I don't know what's going on with my '96 2.5 TL. If the car warms up (it's winter time up here in Canada) while I'm driving, the ABS light comes on. Sometimes , at the same time, I hear a clicking that sounds like it's coming from behind the glovebox. When this happens, I know I'm screwed.
If I turn the ignition off at this time, I have NO electrical... NONE WHATSOEVER. I found this out the hard way, in the fast lane of the highway. The damn thing was clicking so I thought I'd turn the ignition off and back on while driving. The thing turned off, but when I tried to turn the key back, NO ELECTRICAL AT ALL! If I leave it for a few mins after that, it comes back, but the radio is locked out (anti-theft), which tells me that the computer is probably reset too... resulting in poor fuel economy for awhile.
Sometimes I hear an arcing kind of noise if I hit the power door unlock to exit the car after this happens..
If I don't do anything once it starts clicking, then the next time I turn the car off, I have no electrical. I basically have to wait around till the power returns.
Does anyone know if this is the ABS relay overheating? It the relay located behind the glovebox?
I have checked the fuses and tightened the battery cables. This seems to happen mostly in mild or wet weather.
Any ideas???

 

i'm only guessing here. first a few things: 1.) isn't is always winter in Canada :P j/k. 2.) turning your car off while driving, especially on the highway seems uber dangerous whether you have good power or not. 3.) it kind of sounds like there is a short somewhere. since you mentioned the wet weather, maybe there is a moisture build up along some electrical line that is shorting it. i'm not sure about the ABS stuff as of yet, but hopefully someone else can tell you about that. the bad thing, of course, is the finding a short is nearly impossible without the right tools (and i don't even know what all those would be). having a diagnostic on the car seems like the best approach IMO. i know spending money isn't good, but having a car that doesn't run....worse.

 

definitely concur with dubcnea on this on. the ABS light might be symptomatic not the actual cause of the problem. the clicking noise you hear, is it from inside the vehicle? beacuse if you hear clicking while turning or when the wheels first roll, could be a faulty bearing which will cause malfunction in your ABS computer.
that surely does not explain the arcing noise though. if you have the electrical diagram for your car you might want to lookup what all is connected on the same immediate power circuit as the ABS unit that might give you some clues as to where to look for a fault.
also (and not an accurate test) when this happens, if you feel the fuses, do you feel one warmer than the rest?

 

Honestly, first thing to try is to replace the battery terminal connectors. Get either new lead ones or some good gold ones. Sometimes a loose terminal can cause all kinds of funcky electrical problems, MUCH like what you are experiencing. Try changing both of them (pos and neg) and if that doesn't fix the problem, (which I suspect it will) then you have a solid starting point to start troubleshooting. If that's not it and it IS a short, could get very expensive and time consuming to fix.

 

i know that most of u guys hear the self test of the abs after u start the car and start moving a little.. there is like a little hum... and it is on the passenger side... the abs unit sits right next to the batch of wires where they enter in through the firewall... i used to have problems with my alarm in wet weather... if i were u i would take the car to a autozone/shop and have them test to see if there are any faulty codes running... it could be something as simple as an abs unit since u say that it happens when the car is warmed up and u hear clicking... did u check ur brake fluid??? could be overheating???

 

And the winner is.... CORNFLAKE!!!
Thanks... changed the battery cables and have not had a recurrence yet!

 

HAHA...The winner is YOU cause now your ryde is fixed! Just glad I could help.

 

pat on the back for u cornflake. I have my fingers crossed for that TYPE II head, ported and polished and ready to go.