1997 Camry stalled - and then started again

[camry_98_owner]

All,

Today I had a pretty weird episode. I will write the events as they occured since I am not able to figure why this happened.

1) I drove into the parking lot to drop my kid off to day care.
2) Parked as usual, and pulled the hand brake.
3) Got back to the car.
4) Gear thumb button could not be pressed, the brake pedal was insanely hard to press, the steering wheel was very very heavy. If I turned the key to first position the warning beep for seat belt was working fine. If I turned the key to second position, all the lights which usually come on did, but they were very dim. If I tried to crank my car nothing happened. No sound either.
5) Turned everything off.
6) Got out of the car and checked basic things under the hood. Did not see anything wrong.
7) Got back in and tried again.
8) First coulpe of times same experience - it would not crank.
9) Third attempt , when I turned the key to the 2nd position, the brake pedal and steering wheel suddenly became soft, and I could crank the car and it started.
10) Went maybe 10 yards and the car stalled again.
11) Next 5 mins I experienced same things that I wrote above from 4 to 9.
12) When the car started rolling again, I was fortunate that it did not stall again till I got back.

Can somebody tell me what could be a probable reason for this episode? A maintenance is overdue and I am going to drop it off at a dealership tomorrow. But if somebody can help me understand the problem maybe I can explain it better to the service center.

Thanks in advance.

[Luckynumber5]

Weird let me try to get things in order here.

When the key is not in the on position the wheel should lock, not to mention if the engine isn't running the power steering system cannot work. If your steering wheel turns easily with the engine off... Well thats just odd. Same with the break pedal, it will be easy to press once maybe twice with the engine off but once it floods it will be hard to press. Starting the engine will cause it to clear out again and the pedal should become soft.

The problem definitely sounds electrical, you probably need to clean the battery terminal at the least. Replacing the battery would be my next guess.

The stalling issue can be caused by so many things I'm just not going to address it, post back if the mechanics find anything and we will help you out if we can.

[Kep]

^+1 pretty much down the line. Biggest suspect being loose or dirty battery terminals. Check at the battery first but remember the other end if that doesn't help.

Kep

[Mike Gerber]

What Luckynumber5 and Kep have told you. This sounds like the battery is dying. It can die for several reasons. Can you get the car started with a jump? I would do the following in this order.

1. First, try to jump start the car. Does it start? If no, go to step 2. If yes, go to step 3.

2. Next, you could have loose or corroded connections at the battery post/terminals. The next thing I would try is to clean them up with a battery post and terminal cleaner, available at most auto parts stores. They are only a few dollars. Remember to remove the negative battery terminal first and to reinstall it last.

3. If the car still doesn't start, or if it started with a jump, you could have a bad battery. I would try charging it from an outside source, if it didn't start with a jump. In either case, once running you could drive the car to any auto parts stores in your area that offers free battery and charging system checks, with the battery and alternator still in the car. Call around to auto parts stores in your area to ask if they offer this free service. Your alternator could also be failing and not recharging the battery, as electricity is being drained from it. A battery and charging system check will determine if this is the case. This could be caused by a defective alternator, or something as simple as a loose alternator belt. Check the tension of the belt.

Good luck.

Mike

[camry_98_owner]

Thanks for all the responses.

I decided to spend big bucks on my Camry to get it in shape - a 135K miles service, which included all the belts change (timing, alternator, etc.) and it was running fine for a while.

TOday it has died with the same symptoms described above. During the service battery checked out fine. So I did not change the battery. The terminals are ok too. No negative feedback on the alternator from the service shop.

Any other hints for solving this issue?

Thanks in advance.

[Kep]

Have you checked both ends of the wire going to the starter and your ground straps? It could be corroded under the insulation as well as where it is exposed at the ends. I would expect an ohm meter reading to be near 0 resistance. I understand that they checked the battery but just for grins try to twist the cable ends by hand (not real hard but not gentle either). If they are loose, tighten them. Ask if they checked the alternator. Do you still have the same dimming lights when you turn the key? What happens when you try to jump it (leave the other car hooked up for about 10 minutes).

Kep