Power cut outs, Stalling, Rough idle - spluttering acceleration

[RubAVeeDubDub]

Heya folks,

So my car developed a really strange and concerning fault as of late.

About a week ago I was driving along and I started to loose electrical power to the internal gear - radio cut out, then climate control and finally the airbag light came on, then within the odd 30 seconds the dash flickered and car was almost impossible to drive past 2-3000rpm and eventually came to a halt. The battery was 3+ years old, drained a few times over the years and was leaking acid so I changed it to a new Century one.

Everything was alright until last night and tonight where the issue came back. It seems that it happens when I idle but not always. Last night it happened after I took off from the lights when it was cold and very rainy, so I pulled over into a servo and let the car struggle away on idle (dash lights almost all gone, nothing working, surging idle) and then in about 2-3 minutes it all came back to life and I got home fine. I thought that maybe the heavy downpour of rain caused it and left it at that. Drove the car quite a few times today for extended periods and had no issues. Tonight I pulled over and it happened again. Barely limped it to a carpark and it spluttered to death again. Tried starting it 3 times and got nothing so gave it a few more minutes and it started fine. Then drove it a bit more and she struggled again. She spluttered and I started it again fine, turned off the aftermarket headunit & amp, and managed to get home. The car seems to behave as it has no power but then it can just go back like it has full power.

Very odd and scary behaviour. If it didn't come back to life then I'd say the car is not charging properly and the battery is getting straight changed. The fact that if you just give it a bit of time, it'll restart and be fine. I'm wondering if maybe the head unit is causing me grief? It does often restart randomly and has been through warranty in the past for a faulty screen with lines across it. I'm going to disconnect the HU and see if it returns.

Any ideas here?

[RolfGolf]

Have you checked the battery connections and connection to chassis? Sounds like it could be a lose connection somewhere ...

[JustCruisn]

Check the flat fuses on top of the battery, especially the lead in from the alternator. These can get loose and cause excessive resistance which leads to heat and fire and a breakdown.

[RubAVeeDubDub]

Thanks for the advice folks - she died again tonight and would not start. After inspecting the fuses ontop of the battery I can see that the plastic has melted so we've had some form of overheating and potential short circuit.

Had to leave her by the side of the road so I'm planning to tow her home tomorrow and inspect the leads. Thankfully I have a spare fusebox. Might look into fitting a new ground wire too.

Will update when I find out more.