No power, electrical problem?

[svttouruofl]

I got in my car to leave work and when I went to crank it all the lights and everything went off. I lost power to everything. Then I noticed the ABS light was on and flickering. I tapped the brake pedal and it went off and I regained all power. So I tried it again and the same thing happened. So I started checking fuses and all that and everything looks good. After checking the volts and even trying to jump it I still had nothing so I gave up on it and caught a ride home. Went back to work on it this morning and now all that happens is the ABS light is staying on and I have no power to anything else at all in the car. I've tried just about everything...bypassing the ABS system, bypassing certain fuses and relays, even pop starting it, and nothing. The only odd signs before this happened was that my speedo decided to start fluttering and began frequently over the past few days jumping to 120-160 and staying there under normal speeds and even while idling at a stop. Does anyone have any ideas at all?

 

[CruzCorp]

That is a rather odd problem, I am only taking a guess but it sounds like you have one of the worst wire problems I have heard of so far in a tour or your computer crapped out. Either one doesn't sound too good and I hope that its a easier fix than those.

 

[Tony2005]

I got in my car to leave work and when I went to crank it all the lights and everything went off. I lost power to everything. Then I noticed the ABS light was on and flickering. I tapped the brake pedal and it went off and I regained all power. So I tried it again and the same thing happened. So I started checking fuses and all that and everything looks good. After checking the volts and even trying to jump it I still had nothing so I gave up on it and caught a ride home. Went back to work on it this morning and now all that happens is the ABS light is staying on and I have no power to anything else at all in the car. I've tried just about everything...bypassing the ABS system, bypassing certain fuses and relays, even pop starting it, and nothing. The only odd signs before this happened was that my speedo decided to start fluttering and began frequently over the past few days jumping to 120-160 and staying there under normal speeds and even while idling at a stop. Does anyone have any ideas at all?

You have a dead battery. Charge the battery well. Then, test the battery and the alternator and report the results here. If the alternator works fine after charging the battery, you need a new battery.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=3535

 

[svttouruofl]

You have a dead battery. Charge the battery well. Then, test the battery and the alternator and report the results here. If the alternator works fine after charging the battery, you need a new battery.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=3535

The battery is not dead, it shows a healthy 12.2 static volts. Something is shorting out. In the short times in between tries when I was able to get the ABS light to go off and the power to come back I was able to turn on the stereo. I have a system and there was hardly any dimming of the lights. I have all kinds of power. When I say I have no power to the car I mean nothing. No headlights, interior lights, clock, radio, anything. But when I can get the ABS light to go off all of that is working perfectly fine. I had the alternator off about 4-5 months ago and took it to a shop and it tested out fine and the guy polished the internals up a bit. Something is shorting somewhere that is causing everything to shut off and it has something to do with the brake pedal, ABS system, or wiring in that region because for whatever reason I was able to regain power by playing with the brake pedal at times. Now its a lost cause to even pump the thing. The ABS light is steadily on and therefore I have absolutely no power.

 

[eepals]

The battery is not dead, it shows a healthy 12.2 static volts. Something is shorting out. In the short times in between tries when I was able to get the ABS light to go off and the power to come back I was able to turn on the stereo. I have a system and there was hardly any dimming of the lights. I have all kinds of power. ...

I would look to see if all the battery cables are clean and tight. Ground connections also. Many of these cars have problems with bad insulation on the battery cables.

Being able to turn on a stereo is one thing, trying to crank an engine puts alot more strain on the electrical system.