weird but scary problem encountered

[pruto]

Ok, i would definately search for it online, or search under FAQs. BUT, i dunno what went wrong... :/ so i have no idea what to search under (or what questions to ask)

i was on the highway just now, on a mild freeway turn. Suddenly, my steering froze up and all the lights on the gauge cluster lit up like it was christmas. My car was acting as if it was not started up, but the engine was definately running (i think, since i could still rev it).

this is probably a really noob problem/question, but i don't know much about the workings of the engine bay.

I froze but somehow manage to get my car to turn. after that i popped it into 3rd gear and started it up again and it was fine.

Does anyone have ANY idea what could have been up? i think this happened once before, a long time ago but it was rainning, so i assumed it was the water back then.

I tried to duplicate this later on to figure out what went wrong, but it was fine.

anyways, thanks for any help.

[uiuc240]

check the simplest, most obvious things first.

you were steering. the electrics went awry. check the electrics in the steering column :)

Eric

[SilviaNinja240]

ethier that or a UFO flew by

[driftingpanda]

hey paul. that seems pretty weird. were you low on gas at the moment? are you SURE that the engine was still running? was it a left turn or a right turn? i've had a similar experience with my car, but it was due to air bubbles in the fuel line. i was really low on gas and was taking a long right turn, the pickup seemed to have sucked some air and the engine died mid-turn, causing the cluster to indicate low battery, check engine, etc.

another suggestion... iirc, you're running with no fender lining correct? you also had some frame repairs on the driver side? if so, you might want to check your chassis harness, tucked under your driver side fender. s13's seem to have a problem with the tire rubbing against the large loom of wire during hard cornering/drifting, possibly exposing and shorting out wires.

hope that helps... i have no idea what else it could be... good luck man.

danny

[nrcooled]

Try having a BOV that leaks badly. It used to stall all the time going into turns or anywhere for that matter.

Back to topic-
My Contour SVT used to do it all the time. As a matter of fact it was a recall. Try checking the web for recalls and Contours (they all did it not just the SVT) It may give you a little insight on what is going on.

Even before when I had my KA in on cold days or mornings my car would stall under hard braking and turning at the same time (when the clutch was in). My assumption was that my idle never recovered to regulate itself. i.e. massive drain on the electrical system

1. hard braking (power brakes)
2. full steering input (power steering)
3. RPMs droping w/ clutch in

All added up = stall

[sykikchimp]

the way you described it, I would think the car died. I don't think I've ever seen ALL the lights on the dash light up, unless the car died.

sound's like what nrcooled is talking about is what you are experiencing.. I would suggest adding a few grounds.

Somebody (SCC?) recently did a test of where to install those grounding wires for max performance. You could probably just add a ground to the IACV and that would help a lot.