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Hi,
My '91 9000 2.3 turbo CD (210000km) did something strange today. Before it all happened, there was power everywhere, central locking, interior lights etc. working fine. When I turned the key to crank the engine, the starter turned fine, the engine started, but after a few seconds then engine spluttered and died, as if there was no fuel.
I tried turning the key again, and the starter turned for a good while, but there was absolutely no start.
I only have a few litres left in the tank, so I suspected this at first, and checked the fuel gauge, which had now started to move (!) away from nearly empty, and eventually came to a stop at half full, which was clearly incorrect. Also, almost all electrical systems except the instrument cluster and the headlights and rear lights were dead: Brake lights gone, door lights gone, radio gone etc. Weirdly enough, the pictograph also indicated that the trunk lid was open, which it wasn't, and that there was a bulb failure in the rear, which there wasn't either.
The voltage meter showed 11.5V, and the headlights remained bright, so the battery should be ok.
On switching the ignition off and removing the key, the interior lights, brake lights etc. started working again, and continued to work even after re-inserting the key and turning it (without starting the engine).
Another start attempt failed as well, and it went dark again. I started reading the garage manual, and after a few minutes noticed that the light was back on again. I tried to start again, and this time, it behaved 100% normal, except for a possibly rough idle, but this could have been caused by the remaining fuel from the previous start attempts I guess. Pictogram ok, fuel gauge ok, power everywhere.
Under the hood, there was no sign of broken (or chewed; there are plenty of polecats around here) cables, BUT, the big red cable to the starter looked as if it had melted, the plastic was soggy in places, and cracked and charred in others. However, there seems to be dirt on the melted parts, the cable was not warm, and there had not been any burnt smell during the incident. There have been, however, a "burnt plastic" smell when accelerating hard or going at high RPM's, for quite a while before the incident today.
All fuses seem intact. I haven't checked any relays.
So, any ideas what I have here? A faulty ignition switch causing the entire electrical system to short-circuit or have funny voltage levels, thus triggering the alternator to generate to much current at high rpm's, melting the cable? Or something completely different? How can I pin-point this problem?
Cheers,
Erik
posted by 213.160.48...
, Sat, 15 Nov 2003 14:27:31
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