I was wondering if anyone has had this problem or may be able to shed some light on what happened...

We had just driven about 40min going approx 60mph. I left the radio on in the car without the engine running for no more than 1hour. It is possible that the navigation system was also attempting to eject a CD constantly for the entire time as well (it's broken). When we got back into the car it wouldn't start, wouldn't crank, and we had to get it jumped (which worked). I wouldn't think that this energy usage would have run down the battery, especially since it should have been charged. There was some corrosion around the nodes.

After the jump the ABS light and the Brake! lights came on and my husband says that the brakes didn't work normally, though they did work. We were in the middle of nowhere so had to drive despite this, and after about 15min the brakes suddenly started working again, the alert lights went off, and we haven't had a problem since.

Any ideas what happened? I am going camping soon and planning on using the vehicle to recharge a 12v portable electricity source (with engine running). BTW, does anyone know if it is safe to let the car sit and run for about 2hr without driving it to charge this battery?

 

Sorry can't offer much advise other than my 12V died the other day too, I decided to replace vs recharge. But when I first steped on the brakes after the install I got a beep, ABS light for a second. Shifted to P, stepped on brakes again, no lights. So I just went on my way. It felt a little weird too as I stopped for a while; but couldn't explain what was different. Maybe less regen, more actual braking was occouring? A system reset?

 

Not sure what the problem with the alaskansunbeam was but when power is disconnected the brake pedal has to be calibrated. The manual says turn the key ON and press the brake pedal to the floor and let OFF. The PCM will adjust the pedal range and reset for ABS, regen, and brakes. This should be all that's needed to start the vehicle and drive normal again.

GaryG

 

I agree. The brake issue is a result of the 12v issue. Normal behavior.

The best thing to do is, keep the car in "run" mode, but leave climate control off and as many other accessories off as well.

The car will start and stop as it sees fit.
It will run for 2-3 mintes, then keep the engine off for about 10 minutes.
Repeat all day. Your batteries (both) will stay charged, and you will use a minimum amout of gas. I did this for 6 hours once, and used half a gallon of gas.

 

Corrosion on battery terminals can fool the alternator into thinking the battery has a full charge so it doesn't charge the battery. It's a good idea to clean your battery terminals with a post cleaner brush (or sand paper, whatever you have on hand). I like to do this in the fall, along with other things to prepare for winter (like new wipers).