well, my problem has come back with a vengeance... happened yesterday AND today... it seems something to do with my brakes (possibly the lights?) is causing me to lose power.... both times it happened lately i was driving so car didnt die like the first time. radio, internal lights, everything, just dies and come right back on. afaik nothing is shorted. likely going to Autozone or O'riellys tomorrow before work and having my alt checked and battery and maybe just a full checkup lol. anyone have any ideas? mind you nothing has changed since before this started happening.

I had a similar situation awhile back. Mine would jerk real hard and while i was driving, i would hit the brakes and it would cause the electronics to flutter.
Then while I was screwing around by the engine, i bumped the red power wire that comes from the battery and bolts into the car.
This caused the car to sputter. I had recently put all new battery cables on ( since the original owner put welding cables on!) and i guess i didnt do such a good job connecting the new cable to where it meets the old part. This caused the car's power to fail at certain times.
Check around those wires and wiggle them while the car is running.
Later,
Mike.

cool, thanks. ill check that in a minute. i know the bolt holding the red wire is stripped like crazy. im not sure if thats it or not tho, because twice it happened i wasnt moving. but i will check anyways. i cant think of what else it would be :/

Seriously?!

quote Originally posted by phonedawgz: Seriously?!

lol, if you are referring to the battery cable, i havent had the time or knowhow to replace it yet, but im doubting that is the issue anyways

Haha... I *just* had this problem, except that the car would die completely when I hit the brakes. Turned out it was a bad ground cable. I bet you either have a loose wire somewhere or one of your battery cables has an internal short.

Try taking a set of jumper cables and hook your battery ground directly to the frame with the jumpers (bypassing the cable) and to confirm/dismiss a bad ground from the battery.

The cables are a piece of cake to replace. Just pull the old cables off (held on one end by the battery bolts and the other by the head for the ground and the starter for the positive) and take them into an auto parts place. They should have a selection of different lengths of aftermarket cables available and select some that are about the same length.

[This message has been edited by Alibi (edited 06-10-2010).]

quote Originally posted by Alibi: Haha... I *just* had this problem, except that the car would die completely when I hit the brakes. Turned out it was a bad ground cable. I bet you either have a loose wire somewhere or one of your battery cables has an internal short. Try taking a set of jumper cables and hook your battery ground directly to the frame with the jumpers (bypassing the cable) and to confirm/dismiss a bad ground from the battery.

alright, sweet. that sounds more likely. gotta wait till tomorrow to try that tho, my dad has our jumpers lol

Here is my post, it should have some ideas to try out if your ground checks out OK: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/109067.html

I've got a front-mount kit, but most of the issues/solutions should be similar. Check that the battery bolts are in snug, clean off corrosion, make sure your ground area isn't rusted/corroded, etc. Oh... and don't buy new cables from Wal-Mart, my ground came from them and it went bad after less than 6 months...

quote Originally posted by Alibi: Here is my post, it should have some ideas to try out if your ground checks out OK: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/109067.html I've got a front-mount kit, but most of the issues/solutions should be similar. Check that the battery bolts are in snug, clean off corrosion, make sure your ground area isn't rusted/corroded, etc. Oh... and don't buy new cables from Wal-Mart, my ground came from them and it went bad after less than 6 months...

i already have a cable from phonedawgz. its old but better than mine lol, and stock. ill check that thread in a minute, working on my phone lol. wouldnt be surprised if the ground is rusted. i dont have major rust in many places, but places like that get rust even in newer cars

I am gonna throw my guess at fuseable links
particularly the one by the starter

there is also the power distribution block, under the C500 connector, near the battery

yes, bad/loose main ground will do it too.

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: I am gonna throw my guess at fuseable links particularly the one by the starter there is also the power distribution block, under the C500 connector, near the battery yes, bad/loose main ground will do it too.

well, of all the rust-free-ness of my car, that little black cluster behind the battery (closer to the trunk) is rusted completely loose from the frame lol. is that thing any of the items you mentioned? im new to workin on cars. the only electronics i know is stereo installs lol

Do this: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/043240.html

I added more grounds to the body and frame than that but it made everything work better.
Good luck

The block with all the wires in it by the battery on the PS sheetmetal is the C500. There are a couple of fusible links leading to it as well, although I'm not sure how to test them.

Adding an extra ground or two probably wouldn't hurt, but it won't do you much good if your ground from the battery to the head (or wherever it is on your car) is bad. Have you had a chance to try to bypass it with another cable or some jumper cables?

[This message has been edited by Alibi (edited 06-11-2010).]

I haven't had a chance to try the bypass yet. I did check the groud cable tho. Seems to be fine tbh. No rust or corrosion. Both battery cables appear fine.

Also, my car has a constant minor sputter/backfire. Only runs perfectly smooth at high rpms. Just noticed it recently so I'm guessing its related

even with all noted issues, it technically "drives" fine (other than it likes to NOT turn when its bumpy, and it almost died when i was 100 yards or so from work today). i fiddled with the wires and everythig seems pretty alright, except that the c500 or whatever is being held to the car solely by all the wires going to/coming from it lol

When you get the positive wires bolted tight together your problem will go away.

Are you getting any codes from the ECM? If there are any codes, that would help tremendously in figuring out whats going on.

quote Originally posted by Alibi: Are you getting any codes from the ECM? If there are any codes, that would help tremendously in figuring out whats going on.

I know lol. Haven't had much time to check codes. All I've done so far is ccheck all the cables. Ill see if itthrows codes tomorrow since I don't work then

havent checked codes yet. havent replaced battery cable yet either. but all problems seem to be solved. how? removed the inline fuse from my amp/sub power wire. had to remove it due to it not being heat resistant and melting so bad the fuse became warped and popped lol. running with no fuse (oh no....i MIGHT blow my $30 amp..even tho it has 2 of its own fuses.. :P lol), i will replace it when walmart restocks their normal car audio fuses. but having removed it, all my electrical problems have suddenly vanished. odd...

my BASS1200 acts like it has a fault ground...but it doesnt, i checked....so idk wtf is up with that. it acts exactly like an amp does when it has a sh**y ground, but its ground is in fact perfect.... other than that, i mrunning beautifully for now lol