No Power

[Mfitch89]

I was driving down the highway today and my check gauges light came on, I noticed that my voltage was pegged at 19V. I pulled over stopped the vehicle and now have no electrical, no lights, no bells, nothing. I tested the battery, which is new 12.7 V. I checked all the under hood fuses. My contacts on the battery are good. What is the recommended next steps.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

 

[AndyG]

Check your grounds.

 

[Mfitch89]

Thanks for the response, could you provide a bit of clarification? It was running with high voltage, I stopped, turned it off, and nothing. I checked my battery connections, I checked power to my under hood fuse box the the sun was setting and I want to start fresh in the morning,

I appreciate any and all advice, problem is my wife's car is on a wait list to get into the shop for CV joints and this is now our only transportation with the exception of LPCs.

 

[Wildman]

Your voltage regulator is part of the PCM and they can go bad. I would have it tested at a parts store to verify that it is over charging.

If it is here is one fix for the issue.

 

[Wildman]

Can you turn your headlights on? If not then you need to follow your cables from the battery to each connection and check each of them. Basically like this.

1. I would take the battery to a parts store and have it tested. It sounds like you checked your battery but did you have it tested?
2. check to make sure the charging wire to the battery is in good condition and tight.
3. the terminal connections to the battery are tight and corrosion free.
4. check to make sure the positive connection to the distribution block is tight
5. check to make sure the ground connections to the engine are good.

And since it was possibly over charging you need to figure out WHY. Most times there is a problem in the alternator that then fries the PCM. Also @Wranglerfix might be able to offer some help about the voltage regulator that's part of the PCM.

 

[AndyG]

Your voltage regulator is part of the PCM and they can go bad. I would have it tested at a parts store to verify that it is over charging.

If it is here is one fix for the issue.

Listen to these guys- the grounds go from the engine to the frame and battery to frame- But since it overcharged you need to look at the voltage regulator I forgot about yours being that old-

 

[Jerry Bransford]

I doubt the PCM or the voltage regulator has gone bad. Not even his headlights turn on and neither the PCM nor the voltage regulator would prevent the headlights from turning on.

A bad ground, as in a heavy-gauge connection going to the chassis or engine could cause the voltage to spike. I'd find someone who knows how to use a voltmeter to start measuring from the battery back. Measure the battery first, its expected voltage when good would be 12.6v if it's a conventional wet-cell battery or 12.8v if it's an AGM battery. If the battery check out, next go to the Power Distribution Center on the passenger-side fender well inside the engine compartment. Keep going backward between there and the light switch as long as you find voltage. When the voltage stops you're very close to the problem. Of course the voltage will stop before the light switch as nothing works so the problem is going to be relatively easily found by someone who knows what they're doing with a volt meter.

The problem could be as easy as a bad main electrical connector or a corroded/blown main power or main ground cable.

 

[Wildman]

I doubt the PCM or the voltage regulator has gone bad. Not even his headlights turn on and neither the PCM nor the voltage regulator would prevent the headlights from turning on.

A bad ground, as in a heavy-gauge connection going to the chassis or engine could cause the voltage to spike. I'd find someone who knows how to use a voltmeter to start measuring from the battery back. Measure the battery first, its expected voltage when good would be 12.6v if it's a conventional wet-cell battery or 12.8v if it's an AGM battery. If the battery check out, next go to the Power Distribution Center on the passenger-side fender well inside the engine compartment. Keep going backward between there and the light switch as long as you find voltage. When the voltage stops you're very close to the problem. Of course the voltage will stop before the light switch as nothing works so the problem is going to be relatively easily found by someone who knows what they're doing with a volt meter.

The problem could be as easy as a bad main electrical connector or a corroded/blown main power or main ground cable.

Agreed. I'd missed the part of the no power/no lights/no nothing and was why I'd added my second post to trace all his wiring and connections to see if anything is loose or corroded.

 

[JMT]

Another option is the actuator in the steering column. If that little piece breaks you won’t get anything. It always happens suddenly and out of nowhere. Driving, stop, try to start, nothing.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Another option is the actuator in the steering column. If that little piece breaks you won’t get anything. It always happens suddenly and out of nowhere. Driving, stop, try to start, nothing.

That is something else that would not/could not cause the headlights to not be able to be turned on.

 

[Mfitch89]

Well thanks to everyone for their input. I went out checked my battery with voltage meter. Pulled and tested all fuses in the under hood fuse box. Checked my grounds, still nothing. For some strange reason I pulled the 40A fuse in position #4 (Fuse Block) and replaced with Fuse in Position #11 (Blower Motor Relay) suddenly the light under the hood light up. I tested the fuse I removed again and it was fine. I checked the alternator and it is charging the battery at just over 14.2 V. Any suggestions other than just wait for it to occur again? Should I pull the alternator and have it bench tested? It is my understanding that the voltage regulator is built into the PCM, is that correct?

 

[C.J. Roberts]

Sometimes electricity does strange things. As a young Marine, I was an Aviation Ordnanceman. Part of what we did was test and maintain the Ordnance on the aircraft, IE, bomb, rocket, missile, etc systems.
Occasionally, we would test a system that didn't work. We would then start checking for voltage at all the connection points, starting from the closest to power to the final connection to the ordnance. We would often get voltage at every connector along the way, and when we retested the system, it would work.
When this happened, we knew that somewhere in the system, some corrosion would have been present at a connector, and that we had cleaned it off when we disconnected and reconnected them. It's possible that that's what happened to you at the fuse.
Checking the alternator wouldn't hurt anything, though.
Since it's now working, I would keep an eye on it and see what happens.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

^This. The alternator is most likely fine. When they go you do not loose current as you are experiencing - you would still see current from the battery. That’s why when an alternator fails everything continues to work - including the engine - right up until the battery dies.

Everything here points to a corroded connection somewhere. Maybe the fuse you giggled was it.

There is nothing more difficult to solve than an intermittent problem.