goes over bumps engine dies

[profbooty]

so i was on the highway today and everytime i went over a bump the car lost power while the check engine light (the red one, not the check light) and ABS light came on simultanesouly. if the bump was minor the engine would start right back up. if it was major i couldn't just drop the clutch for a rolling start but had to turn the key to turn over the starter motor. I was able to do this two to three times before i couldnt get it to start again due to bumper to bumper traffic.

at this point the car won't start, but the starter turns over. oil and engine temps were fine, voltmeter showed a full charge (i have VDO gauges). Any guesses what it might be.

[Hellabad]

You have too many keys on your keyring or the battery is loose.

[3bvert]

crank sensor ?
bad ground to igntion ?
loose connection to the ignition ?

[lateracer]

I had the same problem with a different car (truck actually) a few years ago. My problem was that I had a coil wire running near the exhaust manifold. A little bump while the engine was running (energized wire) and it would ground out against the manifold. Big bump and it kind of stuck there - melted to manifold - for a while. Problem got worse and worse until it wouldn't start anymore.

Luckily, it wasn't a difficult diagnosis. The coil wasn't getting power, worked backward from there, melted wire on manifold seemed like a non factory option.

Point is, sounds like an electrical short. Who knows where though. Start by checking power to the easy stuff (coil, ignition power, DME, fuel pump relays). Good luck.

[accident]

melted wire on manifold seemed like a non factory option.

[profbooty]

Turned out that the main relay was just "resting" in its socket. pushed it in and car started right up.