[Midnight Rider]

Hi Guys I was wondering if any of you as experienced this problem.I got an email from a friend wanting to know if I had this following problem.
He said he was out driving last night and his wheel rode up unto the curb miss judging the curb clearance for a seconf and back down on the street.He said when it hit the street the truck went dead,no dash lights,engine died,everything went dark.He said he coasted to a stop,tried to restart --nothing.he was-thinking about calling a truck,when he thought he try a re-start in which it stared up and everything seem normal.Just wondering if any of you have herd or experience this condition.Makes one think he as a bad connection in the electrical system,somewhere,not a good feeling knowing this could happen anywhere and be stuck.

 

[Goodspike]

Aren't there devices that turn vehicles off in the event of a severe impact? It's a safety feature. I thought they needed to be reset though, so maybe this is not that.

 

[White016]

Hi Guys I was wondering if any of you as experienced this problem.I got an email from a friend wanting to know if I had this following problem.
He said he was out driving last night and his wheel rode up unto the curb miss judging the curb clearance for a seconf and back down on the street.He said when it hit the street the truck went dead,no dash lights,engine died,everything went dark.He said he coasted to a stop,tried to restart --nothing.he was-thinking about calling a truck,when he thought he try a re-start in which it stared up and everything seem normal.Just wondering if any of you have herd or experience this condition.Makes one think he as a bad connection in the electrical system,somewhere,not a good feeling knowing this could happen anywhere and be stuck.

Yep, I'll bet it's near the battery too. Just look it over real good and wiggle wires under there with it running and see what happens.

 

[White016]

Aren't there devices that turn vehicles off in the event of a severe impact? It's a safety feature. I thought they needed to be reset though, so maybe this is not that.

Ford used to put inertia switches on the fuel pump power, maybe they still do? They would be in the truck with a reset button on them.

 

[Goodspike]

Ford used to put inertia switches on the fuel pump power, maybe they still do? They would be in the truck with a reset button on them.

Thanks--inertia switch was the term I was thinking of. I didn't know it was only Ford. You would think that with high pressure electric fuel pumps it would be a standard feature on all vehicles to prevent fires in the event of an accident.

 

[JeffreyG]

The inertial shutdown switches are to stop electronic fuel pumps from feeding a potential fire after an impact. They don't kill the whole vehicle, and they don't reset on their own. So that isn't it.

To me this sounds like a weak electrical connection on the main harness. Have fun finding it!

I did once have a GM W-body (1996) that just went completely dead like this approaching a stop. Waited 10 seconds, cycled the key, it came back to life and never did it again. Very strange.

 

[Goodspike]

The inertial shutdown switches are to stop electronic fuel pumps from feeding a potential fire after an impact. They don't kill the whole vehicle, and they don't reset on their own. So that isn't it.

Clearly not if they don't reset on their own (something I mentioned), but maybe modern ones do???

But there's also this. If they were tripped by the action mentioned by the OP, off-roaders would probably have problems with them, and we're not seeing that. So I think that my idea probably was a dead end.

 

[White016]

Clearly not if they don't reset on their own (something I mentioned), but maybe modern ones do???

But there's also this. If they were tripped by the action mentioned by the OP, off-roaders would probably have problems with them, and we're not seeing that. So I think that my idea probably was a dead end.

ya, no way there is an inertia switch on the whole electrical system. We would know all about it by now! ahahaha

 

[Goodspike]

Here's a very wild guess. If the battery was not properly strapped down would it moving and the positive terminal hitting something metal (grounded) cause the condition?

I only mention it because years ago my brother's 68 Mustang had the battery come loose. It hit something moving (the alternator blades???) and broke the battery case open. You'd not be surprised about how much damage battery acid can do when splashed inside an engine compartment. Most today's vehicles are far too crowded in the engine compartment to allow that kind of movement, but up and down or some side to side would still be possible.

 

[White016]

Here's a very wild guess. If the battery was not properly strapped down would it moving and the positive terminal hitting something metal (grounded) cause the condition?

I only mention it because years ago my brother's 68 Mustang had the battery come loose. It hit something moving (the alternator blades???) and broke the battery case open. You'd not be surprised about how much damage battery acid can do when splashed inside an engine compartment. Most today's vehicles are far too crowded in the engine compartment to allow that kind of movement, but up and down or some side to side would still be possible.

possible, but if that happened there would be melted metal under the hood. I'm sure it's just a bad connection that must be close to the battery because it killed everything.
It amazes me sometimes when people come here for help and they haven't even looked under the hood or under the truck.

 

[Goodspike]

possible, but if that happened there would be melted metal under the hood.

I was thinking of a momentary contact, just enough to throw voltages out of whack, sort of like how your house lights might flicker when a neighboring transformer blows up.

 

[hyperv6]

There have been TSB numbers out for harness rub issues on some models. Not sure of the years but it may be worth a look. A good bump could short a rubbed trough harness.

 

[Snipesy]

Aren't there devices that turn vehicles off in the event of a severe impact? It's a safety feature. I thought they needed to be reset though, so maybe this is not that.

All of GM PEV/PHEVs have a switch like that. It requires a scan tool reset. GM calls them “High Voltage DTCs”

I have never seen such a thing on others. They always start right up after a collision assuming it wasn’t any critical damage.

 

[ButchAZ]

Have you tried hitting control/alt/delete at the same time?

 

[Iamscotticus]

that seems like a minor jolt compared to a collision. I ran over a curb misjudging the length of an island in a left turn. hit it about 30mph. Big jolt, no subsequent damage. im just an inch shorter now.

 

[Tom S.]

Wiring seems like the most likely suspect. Still, I would get a good code reader and search for error codes that may help your friend narrow down the source. I say "good" because some codes will reset themselves after 3 non-fault restarts and a cheap reader may not pick them up.

 

[Midnight Rider]

possible, but if that happened there would be melted metal under the hood. I'm sure it's just a bad connection that must be close to the battery because it killed everything.
It amazes me sometimes when people come here for help and they haven't even looked under the hood or under the truck.

Sorry if you feel that way,I was only trying to find out for a friend who is in his mid Seventies.Not cable of crawling around under a vehicle etc.He just wanted to know before he take it to a dealer and it cost him a arm and leg trying to track this problem.Thanks to the guys who was offering their help ,much apreciated.

 

[Goodspike]

Sorry if you feel that way,I was only trying to find out for a friend who is in his mid Seventies.

You might want to keep an eye on your friend. When my dad was about his age he started having memory issues, and what reminded me of that was he also apparently ran into something and damaged the A/C condenser. Your friend's accident may be more than an accident and indicate a mental decline.

After we took his car away I was shocked how many miles he had put on it in only a couple of years given he only would drive about 10 miles from home. I'd heard he had some problems getting lost, but to put on that many miles he must have driven for miles and miles after missing the turn off to his house.

 

[White016]

Sorry if you feel that way,I was only trying to find out for a friend who is in his mid Seventies.Not cable of crawling around under a vehicle etc.He just wanted to know before he take it to a dealer and it cost him a arm and leg trying to track this problem.Thanks to the guys who was offering their help ,much apreciated.

here is the best help you will get here: Look under the hood for your friend who can't for a bad connection near the battery before he takes it to the dealer and get hosed. Also, ask around for a good mechanic before he takes it to the dealer to get hosed.