HELP! My power went out while driving!

[flyguy]

I was on my way home tonight on the freeway... when I noticed my ABS light flashing and flickering on my dash... next thing I know... all the power dies... headlight, dash lights, stereo.... then, it comes back on all of a sudden... fast enough where the engine didnt stall... (assuming that that engine lost power that is...) What do you think happened? Im stumped... on a possibly related note...it looks like my amp is dead now... I need to check the fuses... but I got nuthin (was working before the power out)...

nick

 

[Ru Dawg]

Sorry to it man!

My first guess would be your alternator or voltage regulator is about to go on the fritz. A current spike due to the glitch could've blown your amp fuses. Might also be a short somewhere which could also blow fuses due to the instantaneous current spike, time to start tracing wires! I'd start with checking your battery cables and clean the battery terminals and connections first. Hope this helps...good luck man!

 

[flyguy]

The battery and cables are brand spankin new... no probs there... Other than that I know nothing of my electrical system... whats the voltage regulator? Is that on the alternator?

nick

 

[Ru Dawg]

Nick, I'm not sure about Explorers yet, I don't have a Haynes and haven't done much work on mine yet, I've only had it since June this year. Usually the VR is in/on the alternator, but some setups use a different type of VR. Basically the VR "regulates" the voltage of the electrical system to compensate for changes in current/electrical load. If you have or can get a Haynes check the troubleshooting guide for electrical problems..there is a way to check the VR and the alternator voltage if you have a voltmeter, the Haynes has the procedure.

 

[flyguy]

No voltmeter... sigh.. hey... I looked at my amp the other day.. and the fuse looks fine... uh oh. What else could it be? The power lights not coming on... is there another fuse further down the line? I thought it was connected straight to the battery... Maybe ill try changing the fuse anyways...

on another note... I have a new 200amp alternator on the way from Mr. Alternator... powdercoated drk ford blue. I think my manifold is more of a royal blue... maybe Ill repaint it later to match.

 

[Beertime9]

This may be too simple, but make sure that the negative battery cable is attached and secure to the engine or where ever it goes. Also seen this happen before when the positive and negative cable were crossed, like a wrench sitting on the battery or something hot going directly to ground. Make sure the connections are good to the altenator, though it sounds like one of the cables is not making a good connection,or the engine ground is loose.

Don

 

[flyguy]

If it was that though.. wouldnt the car stop running? It seems to be running fine now... cept for my amp that is...

nick

 

[Beertime9]

Not all the time, if it is loose it could make contact most of the time. I bet you lost your main power source like the main fuse in the box under the hood, check all those connections too, good luck wirng problems can be a worse than a female dog.

Don

 

[flyguy]

Hmmm... I guess Ill go out and take a look now... does anybody know if my amp blew out, could that have caused the loss of power?

nick

 

[Chav]

Did ya check the fuse for the amp up by the battery and the fuse on the amp? Also check the ground for the amp and check the remote wire...u can do that buy taking a wire from a positive power source and putting in on the remote wire hook up on the amp. Usually when an amp blows it will still turn on, but it wont put out any sound or very distorted sound so it might be something as simple as a wiring problem.

-Chav

 

[flyguy]

I checked the fuse at the battery last night... looked okay... but I guess I might not be able to see it... hmmm... also... seems like my alternator is making some sort of grinding noise... acually.. its more like scraping... sounds like its coming from the alternator anyways... hmm. Ideas? Ill try and replace those fuses just to see what happens...

nick

 

[Goober]

The alt has a built in regulator and that was what went out on mine last year. The noise could be bearings in a pulley. I'd suggest taking it to a place that could check the charging system for free and see if they know exactly what's wrong. Nick, I thought after all that engine rebuilding, you'd almost know as much as a paid mechanic.

 

[flyguy]

Gettin there... as I break everything I know more. Almost done. Okay okay okay.. new news... my amp is up and runnign again... I was checking the battery cables and I noticed a err... substance... between my amp cable and my battery cable... well.. I gave it a jiggle and my amp flew to life... now.. what I want to know... is how this stuff got in between there... and what caused it to form? All of this happened at once when my power went out...