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Jun 16, 2015 | 10:40 PM

bcozad

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Joined: Feb 2011

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From: Brookfield WI

Need Your Advice

Driving home in my 2006 base convertible. Suddenly lost power/ engine shut down but had electrical. Coasted to shoulder. Thought I was out of gas but not so. No messages showing on display.

I have power and green light for start button. When I step on brake and push the button I lose all power. No electrical - then after a few moments electrical comes back on.

I don't think it is the fob as I can open doors and trunk from outside the car? Battery not that old.

Had it towed to dealership but wondering what causes might be before I turn the mechanics lose on the thing. Thoughts? Appreciate your help.

Jun 16, 2015 | 10:45 PM

EVRose

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From: Las Vegas NV

Bad battery or faulty connection at battery or starter.

Jun 17, 2015 | 01:16 AM

okie08vette

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From: Norman OK

Battery and or battery connections.

Jun 17, 2015 | 09:40 AM

Landru

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From: Wayne Township WI

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcozad

Had it towed to dealership but wondering what causes might be before I turn the mechanics lose on the thing. Thoughts? Appreciate your help.

Be very interesting to learn what's found, symptoms are weird.
Just guessing here buy it does sound like a power interruption, somewhere. Possibly burned/broken starter cables as reported here now & then?

Keep us posted & GL, hopefully it's an easy fix.

BTW what dealer are you using? (BCHS '71)

Jun 17, 2015 | 10:02 AM

ruxvette

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From: T-Town WA

2016 C6 of Year Finalist

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVRose

Bad battery or faulty connection at battery or starter.

Jun 17, 2015 | 10:28 AM

piper_chuck

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Joined: Apr 2011

Posts: 498

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From: Blythewood SC

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcozad

I have power and green light for start button. When I step on brake and push the button I lose all power. No electrical - then after a few moments electrical comes back on.

I had this exact problem not long ago with my '95 F150. I had power when I first got in, but everything died when I tried to start it. Some number of seconds later, power came back.

As has been suggested already, it could be a problem with the battery connection. In my case, a previous owner had replaced the original battery connectors with ones that clamped onto the bare cable. The bolts to the clamp had loosened up and there was some corrosion. I took them off, cleaned the cables well and tightened them up and have not had trouble since. I also observed that after I did this the starter turned the engine over noticeably faster.

Jun 18, 2015 | 12:10 AM

bcozad

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Joined: Feb 2011

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From: Brookfield WI

Here's an update.

Thanks for your thoughts / suggestions. Dealership replaced the battery saying it had a bad cell. However, this did not solve the problem. Still has same symptoms - won't start. They are saying they can not get any reading from the cars computer to determine possible causes.

Not sure what next step will be - I don't want to start swapping out parts to try and solve the problem - will get expensive in a hurry.

Thanks in advance for any other suggestions.

Jun 18, 2015 | 12:51 AM

v26278

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Joined: Sep 2011

Posts: 3,021

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From: Vancouver Island

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcozad

I have power and green light for start button. When I step on brake and push the button I lose all power. No electrical - then after a few moments electrical comes back on.

^^^this much of what you describe happened to me just last week. Everything would go completely dead for a few seconds when I pushed the start button (IIRC only the check engine light stayed lit), then the dash lights all came back on but the engine wouldn't crank. I stuck a long bar down from above and tapped on the starter solenoid while someone else pushed the start button and it fired right up. My starter solenoid was shot, I put in a new starter. As others posted above check the starter, and check all starter connections for anything faulty, they have been known to get loose or corroded. Good luck, I hope its that simple, but always check the simple fixes first.