Ok, so just yesterday I was driving and the car cut off and started right back up. Electrical problem me thinks.

Over the past few weeks occassionally, the radio would cut off and come back on almost immediately. Yesterday though was the first time it happened to the whole car. Freaked me out as I was on my way to an interview but no problems since then.

I know I need a new battery cable but with a properly working alternator I wouldn't think the battery cable would cause this.

Any thoughts?

Are you sure its not the battery itself?

I guess it could be the battery but when the car is running, the alternator keeps it going, right? So in theory you could start the car & take out the battery & it'd run fine... So I thought maybe something other than the battery....

My daughter had the exact same problem on her 1997. She bought a new battery and it still continued to shutdown while driving.

She bought a new alternator and that did not help either.

I even fixed the connector to the alternator, thinking that it would take care of an electrical problem.

It finally camedown to the positive battery terminal connector.

Even though it was making good contact, the connector was a different type.

I changed it with one I had from an old wiring harness and the problem was fixed.

It has been working great ever since. I hope this helps.

It will run for a short while...until the internal regulator etc run into saturation and fries from its effort.

Alternators are really designed to maintain a charge...not so much to recover from a low charge. For this reason. if you replace an alternator today the manufacturer will have stickers all over it warning to only install with a fully charged battery.

I guess it could be the battery but when the car is running, the alternator keeps it going, right? So in theory you could start the car & take out the battery & it'd run fine... So I thought maybe something other than the battery....

I don't know if you have a stick or an automatic.. But with an auto, your car will die easily on a full stop if you have a bad alternator and battery.. It might be your electrical connectors.. try and see if they are connected properly or any loose ends..

Good advice - check battery, alternator, or connections.

Usually if you lose the battery power - the car will stop running.

Thanks people. I haven't had a chance to do this yet but will this weekend. I figure positive cable and battery are in order.

Cheers-

Othius