Car dies while going down the road??

Dead battery?

 

i.e. you're limping along on a dying battery.

 

I had this exact problems several years ago with a Honda. Dealers (2) and three other mechanics couldn't find the problem. I finally decided to trace every wire starting with main power distribution. Luckily I found a connector under the dash which had been installed incorrectly. The main power wire to the ignition switch had been installed between the plastic covering and the female connector rather than into the female connector. As a result the heat generated by the bad connection caused the plastic to degrade. It eventually got so bad that when the plastic heated up the connection was broken. When the plastic cooled the connectors came back together so after 10-20 minutes everything was fine, until the cycle started again. Japanese quality!

You might want to look for a bad connection

 

The 355 has a known issue with the main ground wire on the alt. ....... I think................ I would check that first.

 

I'd replace the battery. They can show a full charge and still have an internal fault.

Plus, there's no real downside to having a new battery. So if that doesn't fix the problem, you aren't really hurt for having tried.

 

Where is the battery in terms of heat sources? On my turbo Celica, once in a while all the dash lights would go out and the engine would stop firing, and a half second later it would be fine.

A while later, I went around a corner and the car stopped dead -- no headlights or anything.

The plates inside the battery had gotten loose. After a period of intermittant shorts, they collapsed completely. But that battery was mounted near the turbo, and simply melted inside.

The battery showed fine when it wasn't shorted.

Does this happen under braking, acceleration, or turns? (Depending on the battery mounting orientation).

 

Clicking sound says it's definitely either the battery, positive, or negative battery cable. Check the ground.

 

I would try and quantify exactly what the circumstances are when it quits. Is it always after about the same mileage?

It SOUNDS heat related to me: a bad connection overheating a wire/relay or some such thing. Is the radio fuse/relay in the physical proximity of an ignition circuit on the fuse block? That would be the first place to look; the radio is the key.

Ken

 

In many cars such as Lotus and Ferrari, a not quite well battery can cause all sorts of weird things to happen. I'd make a quick, albeit small investment in a new battery. If that doesn't solve this problem, go ahead with full diagnostics.

 

I'm confused how a bad battery in a running car can cause problems outside of the alternator VR letting go. Do some cars have circuits that don't operate off the alternator even when the car is running?

Ken

 

The Mondial is wired so that alt only has one lead to going to the battery, everything else feeds off the battery, but when running it'd be hard to differentiate the two I'd think. So in that regard the entire cars electrics can run off the battery without the alt. not for long though.

 

To me, sounds like a ground wire problem. Had it happen on an older car of mine (american? can't remember). But the ground wire had corrosion at the connections, not where it bolts, but at the actual terminal plates on the wire itself, green acidic corrosion.

It definately was heat related on my car. My guess was that when the wire heated up with engine heat, what little connection I did get separated away and begin to force the electronics to run directly from the battery.

When cold, it would run fine.

Let us know if it was the ground cable, I'm curious as to if the same symptoms point to the same root cause.

James in denver

 

I think everything runs off the battery and the alternator keeps it charged. If you have a bad cell(s) full charge is going in but, not coming out.

 

Well, since the majority of folks think it's the battery (me included), and the battery is the cheapest and easiest fix, yes, get a new battery.
WORST CASE scenario is you have a new battery, and have ruled out the old battery if that's not it.

Do that, and undo and redo ALL connections from and to the battery from the Alt, to the ground - even if they 'look good' and are tight. That's cheap - it just takes time.

Then go from there if that's not it.

 

Why waste time and money guessing?

Charge the battery then drive the car to the nearest garage and ask them to check your charging system and battery. Make sure they test the alternator for bad diodes (this is something a lot of mechanics neglect to do). It is an easy test and can be done without disassembling anything and often they will do it for free. Even a lot of auto parts stores have the equipment to do the test.

Also, make sure you don't have a loose alternator belt.

PS I suspect you have a diode going bad in your alternator.

 

I agree. Most likely it is your alternator. The voltage regulators are a known weak spot on the ND alternator...and CAN develop a problem that only surfaces when the alternator gets hot. Funny that your alternator or "batt" light doesn't come on...but I would still suspect the alternator. Also check and make sure you have added ground wire from the alternator to the chassis. It was a late update to 355's. Should be either a thick insulated wire ground or braided wire ground.

 

I would assume the same, although (for the 50th time in this thread) the battery could be the issue as well.

-Colin

 

Since it's a later car with the battery in front, it will have 2 important ground wires. 1. Battery to frame. 2. Frame to engine. I suspect #2.

 

+1