Full Electric Shutdown

[AlSalas131]

Just drove the car home last night and when stopping the whole electric system shutdown, dark, nothing working. Has anyone heard of this issue? Nothing has power.

 

[Eagle7]

Either a total battery failure, or one of the battery terminal connectors came loose.

 

[AlSalas131]

Either a total battery failure, or one of the battery terminal connectors came loose.

Checked the battery and is fine. The car was driving fine and when I stopped everything went dark, full electrical failure just like if the battery was not even connected. No idea how is that even possible. Just like unplugging a cord from the outlet. No warning or issues whatsoever prior to shutting off.

 

[Eagle7]

Checked the battery and is fine. The car was driving fine and when I stopped everything went dark, full electrical failure just like if the battery was not even connected. No idea how is that even possible. Just like unplugging a cord from the outlet. No warning or issues whatsoever prior to shutting off.

Fuses? Battery fuse box is right on the front of the battery.

 

[KAR120C]

Sounds like a master fuse (or mega fuse as lotus calls them)

 

[cyanmauve]

My car is currently at the dealer getting a similar issue resolved as I’m typing.

Briefly (there’s a long, long saga I will probably write up someday for the forum), I was driving my car on a Sunday afternoon when everything except the engine went “dead”. Instrument display, ICE display, door locks, window control, turn signal, HVAC, etc. Everything. Car was still running perfectly. I drove home, pushed the start/stop button to kill the engine, nothing. I had to pull the fuel pump fuse to kill the engine.

The car got towed >100 miles to the dealer, and has been there for a little more than a week.

The service manager said it looked like the wiring harness at the front fuse panel (in the nose of the car) had been jammed up in a way that it came into contact with a metal edge, which may have kinked wires and made them make contact and cause an electrical short. The blown fuses were replaced and the car started, but he is digging into the harness to make sure everything is ok, and will replace the entire fuse panel once the part arrives from Lotus.

 

[Eagle7]

 

[cyanmauve]

The upside is that the service manager at Lotus of Dallas, Gio Ortiz, had been great and is being very thorough with what’s going on with my car.

Also, Myrna, customer service from Lotus USA, was an absolute rockstar helping me set up the tow to the dealership. If anyone from Lotus USA reads these posts, she needs to be promoted to director of customer service for North America!

 

[AlSalas131]

View attachment 53264

Checked the mega fuse box and looks OK. I actually have my CTek connectors to the + jump plate and the negative battery pole. Did that a week ago and the car has been working fine. Had you done any similar work back there?

 

[Atlantis Blue Emira]

Just drove the car home last night and when stopping the whole electric system shutdown, dark, nothing working. Has anyone heard of this issue? Nothing has power.

Mine was the alternator but everything including the car died while driving (posted in another thread)

Sounds like you could drive

Lotus Emira battery dies while driving or can it be the alternator?

Hit 1,000 miles yesterday and right after I stopped at a store and restarted the car I get this message (pic below). Drove home, put on battery tender for 6 hours and went out at night. Battery error gone. Valet comes in to find me at restaurant and said my car doesn’t start (initially thought...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[AlSalas131]

Mine was the alternator but everything including the car died while driving (posted in another thread)

Sounds like you could drive

Lotus Emira battery dies while driving or can it be the alternator?

Hit 1,000 miles yesterday and right after I stopped at a store and restarted the car I get this message (pic below). Drove home, put on battery tender for 6 hours and went out at night. Battery error gone. Valet comes in to find me at restaurant and said my car doesn’t start (initially thought...

www.emiraforum.com

My car shut off with everything else. Is a manual but did not try to start it by pushing it since I have no electronics anyway and Lotus is picking it up on Monday.

 

[Atlantis Blue Emira]

My car shut off with everything else. Is a manual but did not try to start it by pushing it since I have no electronics anyway and Lotus is picking it up on Monday.

Then the same problem as mine

Alternator I bet

Now about half a dozen or more with same issue it seems

 

[Roland]

Then the same problem as mine

Alternator I bet

Now about half a dozen or more with same issue it seems

I had a similar issue, full shut down, need to use the manual boot release to get to the battery, after the 3rd occsasion over a few days finally check the terminal for tightness, the positive was loose. Not had any issue since.

Roland

 

[AlSalas131]

Just like the forum said!
Through our series of checks, we isolated a poor ground connection on the driver side frame rail in the engine compartment. We’ve cleaned the corrosion and re-installed to verify proper operation. We placed an order for star washers yesterday and will install one in an effort to prevent this from recurring. I hope to have those here in the next couple of business days.
I guess corrosion from steel screws in aluminum frame body. Car was produce in July.