I was sitting in my car this morning and turned off the ignition. At that point the stereo just shut off (no fading out slowly) and the curtesy light was dead. I put the key in the car and there was absolutey no power to anything. It was as if the battery was completely removed from the car. Anyway, I hit the door lock button and then everything came back on.

This happened one time before, the idle was sporadic while driving, and when I shut the car off same thing, no power to anything. The car had no power, but the battery was full charged. I checked the negative and positive terminal and tightened them. Car started and was fine for over a month.

Hopefully, someone will have some ideas on this. I don't want to get stranded.

Any ideas on what to check would be appreciated.

 

What year is your car? Wiring harness, maybe?

 

Sorry, 97 Targa. It should have the update harness.

 

i have the same problem. it's been suggested could be the ecu and would need replacement. my current solution is to turn on the interior light and power is restored. power loss is sporatic. car has never died while running

 

John,
Thanks for posting. My car hasn't died while running either. The ecu would seem like the most expensive place to start, but it is certainly a viable idea.

Does anyone know if all power runs through the ecu?

 

How old is your battery? Also make sure your battery connections and all grounds are good.
_____________
'97 Blk/Blk C2S

 

Jim,
Keep us up to date on what you are doing to fix this. I've been delaying the fix...too busy and hesitant to do a 2k replacement with no assurances that this is the problem...

john

 

Long shot/easy fix: check that your DME relay is properly seated and that the contacts are clean.