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Car died while driving, all power off and even steering locked


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kiteman
Novice

Oct 16, 2013, 9:04 AM

Post #1 of 6 (2718 views)
Car died while driving, all power off and even steering locked Sign In

2012
Chevrolet
Camaro SS
6.2L, manual
15k miles

Car is still under warranty, I was driving in a parking lot the other day and everything shut off. Power was completely gone suddenly, steering wheel even locked up while the car was still moving. The windows usually roll down slightly automatically when you open/close the door and even that wouldn't work. I didn't kill the call with the clutch I know for sure, and I tried to restart several times and got absolutely no power response from the vehicle. Tried to jump the battery and nothing as well. 12 hours later to the second and the car started up like nothing ever happened. FYI no warning signs for a bad alternator happened before this incident, it was completely isolated. But I had both checked at Autozone anyway and battery/alternator were fine.

Took it in for warranty and GM claims my aftermarket radio amp's battery cables (hooked directly to the battery) were causing the vehicle's battery cable to be loosely connected to the battery, which they say caused the shutoff. I looked at the battery/cables before I took it in and the cables were all tight and no problems at all, not to mention they've been there 2 years and this has never happened. Also not to mention the battery terminals have a side connection that is separate from where the main cables are connected, and the side cables is where the amp was connected, so I don't see how they could interfere. I also thought that once the car is running, the battery is not used and everything runs off of the alternator (and therefore a bad cable connection on the battery wouldn't do anything like killing the car).

Any ideas what this could be, or at least do the battery cables from the amplifier sound like they could be the culprit? GM is claiming this is not covered under warranty and charging me for it which is only half of my frustration (the other half is that I don't think this is the problem and I'm scared it could happen again driving 75mph down the highway, no one wants to lose steering then). Thank you for any help.

Here is a picture of what a battery in my car looks like (not my car). You can see the posts on the battery terminal that face forward (vs the ones that face left or right). They are made to add separate cables, and that is where my amp cables are attached.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=533670&stc=1&d=1373987908

(This post was edited by kiteman on Oct 16, 2013, 9:23 AM)


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Oct 16, 2013, 9:37 AM

Post #2 of 6 (2705 views)
Re: Car died while driving, all power off and even steering locked Sign In

You should have known better than to bring a car in for warranty work with aftermarket stuff added. They will blame that every time and sometimes they are right. It's a guaranteed way to avoid covering a warranty.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



kiteman
Novice

Oct 16, 2013, 9:40 AM

Post #3 of 6 (2700 views)
Re: Car died while driving, all power off and even steering locked Sign In

Actually they told me they would not do anything non-warranty related without contacting me first, and they did not contact me and did it any way. But you're right, and I understand your comments. Still, trying to figure out the problem so it isn't a safety concern, does that sound like it could be the problem?


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Oct 16, 2013, 9:45 AM

Post #4 of 6 (2696 views)
Re: Car died while driving, all power off and even steering locked Sign In

I'm not there to test anything so i don't know if they are right or wrong.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



kiteman
Novice

Oct 16, 2013, 9:49 AM

Post #5 of 6 (2690 views)
Re: Car died while driving, all power off and even steering locked Sign In


In Reply To
I'm not there to test anything so i don't know if they are right or wrong.

Maybe the simple question here for me is if the car is running and you disconnect the battery cable, will the car lose all power? I want to know if the car runs entirely on alternator power once it is running.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Oct 16, 2013, 9:55 AM

Post #6 of 6 (2688 views)
Re: Car died while driving, all power off and even steering locked Sign In

That's the fastest way to fry every computer in the car so don't ever do that. I don't know what caused the car to die so I can't tell you. You could have lost a single power feed while other stayed in tact.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.







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