I have the L98 in my car. I haven't modified anything and I try to keep my engine tuned up with good wires, plugs, cap, rotor, fuel filter, you know.....all the normal stuff. This morning, I started up the car and pulled it out of the garage. Just as I was getting ready to go take my son to school, the RPMs dropped, and a few lights came on in the dash, like the "infl rest" and the "check engine soon" lights. That was only for a second or two and the car was fine after that. I drove down the street and the car was running strong as always. A little closer to my son's school the car did it again as I was coasting down a hill, but it never died. Anybody have any ideas?

 

It may be EGR

 

mine did that when my alternator was about to go....might want to check on that...exact same symptoms.....changed whole bunch of stuff and it turned out that my alternator was bad......hope this helps

 

What happened? Was the alternator just not producing enough electicity?

 

not entirely sure.....but the alternator gauge wasn't showing anything funny at all....i didn't know it was bad until the thing died on me......just something internal acting up..maybe the regulator

 

Check the SES codes that you are getting. That will be your first clue.

 

This is very open ended but it may be a loose or corroded ground. I know that's very general though.

 

Yeah, I expect somewhat open ended answers considering I posed an open ended question. I'll have to check out my codes this weekend and see if I have anything. The car did something new to me the other night when I was leaving work. I went to start my car and all the power in the car went out and the light for the car alarm started blinking faster and faster. I had to diconnect the battery and reconnect it to get the power to kick back on. It's almost like I had to trick the alarm or something. I hate electrical problems.

 

Sounds like a major electrical problem. What I mean by major problem is something that affects the entire car. With the SES and infl restr lights coming on, and then power going out completely, I would check your battery connections first. Take them apart and clean them. Do the same with the other ends of the cables: at starter and engine ground. If these don't fix it, I would get the battery and alternator checked at a parts store. They can test them more accurately when they are out of the car. The in-car testers can be wrong. The in-car tester told me my battery was bad, but when they bench tested it, it was fine. I just had a bad connection at the battery. I like repairs that don't cost me anything except time.
Later.

 

I think this may be something beyond dirty battery terminals or an alternator (BTW all connects are good, clean, and tight), because when I lost all power in the car, it was like flipping a switch. One second I had full power, the next second it was all gone. A few minutes later it just came back completely. All this makes me think it may be more on the side of a problem with the alarm system. Does anybody know anything about alarm systems? It was like the alarm system was trying to prevent me from stealing the car or something.

 

have you put an alarm on it or is it a factory alarm. i dont think your problem is an alarm. id do the alt. first, WIERD things can happen when your electrical system isnt up to par. ever seen a corvette freak out when its having charging problems?

 

It's an aftermarket alarm that was there when I bought the car. I may have to check out the alternator this weekend.

 

It might have something to do with the alarm, if it is designed to kill power. My old alarm was designed to prevent you from starting the engine if the alarm went off. That was just for the starter, not the whole car, but yours may be tied to the computer to do the same thing. I would check the alternator first, unless it is easy to get to the wiring for the alarm.

 

I can get to the alarm wiring no problem, I'm just not sure what the heck I'm looking at when I get there. There's a box with an antenna hanging out of it, and another with a dial on it.

 

The box with the ****/dial on it is probably the shock sensor and the **** is to adjust the sensitivity. The one with the antenna is the main alarm box. Check the connection at the main box. If yours has an ignition kill circuit, there should be 2 wires, usually red, pink or orange that are larger than the others. Make sure that they are plugged in all the way. If one of these wires is loose, then it might be causing your problems.
Later.

Matt

 

Yeah, I've seen a simple intermittant on ground or main power wires cause all kinds of funky problems on the car.