92' Buick Regal just stopped working

[brainboy]

I've been having some electrical problems with my 92' Buick Regal for a while now. About 2 months ago, my right turn signal stopped working for about a couple weeks, and then started working again out of the blue. I've had many other electrical problems as well.

Yesterday, I was turning right onto a street, and my car just stopped. That's the best way I can describe what happened. The steering wheel locked up, and all the dashboard lights came on, similar to what happens when I put the key in the ignition, without turning it. Luckily, I was on a pretty quiet street, and was able to pull to the side of the road and put my hazards on. I tried to start it a couple times, and it just cranked, but didn't start. Then, I noticed that my right hazard light stopped working for about 30 seconds, and then started working again. After that, I tried to start the car and it started right up, and I was able to drive home. I don't want to drive it anymore until I figure out what's going on.

Does anyone have a clue as to what could cause this craziness? I'm fairly certain it's a result of a big electrical problem, and possibly linked to my right turn signal. (It died shortly after I turned my signal on)

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[brainboy]

I tried to find the problem yesterday, but without luck. I don't know a whole lot about the electrical stuff, so I just took my dash apart and examined wires to make sure none of them were worn and shorting out. I was trying to get down to the firewall and examine the wires there, but I couldn't figure out how to get there. How do I get to the firewall? Do I have to take the entire dash apart or is there an easier way?

Anyway, I just took the car into the Buick dealership to get looked at today. They couldn't find a problem, and couldn't recreate the problem of it dying for no discernible reason, which is what I was afraid of. Now I have to decide whether or not I can fix it, or get rid of it.

I have a thought, and was hoping someone could tell me if it's stupid or not: My windshield wipers are acting up as well. Sometimes they won't turn on unless I set them on high, and sometimes they work fine. Since I was having trouble with both my wipers and my right turn signal, and they are both on the same apparatus, could that be my problem? If I replaced the whole thing, does anyone think that would help?

At this point, I'm just shooting in the dark here.

[richtazz]

It sounds like you have a possible ignition switch issue, but since it acts up as electrical load increases, it could also be just dirty battery cables. I would start simple and check your battery cable connections to be sure they are clean (no grease, oil, corrosion, etc...) and tight. Also check your engine to chassis ground straps to be sure they are connected.

[brainboy]

Thanks for the advice, I'll check the battery and the engine to chassis ground straps tomorrow.

My car has died three times in the past week, and I'm beginning to wonder if it is a short or not. Every time it dies, it's dead for about 5-10 minutes, during which time I cannot start it, but all my electrical components seem fine. My hazards work, dash lights are on, dome light works, etc... After about 5-10 minutes, I can start it up fine and drive it home. When it dies, there is no sound or anything, it just turns off, all my dash lights come on, the brake pedal and steering wheel harden up...basically like it is when the engine is off.

Any ideas as to what might cause that?

[brainboy]

Thanks for your help richtazz! I did some research on AF about ignition switch issues, but found that my car didn't display all the symptoms that people were describing. However, in doing that research I ran across posts which described my car's problem perfectly, and those problems were fixed with a new crankshaft position sensor. Long story short: I had the crankshaft position sensor replaced and it works fine so far. So thank you for suggesting the ignition switch, or I never would have discovered the crankshaft position sensor problem. I was way off base and thinking it was an electrical short somewhere.

Here's a helpful tip for those needing to replace their crankshaft position sensor: It's extremely difficult to remove the harmonic balancer (even with a breaker bar) as the bolt is on there very tight. I spent an afternoon trying to remove it, with no luck. Finally, I just took it to a mechanic and they installed the crankshaft position sensor that I purchased. I wish I had done that first.