Car died on way to work

[Anonymous]

Posted this on facebook earlyer but thought i would ask here also. car shut down on the way to work this afternoon, radio was dieing and dials was going crazy, do pulled over, turned the engine off, and when i turned the key to start it again i had nothing (this has happend before and turning off and back on sorted the problem) temp and fuel gauge was stuck, no radio, sat nav would not flip back down and windows would not move up when door was closed. been recovered and told bad each or battery, bloke said earth coming from gear box is common on them for snapping or damaging causing bad earth. has anyone ever had this experience before im on a thin wire now of sticking my car on ebay as much as i love it

 

[tianorth]

Sounds like battery has died as there is no juice to operate radio.
The radio would be one if the first things to pack up in order to keep the engine running.

 

[DKZ5745]

I agree, but the mechanic is correct, if the earth has snapped or disconnected it would have the same effect. It is easily checked, get a drop test done on the battery & that will show if there is any power there.

If the battery is flat, you then need to find out if it's just a faulty battery or if there is some bleed to earth or if the battery is not charging (alternator).

Again, a drop test on a fully charged battery will show if it has faulty cells.

 

[DKZ5745]

Thinking about it, if the earth had disconnected in any way, you wouldn't have had a gradual loss, I think it would have died suddenly. So it does seem to point to a dying battery.

 

[Anonymous]

Thinking about it, if the earth had disconnected in any way, you wouldn't have had a gradual loss, I think it would have died suddenly. So it does seem to point to a dying battery.

sorry for the long reply, i had the battery and alternator tested and comes back battery is fine and alternator is charging battery as should, i dont think its any of them anyways as car starts fine and does not struggle ?

 

[DKZ5745]

The plot thickens......

Maybe it's a faulty earth somewhere after all then. If it gets beyond taking something out and replacing it with a new one it's a bit too technical for me I'm afraid.

I do know that most of the battle with these things is not usually the fixing, it's the finding out what it is that needs to be fixed.

I would imagine that one of those diagnostic machines they have at PUG dealers would probably throw up exactly what the problem was, but that would involve the car mis-behaving just at the right time, and also you digging pretty deep into your piggy bank.

Maybe one of our more technically minded members will have some better idea of what to try next :eusa-think:

Hope you get it sorted, or it doesn't do it again.

 

[Anonymous]

The plot thickens......

Maybe it's a faulty earth somewhere after all then. If it gets beyond taking something out and replacing it with a new one it's a bit too technical for me I'm afraid.

I do know that most of the battle with these things is not usually the fixing, it's the finding out what it is that needs to be fixed.

I would imagine that one of those diagnostic machines they have at PUG dealers would probably throw up exactly what the problem was, but that would involve the car mis-behaving just at the right time, and also you digging pretty deep into your piggy bank.

Maybe one of our more technically minded members will have some better idea of what to try next :eusa-think:

Hope you get it sorted, or it doesn't do it again.

went to pug after work today and explained my problem with the car, said they would put a diagnostic on it and have it looked over for £100 but as u said if there car is behaving its self its not going to show anything :/ i now have a cam in my car incase next time it does it, i can then record what happens and maybe even show pug and say fix that

 

[VYV200]

I suggest removing & cleaning all earth straps you can find between chassis & engine & Gbox.& from battery to chassis. Corrosion can cause intermittent faults like this.From a mechanics point of view ,if it ain't broke you can't fix it. :? Needs to be clean bright grease free metal for best contact,no paint,wire brush or emery cloth is best for prep.