wham....nuttin, part duex

[mbouse]

well, start a new thread because we sure hijacked the other one to weird places...picking up from where the previous thread was still a technical discussion on loss of all power -

and just to put some minds to rest, i double checked the connections at the alternator and the starter. tight & secure

i've had no recurrence since the original incident, and am clueless to think how to reproduce the total loss of power or test anything surrounding the symptoms.

can anyone suggest something other than the ignition switch?

[amsiegel]

Mike

Did this only happen once?
How long was the car disabled when it happened?

[lanciahf]

Might be the ignition switch starting to go or where the switch connects. I had the same problem with my spider a couple of years ago.

[racydave]

Tight connections are'nt always the culprit. But, inside the connections, like I said originally.

[jwhite]

It was the ignition switch with mine. Cruzin down the road and all of a sudden wham....loss of everything. I had just left the carb shop and the mechanic said my ignition shoud be replaced ASAP. I new it was going because I had to wiggle the key to get it to turn. Anyway...while driving the car it just died, I reached for the key and wiggled it around for a couple seconds and she fired right back up again. After replacing the ignition I never had a problem. I bet you that is what it is.

[mbouse]

Mike

Did this only happen once?
How long was the car disabled when it happened?

yup, just once. i turned the key, and heard absolute silence. thought for a second, and tried a second time with the same results, only this time i could hear the second hand ticking on the clock (it was that quiet).

within the space of say 2-4 minutes i had run quick diagnosis of the battery, fuses and engine compartment looking for tell-tale signs of electrical issues and doing voltage tests.

one last try, and the engine fired right up. that was the middle of June; and this is a daily driver... so there have been plenty of starts since then.

[amsiegel]

am not sure if this is going to help and I am only going off my past experiences with my other cars.

When my starter was going on my Accord it would do the same thing. Turn key and nothing would happen. Turn the key again and nothing would happen. A few minutes later it would start. Then it would be weeks before it happened again. Then it would start happening more often. I would just change the connectors in the starter and it would be fine for a year or 2.

I do not think I lost power to anything else though.

I can not understand why only the clock would work and nothing else. I know it draws a small amount of power.

Did you hit any puddles or rain?
Gremlins
Suicidal bugs that scream Bonzi and then jump between electrical connectors.

Could something like the voltage regulator overheated and did not come back till it cooled down? I am just throwing out thoughts.

[mbouse]

nope, no rain, no puddles...crystal blue sky.
had to reset the presets on the radio.
did not hear the familiar click of the solenoid.
did not need to change any fuses.
saw 12+ vdc at the battery.
watched the second hand continue its sweep.

[amsiegel]

Interesting I have no clue
Not to curse you but I would leave all the back up parts in the trunk.
One day a few months from now or even next year it will happen again.
Then might happen again
Then poof it is not gonna restart
But at least then the problem will be able to be found.

[mbouse]

I would leave all the back up parts in the trunk.

the crux of the biscuit is in the apostrophe. :':

which is to say, lots easier said than done. since we have not determined the failing part(s) as we cannot test the symptoms, the trunk is not large enough to hold sufficient back up parts.

i am, however, carrying a spare ignition switch in my trunk effective the date of the initial symptom.

[htchevyii]

I had a strange issue with the ign switch in the '82 when I got it. It doesn't sound like your issue, but maybe it'll help someone else.
When you turned the key, it would either fire right up, or crank and crank with no start. It it didn't start immediatly, it never would. I noticed that the 02 sensor light didn't light on the times when it didn't start. I changed the ign switch and it's been fine ever since.

[zachmac]

the crux of the biscuit is in the apostrophe. :':

MBOUSE; who you jiving with that cosmic debris? Don't you know you could make more money as a butcher?

I am bringing this thread back up as I seem to have the same problem. Running along and wham, it's like someone reached over and turned off the key. Mine is like htchevyii describes in that I lose power to the clock and dash warning lights (and I assume the ignition) as well when the car dies. The car will crank but NOT fire. Clock and EGR and and BRAKE warning lights have no power. Wait a few minutes (at most) and the car cranks right back up like nothing ever happended. Seems to happen only about every tenth outing or so.

Does the CLOCK power go through the ignition switch EVEN THOUGH it is clearly unswitched? Should I strat tearing apart the ignition or is there another likely suspect?

[zachmac]

Duplicate post due to impatient nature of man!

[mdrburchette]

Jeff, you may want to email Mike at the address in his signature for an answer. He hasn't been frequenting this site for a few weeks.

[zachmac]

Jeff, you may want to email Mike at the address in his signature for an answer. He hasn't been frequenting this site for a few weeks.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll send Mike a personal on the Zappa quotes but I am still looking for anyone's input on the car problem. From the thread it sounds like my problem more likely matches whatever htchevyii had than what Mike had as I think Mike's car wouldn't crank when it happened and mine will. Also, htchevyii had the clock power absent that I am seeing.