[q-rover]

At first when this happened I assumed that it was either the battery or the alternator or both. Typical symptoms, error messages followed by low battery, car dies. When it happened last weekend I managed to get home, ordered a new alternator and battery.
They were installed last night, and after checking over wiring etc, I went out for a test drive.
I was optimistic as I got further and further from the house, and then ‘BEEP BEEP BEEP’ SRS failure, traction failure, bla, bla, bla, bla.
I managed to get home and rather than jumping to conclusions have had a think.
When the car dies, it doesn’t do it in a gradual manner as you would expect with a dying battery. It happens very suddenly and the engine cuts out, leaving you with no power steering, brakes etc, not good. If I then wait a few minutes I can start the car again and
then, obviously take the quickest route home. It dies several more times before I reach the safety of the carport.
Now I’m thinking that this may be heat related, there is a component that warms up but once it reaches a certain ‘operating’ temperature it fails.
I had a look at the wiring whilst the alternator and battery were out, but couldn’t spot anything obvious. The fusebox (top) seemed ok, and there was no burning smell or signs of hotspots, once I got back.
Does anybody know of anything obvious I could check when I get home tonight?
At least I have a new battery and alternator. :lol: :x

 

[TheoR]

That's a bit of a mystery- With those symptoms, I would have done the same thing-that is suspect the battery and the alternator.

Symptoms sure sound like battery/alternator, but the fact that you can restart the car multiple times after you have the issue points to something else.

Maybe the first order of business is to check the wire connections to the alternator. BTW, what kind of alternator did you get? With cheap ones, you may be having issues w/ voltage regulator.

Secondly, the sound of your symptoms may point towards problems w/ one of the relays. Perhaps get couple good yellow/green ones and swap them out? Relays aren't too expensive after all, so it's not too big a sting. If your hunch about the heat is correct, then relays surely sound suspect.

 

[q-rover]

THe new alternator is a Denso/ Magnetti Marelli as per original, so should be ok.

 

[q-rover]

Just read this on the main site:

"Gearbox Fault" and Complete Power Blackout
Some owners have reported more serious symptoms involving power failing to the whole vehicle. For example, Walter Gates reports experiencing sudden, temporary complete power failure three times over approximately five months. The first two times the engine stalled and a "Gearbox Fault" message appeared on the message center. (This message means power supply to teh gearbox is low). The third time the engine did not stall but the fault message appeared. The first two times the power returned and the "Gearbox Fault" message cleared. Walter also noticed that when the turn signal lights were blinking the background light on the HEVAC readout panel would dim or flicker. Tellingly, there was also an odor of an electrical short in the engine compartment fuse box, even though all the fuses were good. Finally, Mr. Lucas struck with a sudden, complete and permanent power failure. Because of the brake-transmission interlock switch, he could not even shift the transmission into neutral to roll the truck on to a flatbed tow truck. The tow truck driver was clever enough to crawl under and disconnected the shifter so he could manually shift the transmission into neutral. Upon inspection of the Engine Compartment Fuse Box, there was now an extremely strong odor of an electrical short. The problem was quickly found. The Positive power connection post was completely burned off where it meets the fuse box board!

Although when I checked th efusebox last night it was perfectly clean and no burned electrical odour.
Maybe take a closer look. :think:

 

[Shadow Keeper]

Fuel starvation causing the engine to stall. breather in the tank may be blocked, might need a new filter or even a pump.

Of course these are just random guesses. When I ran out of fuel once and the car stalled I got a gearbox fault, SRS and Traction control faults etc etc. That's why I'm leaning towards this...

 

[q-rover]

After some tips from a fellow P38 owner at work, I eventually swapped
relay 15 for another one in the fuse box.
Went for a drive, and just kept driving.
:dance: