All Electrical Power Gone

[kaanine2000@yahoo.com]

Where do I start? My problem started about three weeks ago. I was having trouble starting my car after driving for awhile, but after sitting overnight it would fire up on the first crank. About 6 days ago, I drove home from work (about 4 KM) and went inside. Twenty minutes later, I started it up and in the process of closing my door it started to sputter and then died. I attempted to restart but it hasn't since.

Now for the big issue. After returning from Germany, I went to check on it and there is no electrical power at all. I checked the battery with a voltmeter and it had voltage. I also checked the fusible link under the seat and check the voltage up to the DME box and its good. I need some expertise to figure this out. Thanks.:(

[shogun]

Well, let's start the basics. How old is the battery? Have you checked it, voltage when ignition key is off, ignition key in position 2, while cranking, when engine runs in idle, when engine runs at abt. 1.500 RPM?
Have you checked the battery cell by cell?
A weak battery can cause a lot of electrical gremlins. Even if it shows voltage, that does not mean it is healthy.
If you do not have the right equipment to check it, better ask an electric specialized shop.

[SRR2]

As Shogun mentioned, you can have voltage at the battery terminals that looks OK, but still have a bad battery. One possibility is that one or more cells has developed high internal resistance. This causes some degree of voltage drop as soon as you draw current. The drop depends on actual internal resistance and amount of draw. A good battery will have an equivalent internal resistance measured in millliohms. A battery shop should have a tester that can determine whether the battery is ok under load.

Once you've determined that you have a good battery, this becomes a fairly straightforward detective project. Work your way forward from the battery until you find the bad connection or switch or relay. You'll need the wiring diagrams from Bentley or equivalent.

You are aware that the fusible link can appear to be ok even if it's cracked, right? It's best to loosen it, make sure it's good, then reseat it to spec. Your problem sure sounds like a fusible link.

I strongly encourage you to find this problem and fix it. Electrical problems can cause some serious damage to your car. Like total destruction when they burn up.

[kaanine2000@yahoo.com]

I had a shop take a look at the problems and for the electrical problem it was a hot wire near the battery was causing a drain on the battery. It was replaced.

After charging the battery, the car still wouldn't start. After some more investigating, it was discovered that the front fuel pump was not working properly. With that done everything is working fine.

Thanks for your advice on this issue.