Howdy all,

A strange thing last night on a relatively new-to-me '91 244 w/ m47. Start the car, car starts fine, but electrics are all wonked out. No radio or headlights (which both came on when the key was in the accessory position), voltmeter and tach reading zero. Didn't think to try any other accessories like power windows or wipers, but I don't think they would've worked either. The SRS light was on, which I think only means that the airbag system isn't getting proper voltage. It's my first 240 with an airbag, so please correct me if I'm wrong there. No other dash lights were lit up--no soft glow from the amp light or anything like that. Turned the car off, let it sit for a few seconds, restarted, and all was back to normal. It was dark and rainy and I was a little late, so there was no great urge to run and get the multi-meter.

Anyone seen this before? Looking back on it, my guess would be an ignition switch that's getting a little flaky, but at the time it didn't occur to me to try jiggling the key. I will if it happens again. Does that sound right? Any area anyone would recommend for investigation with the multi-meter? Is there any major or minor grounding point that would cause this? It was strange to hear the car running perfectly normal with the tach at zero. It's the wife-mobile, so I'd like to keep it as fluke-free as possible... Thanks for any input!

Jon McKeon
'85 & '91 244's, '87 & '88 245's, '94 944