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The car is a 1995 Cutlass, 3.4 DOHC, 68,000 miles on it. The alternator was replaced 2 years ago and has about 3000 miles on it since then; battery is at least 4 years old. The car is stored during the winter.
The car has run fine until yesterday. But yesterday when I started the engine, the engine ran rough, and three warning lights were lit: ABS, Brake, and LOW TRAC. It sounded as though something was clicking under the hood - maybe an ABS sensor? I (probably unwisely) continued to drive, getting on to a 60 MPH parkway. As I got up to speed, the engine continued to stumble, the "Service Engine Soon" (SES) light came on, and I also noticed that the clock on the radio had been reset. Then there was a popping sound under the hood, the warning lights and SES light went out, the engine smoothed out and ran fine as I drove 12 miles home, including some stop and go traffic.
This morning I started the car and got the same symptoms as yesterday, the three warning lights lit, the engine ran rough. I shut off the engine and tried to restart it. It wouldn't even turn over, and all power to the car was dead. I checked under the hood, the battery connections seemed tight. When I got back in the car, I heard the "key in the ignition" chime going off, but at a very low volume. I turned the ignition and the car started, but still with the warning lights lit, and a rough idle. The clock on the radio had been reset, again, too.
I parked the car and will take a look at it this weekend. It seems electrical related, but that's just an amateur's guess. Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this problem would be appreciated.
The car has run fine until yesterday. But yesterday when I started the engine, the engine ran rough, and three warning lights were lit: ABS, Brake, and LOW TRAC. It sounded as though something was clicking under the hood - maybe an ABS sensor? I (probably unwisely) continued to drive, getting on to a 60 MPH parkway. As I got up to speed, the engine continued to stumble, the "Service Engine Soon" (SES) light came on, and I also noticed that the clock on the radio had been reset. Then there was a popping sound under the hood, the warning lights and SES light went out, the engine smoothed out and ran fine as I drove 12 miles home, including some stop and go traffic.
This morning I started the car and got the same symptoms as yesterday, the three warning lights lit, the engine ran rough. I shut off the engine and tried to restart it. It wouldn't even turn over, and all power to the car was dead. I checked under the hood, the battery connections seemed tight. When I got back in the car, I heard the "key in the ignition" chime going off, but at a very low volume. I turned the ignition and the car started, but still with the warning lights lit, and a rough idle. The clock on the radio had been reset, again, too.
I parked the car and will take a look at it this weekend. It seems electrical related, but that's just an amateur's guess. Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this problem would be appreciated.
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