, resoldering those joints them helps a lot of issues. (This may prevent you from having to buy a new ECU)

TruStylez

swapped ECU's and the power came back but once i turned the ignition to ON all power was cut again

TruStylez

i have an S5, does the security feature have anything to do with this?

DriftN7

not sure im clueless now, sorry

TruStylez

dang...thanks for trying

anyone have any ideas?

Atticus_

trace your cables to your battery, make sure they are clear of corrosion and that they are tight on the terminals. it sounds like it is just a lose terminal connector.

also try using jumper cables to jump start the car. if it turns over, then id say you are just not getting a good connection to the battery. or if you got the room, push start it and see if it starts.

TruStylez

ill try it but the power just gets cut completely when the ignition is turned. but there is a constant 12v going to the main fuse. ill try it and let you know what happens

TruStylez

alright, i followed all the lines back and everything seemed okay. then i tried jump starting it and nothing. i disconnected the ECU to see if I could get power and there it is. all power came back. when the ecu is plugged in the power will be there for a little bit but as soon as i turn the key to ON position all the power is gone. any ideas? is there a relay somewhere for the ECU? or a FUSE? thanks in advance

TruStylez

with the ECU pulled, if i turn the key on then turn it off then turn it back on again, i lose all power and have to pull the main fuse and put it back in with the battery disconnected, sometimes i need to wait awhile before i do it inorder to get power back. anyone have any suggestions for me?

TruStylez

i did stall the car on the driveway cause my sandal slipped off the clutch before this all started happening. i don't know if that makes a difference at all

kutukutu1

iTrader: (5)

do u have an alarm?

Napsterfreak15

your battery terminals needs to be cleaned with a wire brush and especially the terminal connectors.

If you disconnect it and connect it again, Power to the car will last for x amount of key turns before one random time that you will turn the key and 'pop' no power again.

Napsterfreak15

if you have 12 volts going to your main fuse but you loose power upon initial start i also think that your terminal connectors are dirty. You ignition draws alot of current.

TruStylez

the terminals are clean the battery is brand new, i even tried switching out the battery. and the terminal connectors are clean also. i even sanded them down a bit and still nothing. this has never happened before until i spun out and drove him and stalled it on the driveway. after i spun out the car ran fine no problems. its when i pulled it upto the driveway i started to have problems

TruStylez

i have the factory alarm

TruStylez

i really don't want to end up towing this to a shop because diagnostics will probably end up costing way too much, so really ANY suggestions would help

HAILERS

The next time your LOSE ALL POWER, do this. Turn the headlights on. IF they pop up and light up, then that's a clue. Go out and do that right now and write back today.

But if even the headlights won't work, then it's battery related. The headlights are on the battery bus and has zip to do with the ignition key/action. Also has zip to do with EGI fuses etc. The battery bus should be powered up all the time there is a battery in the car and it's cables connected up.

Let's say you LOSE ALL POWER, but find the headlights still work. Then, since we take your word the batt cables are on good and the cable fittings are good, then you could be losing the power to the ignition switch from the engine bay fuse box. In that case, ignition switch functions would not work, but you'd still have headlight action and Hazard action (slight guess on that one).

Or it could be related to THEFT maybe. That could be overcome by disconnecting the elect plug from the Theft unit. Located along side the passengers speaker under the glovebox. I really know zip about Theft decvices though.

This is long round about way of asking if you really lose ALL electrical power or just most of it.

TruStylez

the headlights do not light up when i end up losing all my power. nothing works at all. but i still get a constant 12.5V coming out of the battery. and when i lose "ALL electrical power" I really do lose ALL electrical power. Nothing works at all when this happens. I will try and look for the theft unit and disconnect that. Its an S5, I don't know if that makes a difference. Any pictures or diagrams of the theft unit it self so I know exactly what to disconnect? thanks

HAILERS

No. Forget the theft idea. Not a good idea on my part since you DO lose all power. Don't waste time looking for the Theft unit. It's battery/battery cable/possible engine bay fuse box related.

OR the ground wire for the battery negative cable is not going to gnd anymore. Slightly possible, not probable. The batt neg terminal goes first to a lug just below the left hand strut tower, then on to either the LONG bolt on the starter or a nearby bellhousing bolt. Small possibility there.

Can't be the battery because you said, I think, try another. So that's out.

The batt positive cable has two wires on it. One goes to the engine bay fuse box. Make sure it's on good at both ends.

Got me for right now. Mystery.

Battery cable end fittings maybe if they've been replaced. But you looked.

Can't be the Main fuse because the headlights are independent of that fuse.