car shuts down and restarts while driving

[MtBeaconGrl]

Greetings!

I'm not sure what's going on with my yaris. I have a 2008 sedan no mods except maybe an after market stereo installed last summer.

The issue started about a month ago. The first time it happened I was driving slow (about 40 -45mph) a/c radio and hazards on. The car seemed to stall. Gauges went to zero, power steering gone, radio shut off but then suddenly everything restarted without my doing anything and we kept going. As a precaution we turned everything off and drove with the Windows down but didn't have any other problems... that day.

Intermittently the car would have these symptoms with the difference that if the car wasn't in motion or was moving slowly the car would stall completely and my radio and clock memory gets wiped out.

An additional, maybe unrelated, the backlight on my instrument panel has a very subtle flicker which had been there for at least a year maybe longer.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[CTScott]

That's a tough one to remotely diagnose, but I would start with checking the battery terminals to make sure they are tight and are not corroded.

From there I would check the battery voltage with the car both off and on to see if the battery or alternator is on its way out.

Beyond that it would be a case of checking wires for signs of damage.

The aftermarket stereo could be a potential cause, if the installation was done poorly.

[kustomrtr]

If you have a proximity immobilizer installed in your car, check the batteries on the remote. Mine has this and the symptoms are the same.

If you don't have that system, check the tightness of the battery terminal as CTScott suggested.

[MtBeaconGrl]

I did the installation myself... I'd line to think it's not the install. I'll run the battery diagnostics tomorrow (when it's not lightning out :eyebulge: ) although redoing the stereo would be easiest and cheapest solution.

I'm going to guess I don't have an immobilizer unless it comes stock.

Jessie

[CTScott]

I did the installation myself... I'd line to think it's not the install. I'll run the battery diagnostics tomorrow (when it's not lightning out :eyebulge: ) although redoing the stereo would be easiest and cheapest solution.

I'm going to guess I don't have an immobilizer unless it comes stock.

Jessie

The immobilizer only affects starting, and your 08 likely does not have the immobilizer.

For the stereo did you use an adapter harness where you had to crimp or solder wires?

[bronsin]

When something like this happens first thing check for an improperly installed/incompatible after market accessory.

Also, if you have had any work done on the car for any reason before the problem started, that is also a possibility.

[MtBeaconGrl]

I used a scoche wiring harness.

[KCALB SIRAY]

Are you running a 8 gauge or smaller wire to the battery terminal running to the distribution block for amps or is this just a harmess with a factory plug and play? Most kits from Scoche replace the terminals when running amps. As Scott stated, they could be corroded or just not on correctly.