Anyone know what's going on here? I have power to all the accessories (headlight, dome light etc etc) and everything's straight for all the clicks/turns of the key, until the final one to crank it. Once I do that, I lose ALL power to EVERYTHING for a minute or two...then power comes back. There was an alarm installed a few days ago (just for keyless entry), but I don't know if that has anything to do w/ it. Ignition kill doesn't kill power, it just doesn't let you crank. I'm talkin about the entire dash, headlights, dome light, etc all go dark 100% (complete loss of power) once I try to crank, then if I leave it for a min or two, it'll all come back. Then if I try cranking again, the same thing will happen: the power is gone.

Anyone got any guesses as to what's causing the problem?

 

I think the alarm tech was on the pipe when he did the install. OR,..possibly a loose battery cable???

 

I drove the car for a few days, w/ no probs, although he did make a few last minute changes today (fixing some minor glitches here and there). I turned the car on and off prob a good 3 or 4 times after I left the shop w/ no probs. Then, just as I finished refueling, when I came to start the engine, nothing. It was outta the blue, but yes, it was the same day (hours) after the final tweaking of the install.

Oh and it's not a loose battery cable. Checked 'em, they're firmly on. Checked the main fuse (120), looks just fine. Also keep in mind the power comes back and STAYS on, until/unless I try to crank.

 

I've had this happen recently, for a few days it was doing it, but hasn't for maybe a week. I checked my cables which seemed okay, so we'll see. I have not had a car alarm installed on it at any time, although I did wire up my boost controller, so possibly something there. Sorry this isn't a whole lot of help, but you're not the only one. Josh

 

Josh, I appreciate it man. My car usually goes on nice long reliable streaks, then gives me a really weird problem that leaves me wondering, "man...am I the ONLY one who has this happen to them?" lol. Lets keep the thread updated, and see who can figure it out first.

The weird part is I thought that since I was getting power BACK, it might be some kind of temp kill switch from the alarm, but you're saying you don't have an alarm. That, and if it WAS the alarm, I'd expect to be able to arm/disarm during that time (ie the alarm should have power to it), but it doesn't. Hmm..

 

try putting more grounding straps on to your battery (the neg terminal) and/or check both connections

 

I do have the Pettit upgraded grounding link installed that he throws in on 1st time orders...but that's about it. You think I just don't have a good enough ground? Too much juice, not enough ground? It would kill all the power like that? And what would make it come back on it's own?

 

I can't think of anything that would be remotely connected with the power delay you're experiencing. It could be an electrical short in the ignition switch or a loose cable/connection. May be a weak Battery?

 

Electrical short in the ignition switch sounds like a good possibility... A weak battery, nope. My battery was weak/low a few days ago, but we actually left a Diehard Battery Charger (that doesn't overcharge) on the battery to bring it back to full charge a day or two ago, so it should be solid.

The only thing that's still got me wondering is how can a short give you a DELAY, vs. a permanent/persistant loss of power?

 

^ If you have access to another (healthy) Battery, give it a try. Start ruling-out possibilities.

 

Yea I was thinking I shoulda tried jump-starting it. Ya never know...

 

Jump starting your car by using another car is never a good thing . The power surge it does to your car might be deadly . Thats why there are jumpstart battery pack just for that use . The ones with fuses are the best .
FDNewbie , Your problem might be cause by a weak battery . Try checking the battery's charge with a multi-meter . Cause as you crank the engine , most of the battery's power has to to the the starter motor . The start motor is a high amp drawing device . That is why when you crank , you lose power to most of your other electronic devices . Or you can just start your car first before switching any items ie;headlight , radio .

 

if one of your eletrical problems are not working, then it might be a short or fuse problem but if they all go out at the same time, i would think its a neg side of the battery problem (at least that was my problem). make sure your grounds (and the actual terminal connections) are good. i used a 2/0 node gauge wire to ground the battery straight to the chassie and it solved my problems (i had the same exact problems like you and it confused the hell out of me for a few weeks).

 

I had a similar problem. Everything would light up, etc, but as soon as I'd try to crank all goes dead. Letting go of the key, it all came back on.
Turns out that the positive battery connector split apart on the metal that wraps around the battery terminal, so the connection was kind of lose. Did a quick fix by pinching it with a pair of pliers so it fit snugly, even without the abilitty to tighten it down with the screw, and the car started right up.

 

if your battery was weak, or it could have just been dead, or (common with FD's) the engine's heat cooked it and it's pretty much useless now. My battery went dead (yes, i drive a ranger, because i can't afford the insurance on a FD, much less "oh ****" money for when things go south, so please no flames for not knowing ****) and i let it charge on a similar device, the next day it started up fine the first time, and after that it went dead (like you are saying, except when i turned my key, nothing came back on afterwards after trying to start it a second time). if you don't have access to a fresh battery, take yours to murray's or autozone or napa or whatever general auto parts store you have around you and they'll test your battery for free. It's worth a shot.

 

I got one of those electric battery chargers that's strong enough to start the car, so I'll try that. All of you guys are pointing toward checking the battery, so that's what I'll do tomarrow morning. As for grounding straps, my boy Mike (RXtacy) is gonna make me a nice grounding kit and I'll def try that.

I have EVERYTHING off and it still won't crank. So we'll see.

See, when I let go of the key, it doesn't come back until a min or so later. It's not an instantaneous thing. That's what's got me wondering...

I did check the battery connections last night, and they were on TIGHT. But I'll take 'em off, inspect 'em, and tighten 'em on while I'm at it. Can't hurt

Thanks guys...I'll let ya know how it turns out tomarrow morning.

 

Go figure...it was a bad battery terminal. It seemed very tight 2 nights ago when I had the problem, but apparently it wasn't as tight as I thought?. That, and there was some corrosion around it. What threw me off was the delay in getting power back. I still don't understand the reason for the delay, but hey, who cares. I'm just glad my car's up and running again. Thanks guys

 

I'm glad you figured the problem out. Seems like the terminals are prone to going bad. I'm glad another FD problem has a happy ending.

 

I've had this same problem a few times and it's always the negative battery terminal. Think I'm going to invest in a battery relocation kit and new battery as one of my winter projects.

 

Glad to see you got it worked out!

 

You and me both