Electrical Problem
 

I have a '99 Limited that is stock as far as the electrical system.

Today I was driving and for about 10 seconds the radio (stock) quit working. Then it started working again and everything seemed fine. However, I smelled the telltale smell of an electrical short or burnt wiring.

I drove for another 15 minutes and then stopped to get gas. When I started it back up it started and ran fine until I pulled away from a light. The ABS light came on then off then on then off. Then the volt meter dropped way down, the radio quit, and then it all came back fine.

The whole time it was running fine. I was only 5 minutes from home so I drove there, parked, shut it down, and then turned the key to the on position just to make sure all the lights were fine and things worked. No issues. Then I went to start it and nada.

I can hear the starter relay click and the radio blanks out like it would during a normal start. But no starter noise, no clicking, etc. The battery is fully charged (even still) and the starter is only 500 miles old.

Bad ground? Short someplace that cooked some wires? I checked the PDU. fuses, and everything obvious and don't see anything amiss.

Just something to check at any time!

Battery gasses have a nasty habit of helping a thin, hard crust form on the bat post's and clamps. They can look pretty good, but that micro-thin layer is a surprisingly good insulator. SHINNY! Lead is what you want. I use a pocket knife, (gently), for the insides of the clamps. For the posts I might use one of those post cleaner wire brushes, but still scrape it with a blade. If you have a condition where you have power, (dash lights ect.), then when you hit it power goes out altogether, that's a common result of a layer of oxidization there. Btw, a half *** connection could be expected to get hot during cranking, or while it's trying. Cleaning those is something to do now and then anyway, so if you are having starting problems, you might want to make sure have bare lead on lead. Might save you some grief!

Let's assume for the sake of this topic that this is NOT a battery corrosion issue. Let's assume I have perfectly clean contacts with new wires, new battery, and have triple checked everything.

If we can assume all this (since it's true) then can we get back to the topic at hand? What went wrong and what needs to be addressed?

So, with the first advice you get, from a member with , let's say, quite some experience, that's your reaction??

If you replaced all wires and all grounds are cleaned and your terminals are like DFLinstone suggests they should be, wouldn't that be something to mention as " have already done the following", instead of " checked the PDU, fuses and all the obvious".

Something tells me , any advice you're gonna get with this, is responded to with a "but or a "let's not""....good luck.

I had a similar prob although it was my locks going haywire then a no start condition. The diagnosis that worked for my case was to check if there was a bigger than normal draw on the battery while everything was off/doors closed/etc. If there is, you can go through and pull fuses one at a time to see what affects it. May help isolate a prob, may not.

Great another one that ask for help and has to be an A$$ when he gets some sound advise.

Final verdict and an apology
 

First off, I apologize to anyone that may have been offended at my reply to DFlintstone. While his advice is certainly good and solid advice the problem for me is it was getting off topic. The original complaint/problem was that something got fried while I was driving. Starting and all functions prior to something shorting were fine. My mistake for not mentioning new-ish battery, cables, etc.

Now for anyone still interested:

After going through everything carefully I found that the starter simply was not working - at all. I pulled it to bench test it and as I was near it I finally found the source of the burnt wiring smell I had been chasing.

As it turns out, the starter solenoid completely fried itself. Even though this is a fairly new (< 3 months old) starter it was a re-manufactured unit so I can't be too surprised it failed.

What's odd to me (and maybe somebody smarter can explain this) is that it fried itself while I was driving - not during actual use. And it actually did that twice. Once after I left work and was driving about 10 minutes the radio stopped and I smelled burnt wiring. Then I stopped and got gas and it started and ran fine. Then a couple minutes later all dash lights went crazy, voltage reading dropped, and then it all recovered. Then after getting home a couple minutes after that it did not start again.

I guess the real question is did it just fail or did something external cause it to fail? The rest of the starting circuit appears to be in perfect condition - no shorts, no failed components, no over heated wires. And as far as I can tell it wasn't as if the starter solenoid was trying to actuate while I was driving. If it was I think I'd hear the starter trying to engage or see wear afterward.