All dash lights come on, headlights dim and car dies

[Mommyto4js]

I have a 2001 Olds Intrigue, 90K miles. Ran fine until about 7 months ago. Parked in line at a drive thru, my dash lights came on, my headlights dimmed and my car died, never to start again. We changed the battery, the cables and the alternator. It ran for a bout 3 days and did the exact same thing. Took it to the dealership said alternator was bad....changed it again.....ran 1 day and did the same thing. What else can we check???
All dash lights come one, usually low trac 1st then all the others. I am at a loss and almost completely broke at this point!!! Betty

[roonie]

I too have a similar trouble.Sorry to hear your completely broke.Please be wary of dealerships.In my humble opinion,they can be one of the worst places to take a car.
So tell me....did you get the problem fixed yet?
Were you having a couple of dashlights comming on at first before the problem got worse?
The trouble im having is that my abs brake light began to come on,then my battery light.As soon as i shut off the car and restart the car,the lights go off for a period of time.Is this similar to what is happening to yours?Have you read most of the older posts to see if it has happened to others?Please keep me informed as I too need to get this fixed and do not have sufficient funds to feed dealerships.Im wondering if you have a short in the electrical system that is draining the battery.I am not a mechanic but am very good with many things.Does the battery go dead on its own while sitting and not running(overnight)?Have you recharged the battery only to have it go dead again?

[roonie]

also found this old post on page 6.The post title is....Very confussing and need help....by....ladyfirefighter26.sounds like it ended up being a short.hope this helps.

[Mommyto4js]

Still having same problem, have replaced 3 alternators, 2 batteries and some wiring between alternator and air conditioning that went to battery...runs fine for a bit, maybe half a day then the battery light will come on the abs light the low traction light and then when i stop or slow down it is dead. It will not start without a jump, but then will run for a bit. The dealership is clueless, the private repair shop is frustrated and I am just about walking. I need to figure this out but really dont know what else to do.

[roonie]

im just starting my nightmare.After reading your post im not sure i want to even begin.Im hoping i have a bad wheel bearing that is making the abs light come on but what it has to do with my low battery....I will never know!All i can tell you is if the dealership and repair shop is clueless then you just might be up the creek without a paddle.I may just hang up those intrigue keys and buy a 1963 chevy impala with a 283 engine for the rest of my days.Hey......something just dawned on me..........our intrigues are named appropriately!did you check the page I found on this forum?have a good one and good luck

[corning_d3]

Did you have the A/C compressor diode replaced?

[roonie]

who me or mommy?

[corning_d3]

Both.

[roonie]

you need to read my post which is titled 98 intrigue.....ABS and BRAKE light.I believe mommy and I have different troubles.Mine may just be a wheel bearing in the rear as i do have a noise comming from the rear wheel.That does not explain why my battery is not charging only some of the time.voltage at battery reads 11v and at other times 13.7v(both readings when running)?but hey .....a mechanic i am not.my post was posted today and 5 posts down from the top.

[corning_d3]

sry 'bout that, i just re-read. That is a wierd problem. Have you checked/tightened all the hot and grounds? Don't forget the cables on the starter.