Nasty electrical or computer control problem

[tlaporte 0]

I hope someone has seen something like this one before.I have a problem where all the indicators in the dash console (speed, odometer, gas level, engine temperature etc.) all just go out, the radio goes off at the same time and, if I am in Manual control, the paddles are ignored and I just stay in whatever gear I'm in even if I slow right down. If I'm in Auto then it continues to shift correctly for me. After about 5 to 20 seconds they all come back on again and everything is fine. This happened to me about once a week at first and then more frequently and now it happens fairly regularly. I make sure I stay in Automatic so that if it happens at least I can still drive the car safely. When it happens I just pull over and stop as soon as I can and wait until the dash indicators come back on. Once I was stopped with the lights on the dash off and I was actually able to turn off the key and pull it out and the car continued to run. The computer did not even know that the key had been removed. I put the key back in and turned it to the normal position just before the dash lit up again and eveything was fine. That time though I just took it home and parked it.I haven't had it in at Lone Star yet as I'm a bit afraid of the possible repair costs with a strange problem like this and I'm just having to pay for a new roof on the house and two daughter's University tuitions are due in September. Very scary timing.Any thoughts?

[MikeT 744]

How many km out of warranty are you? You could ask for a courtesy repair (DPA). This does sound like a rather egregious electrical problem, and it could even be the SAM unit. Have you ever had the windshield replaced?It could also be that a wiring harness is seriously messed up, or a main ground strap is missing in the car. Check the ground strap that connects the engine to the chassis.I sympathise with the university thing - I have two at UVIC this fall.....and a third coming in 3 years (I hope the first will be done by then!).

[ARTZ 0]

Mike_T, why did you mention the windshield replaced? What problems arise from there? Water leaks?

[MikeT 744]

That's it: water leaks will kill the SAM if in a bad location.......

[xakinedmonton 0]

I had the same problem with my car about a year ago, where i would be driving and lose all power to accessories,( Windows, Lights, radio, soft touch, etc) it started out every once in a while then becaome more frequent where it would flash off and on very quickly after a while. THEN it went to a problem only when i was moving... Any way turned out to be the Alternator was craping out.. I recomend having it looked at and having the place doing the work drive it around for about 10-15 min.. The dealership i went to said there was nothing wrong with my charging system TWICE and they could not find any problems till the Alt failed compleately one day while i was on the highway...

[tlaporte 0]

Sorry, I am not mechanical at all. SAM? No have not had the windshield replaced but I had a delivery truck back into me this spring which necessitated the replacement of the three front panels and some interior pieces but nothing as far back as below the front window glass.Car is well over any possibility of warrantee consideration.Interesting about the wiring harness and grounding strap suggestions. If it could just be a bad ground I could get my normal garage to check that. Also, I do have an intermittent problem with the wiring in the left rear turn light assembly. Apparently the previous owner tried to wire in trailer lights and really buggered everything up. Every now and then I lose my turn signals completely and then they come back agin. However, that's been happening for about 2 years and this power loss thing is new. Not sure what happens to my signal lights when I get the power loss. I'll check next time.Also interesting about the possibility of an alternator problem. Hard to know without getting the alternator changed and seeing if that fixes the power loss problem though especially if the computer diagnostics at the other dealer did not detect the problem.

[Dang 0]

tlaporte...What city are you in? Dang