The other night I was at Rally's, pulled out of the drivethru, and the radio started to flash on and off, and then it beeped like I'd turned off the car. So, I turned off the car, and tried to turn it back on. Nothing happened. The car wouldn't start. So I got out in the middle of a very icy parking lot and pushed my car, I got it going and pop-started it with the clutch. It started up.

Two weeks later, it's doing fine. Last night i was on my last pizza delivery of the night, and it started doing the same thing. This time I was still rolling, so I flipped the key off, and back into the on position. I threw it back into gear, and it just bogged down like it wasn't getting a spark. So I waited a little bit, and all of the lights turned back on like it had power again. I pushed and pop-started it again in the middle of the rain.

I thought it was going to be fine for another week or so, but I took one of my friends home and the lights started to dim and the radio turned off again. I let it run this time. I stopped at the intersection, and then the light turned green. I went through it and then everything powered back up again, lights as bright as can be, radio was back on and everything.

Today i cleaned the battery terminals and stuff, but what else could it be?

I was thinking perhaps the alternator was going, but can an alternator stop working intermitantly? Like, can it charge sometimes, but not others? I thought if it stopped, the belt would too, it would squeal and I would definitely know what to replace. But that's not the case.

I thought maybe a faulty ground wire, or something was shorting out somewhere and draining the battery.

I need some suggestions because I'm about to go back to school monday, and I have to have a reliable ride. Thanks.

It sounds like a faulty alternator.

Could be alternator or it could be something as simple as a loose wire.
Probably a few other things too, but I am not the resident mechanic.

Sounds like a bad battery connection, probably the ground. Check where the ground wire goes to and make sure its secure, its usually on the block. Make sure your terminals are clean and tight. Replace them if they are pretty corroded, only a few bucks at Wally World.

BTW, its probably not the alternator. The alternator could totally die and as long as there was juice in the batt it would run fine until it died. Just to check, start the car and disconnect one of the battery cables, if it stays running, its not the alternator.

EDIT: I just paid more attention to your post and it could actually be both.

I sure hope it's as simple as a battery connection, as I don't have the money to be buying alternators and such. Luckily I have the day off tomorrow, so hopefully I can verify all connections.

I appreciate the help guys!
Keep advice rolling in please!

Sounds like a loose connection to me. Don't forget that the cables have two ends. Do you have a volt meter?

Quote: Originally Posted by HoJo Sounds like a loose connection to me. Don't forget that the cables have two ends. Do you have a volt meter?

Yes I have a volt meter, why?

I'd trade it in...but then again, that's just me.

Rob

Well, I thought about that...but then there's the money thing. >_<

This happens to my van sometimes. The problem is the connection to the computer from the battery, which Goodyear Completely jerry rigged so that it comes and goes. Basically its a bunch of losoe wires in the wiring harness that goes to the inside fusebox and computer. When it goes, the van wont run. Sometimes individual things like the wipers wont run (this is allways fun when its raining).

I dont think its the alternator,as when it "comesback" you have full power. If it was the alternator you'd ahve to jump it to get it going again, as you battery would be dead.

Well, MDK, when I say everything comes back on, the battery has enough power to run electronics, but not start the car.

Quote: Originally Posted by HappyCamper Yes I have a volt meter, why?

You can run what is called a voltage drop test. When the car won't crank connect the poss lead of the volt meter to the engine block and the neg lead to the battery neg post. Read the voltage while cranking the car. You should not see more than 0.5V. If you do start looking at the neg battery cable and connections. You can run the same test between the battery and starter or the battery and alternator. If you show a negative voltage you have the leads reversed. What this test is telling you is how much voltage you are losing on a part of a circuit. BTW, what kind of car is this?

This is a 1991 Mazda Protege.

Tomorrow I'm going to check all of my wiring to my fog lamps and my amp. That will be two less things that I can verify, and then check off the list of potential problem areas.

Tomorrow I'm also going to check all ground cables, clean and re-attach all power cables, and check the voltage on the battery. Hopefully I won't have to leave home to do much of this, and thankfully it's supposed to stop raining tomorrow.

HoJo, if I can get my car to do it again, I'll check voltages, but it's so random, I don't know when to expect it.

Check the starter wire too while you are at it. I had a similar (but not the same) problem and all is was was the starter wire.

sounds like the altranater is not charging the battery,
so you might need to replace the alt. or you might
have an old battery, that can't stay charged, but that
would not explain why the the car shorts out, is
there any mods to your wireing?

Quote: Originally Posted by Lunamods BTW, its probably not the alternator. The alternator could totally die and as long as there was juice in the batt it would run fine until it died. Just to check, start the car and disconnect one of the battery cables, if it stays running, its not the alternator.

Just a note, you disconnect the positive battery cable.. If you pull the negative one, it will kill the car, since there would be no ground.

Okay, I took it to Autozone to check alternator prices. The guy came outside and looked at it. He seemed to think the belt was slipping. I thought if the belt was slipping, It would make a squealing noise. But apparently not. There was a very very faint squeaking noise, barely audible. So I guess I'm going to add belt tightening to my list of things to do.

Quote: Originally Posted by Teranfirbt Just a note, you disconnect the positive battery cable.. If you pull the negative one, it will kill the car, since there would be no ground.

No it wont, you can pull either cable. It will totally take BOTH the ground wire and the hot wire out of the loop when you disconnect either ONE of them. If you disconnect the hot, where is the path to ground, trough the plastic battery housing? NO. The alternator is grounded through its housing to the block, then to everything else regardless if the battery ground is hooked up.

Today I:

-Tightened the belt
-Put the felt washers over battery terminals to prevent corrosion
-Verified grounds to block and frame
-Disconnected amp power cable running to the back of the car


Tomorrow:
-Replace battery terminals, the positive wasn't making a good connection after I put on the felt washers
-Take it for a drive, see if anything terrible happens


I plan to keep the amp unhooked for about 3-4 days, to see if it happens again. If nothing happens, and I hook up the amp, and it happens again, I know my problem. Wish me luck!

I do not recomend disconnecting the battery while the car is running. I have seen control units fried by doing this. If the belt was loose and got a little water on it it could easily cause slipping without any noise. Also if you are running enough consumers to draw more amperage than the alternator is capable of putting out something like this can happen. Keep in mind that the alternator can not put out max amps at idle or low engine RPM.