Please Help... Car Died
10-02-06, 09:19 PM
#1
Please Help... Car Died
well, i was driving and came up to a red light and all of a sudden, the car just shut off but all the electronic components of the car stayed on (dash and radio)... so i turned the key to the off position and then to start and nothing. not even a click 
so im sitting at a green light with all the cars behind me honking at me. luckily it hapened 5 mins. before my mechanics shop closed and it happened across the street from my mechanics shop, so he just came and helped me push my car into the lot, but didnt really have time to look at it. he did tell me this tho, and this is what SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME... he said that when turns the ignition to on, the lights on the dashboard come on except for the check engine light and that means that no power is goin to the computer and that means there might some short somewhere and that he may not be able to pull codes off the computer 
any ideas 
???
so im sitting at a green light with all the cars behind me honking at me. luckily it hapened 5 mins. before my mechanics shop closed and it happened across the street from my mechanics shop, so he just came and helped me push my car into the lot, but didnt really have time to look at it. he did tell me this tho, and this is what SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME... he said that when turns the ignition to on, the lights on the dashboard come on except for the check engine light and that means that no power is goin to the computer and that means there might some short somewhere and that he may not be able to pull codes off the computer any ideas ???
10-02-06, 09:36 PM
#2
Advanced
I am not a mechanic, but the symptoms look very much like a battery problem. However, the fact that your car did shut down while being on tells against the battery. If I am not mistaking, the battery doesn't operate much when the car is already on. I am just guessing here. Maybe an alternator, or an alternator fuse?
10-02-06, 10:33 PM
#4
Hmm, the alternator is what keeps the car running without the battery.
The battery and starter are the 2 that get the car started.
Low idling might is when the car just dies on idling.....but it should start up.
Loose intake can cause the car to die when it's running-happened to me.
Loose battery connections might cause the car to stall, not start up, while leaving other electronics on.
Just throwing some possibilities until tomorrow. Good luck
The battery and starter are the 2 that get the car started.
Low idling might is when the car just dies on idling.....but it should start up.
Loose intake can cause the car to die when it's running-happened to me.
Loose battery connections might cause the car to stall, not start up, while leaving other electronics on.
Just throwing some possibilities until tomorrow. Good luck
10-03-06, 06:06 AM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
not saying this is your prob for sure, but my es would not even run with a dead battery, the alt just couldn't provide enough by itself. I would jump it, it'd run for 30 sec and shut off. new battery, no probs again for years.
10-03-06, 06:36 AM
#7
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If it's your battery's inability to hold a charge, that shouldn't affect the car while its running providing the alternator's working. But, if your alternator's not working and the car was running off battery only, the car would run until the battery ran out of juice. that's a little more feasible but it sounds like it might be something altogether different.
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10-03-06, 07:07 AM
#8
like i said... if u turn the key to try and start the car everything powers up, but the car wont start. i can listen to the radio and the dash lights up... but for some stupid reason, i wonna say its the battery also 
its now 10:15 am and the shop opens at 8 and they STILL havent called me... im nervous
its now 10:15 am and the shop opens at 8 and they STILL havent called me... im nervous
10-03-06, 01:03 PM
#10
I had that happen to me once when i owned the 2gen gs...i just had too much stuff on....a/c, lights, fogs, music blasting etc....do you have an aftermarket setup for music...were you bumping? 
10-03-06, 05:41 PM
#11
the verdict is in...
so, at 3 pm, i FINALLY got tooo worried and walked over to the mechanic to see what was going on. i was worried that they were either 1) still working on the car trying to figure out the problem (7 hrs already) 
and still didnt know the problem or 2) that they were finished w/the car and that they didnt call me yet and might try and tell me that they were workin on it the whole time and try and charge me more (im not sayin that they would do that, but u never know)... so i get to the mechanic shop and my car is just sittin in the lot, and im like WTF did they even look at it 
and i was starting to even get mad b/c i told them i need my car right away and to call me as soon as its done. so to me, it looked like they didnt even touch my car. so i walk about to my mechanic and i was like, so whats the deal... and he tells me its done and its been done since the morning. and i didnt know whether or not i should get mad, and i asked, so what was the problem??... it turns out that the wires from the ecu for the SRT INTAKE got loose some how and 2 of them started touching. he said that the electrical tape was worn and that a piece of the wire was sticking out on the side and touching the wire next to it 
that was my problem. well, thats what he said and now my car works and hopefully no more damage was done b/c he said by those 2 wires touching, it caused a short and it shorted out the signal to the cars computer whatever... thats what happen.
and still didnt know the problem or 2) that they were finished w/the car and that they didnt call me yet and might try and tell me that they were workin on it the whole time and try and charge me more (im not sayin that they would do that, but u never know)... so i get to the mechanic shop and my car is just sittin in the lot, and im like WTF did they even look at it and i was starting to even get mad b/c i told them i need my car right away and to call me as soon as its done. so to me, it looked like they didnt even touch my car. so i walk about to my mechanic and i was like, so whats the deal... and he tells me its done and its been done since the morning. and i didnt know whether or not i should get mad, and i asked, so what was the problem??... it turns out that the wires from the ecu for the SRT INTAKE got loose some how and 2 of them started touching. he said that the electrical tape was worn and that a piece of the wire was sticking out on the side and touching the wire next to it that was my problem. well, thats what he said and now my car works and hopefully no more damage was done b/c he said by those 2 wires touching, it caused a short and it shorted out the signal to the cars computer whatever... thats what happen.
