On 17 Apr 2005 12:35:01 -0400, redcat >
wrote:

>Even though the Fuel pump relay has been replaced, sometimes the car
>won’t start. So we do the “take the relay out to cool off” stuff, and
>then it will start.
>
>The bigger problem is that at times the engine will die while I’m
>driving. The battery light comes on and the rpm goes to zero as the
>engine cuts out completely. I’ve been fortunate to be able to
>manuever it safely to the side of the road although the power steering
>won’t work at that point.
>
>It can be very dangerous and happens without warning. It happened
>last week when I was driving on a highway at a constant 55mph and was
>60 miles into the trip…. then it happened twice in one day. The first
>time I was doing 40mph and only 8 miles from home, got it restarted
>and to my destination where the car sat for 3 hours. I was on the way
>home and it died when slowing down for a stop sign and only 3 miles
>into my return trip.
>
>I usually let it sit for a minute or two and try to restart. If that
>doesn’t work, I do the relay thing mentioned above.
>
>The mechanics are mystified. They cannot pinpoint the problem. I’m
>afraid to drive it any distance unless my husband is with me.
>
>I looked through a lot of the postings, but didn’t see anything
>specific about this. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

From your description of the symptoms, it would seem that he
electrical system is, at times, simply not working.
How old is the battery? Sometimes, when they are at their service
life, they will short from junk (I'm sure there's a name for it other
than sediment) in the bottom of the battery. I'd have the battery
checked.
I'd also check the positive battery cable; peel back some of the
insulation at the battery end. If there's any corrosion, the cable
needs to be replaced.

--
Bill Funk
Change "g" to "a"