Car died while driving, steering locked up - audio related?

[kiteman]

I was driving out of a parking lot in a 2012 Camaro and the car died and lost all power and the steering wheel locked up and I almost crashed into another car. Tried to jump, nothing. The next day the car started up without any problems. I went to Autozone and tested the battery and alternator, both fine.

Because of my safety with the steering locking, I took the car to the dealership, they eventually came back and blamed the issue on my aftermarket amp. I have a very small amp (250w) that connects directly to the battery in the trunk. The power cables actually connect to a separate terminal on the battery than what the main car cable attachs to (on the battery). I checked all of these connections before I even went to the dealer and they were all taught and haven't been touched or caused any problems in 2 years since being installed. I tried to post a link of a picture of my battery but it would not let me, but I think many of you are familiar with batteries that have a separate terminal connection where auxiliary cables can be attached if needed.

The dealer claims because the amp is connected to the battery, the main cable from the car to the battery can't have a solid connection and causes the random power failures. I don't see how this is possible, but maybe there is something I am missing? Do you guys think there is any way for a battery cable from an amp to cause a car to die in the middle of operation?

Thanks for any help. At this point the dealer is trying to charge me for their "fix" and quite frankly I don't think anything is fixed at all and am still scared to drive the car. Maybe I am just missing something however.

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[Audio4ever 10+ year member]

Did they test ur alt too? How did they test ur amp

 

[kiteman]

Did they test ur alt too? How did they test ur amp

sorry i mean autozone tested battery and alternator (corrected original post since i said amp accidentally). I don't think dealer tested either.

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Pull the amp and aftermarket sound system and take it to a different dealer and see what they say maybe? I feel like a 2012 shouldn't have issues like that. My dad's car (2010 Lincoln MKZ) has a diamond 12" sub in a sealed box running off a 250W RMS amp and hasn't had a single problem with it for almost a year now. He had the amp and sub professionally installed and they used 0ga wire... I was so surprised when I saw that.

 

[NuckinFutz 10+ year member]

sorry i mean autozone tested battery and alternator (corrected original post since i said amp accidentally). I don't think dealer tested either.

My friends 10 impala did the same thing. Don't know what the problem was but they blamed it on his car stereo.

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

I've personally never heard of anything like that, but I guess I can't really say for sure.

 

[TreyE 10+ year member]

I had my car die on me multiple times from a bad battery in my battery bank. It would randomly drop the voltage way low and I would have to put it in neutral and start her right back up, keep on goin lol

 

[The Soundworks]

I guess its possible the battery has a bad cell, and if the stereo was playing at decent volume, the amp coulda drew the voltage down enough to kill the car. What concerns me more is the fact that the steering wheel locked assuming the key was in the ignition and in the run position. It would worry me that if my car for whatever reason loses power going down the road, my steering wheel is going to lock..

 

[chefzane]

There is no way the amp and steering locking are related

 

[The Soundworks]

There is no way the amp and steering locking are related

I was thinking the same thing. The steering lock shouldn't be voltage related at all, if it is.... well thats just scary from a safety standpoint.

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

I was thinking the same thing. The steering lock shouldn't be voltage related at all, if it is.... well thats just scary from a safety standpoint.

Leave it to GM... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[TreyE 10+ year member]

That's what I was thinking. It shouldn't lock unless you're car key is in off position. Scary is right.

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Did the steering wheel actually lock up or did OP think it did because he lost power steering?

 

[chefzane]

That's what I was thinking. It shouldn't lock unless you're car key is in off position. Scary is right.

Any car I have ever worked on in any fashion the steering lock is mechanical not electrical and if it is for some odd reason electrical it shouldn't in any way shape or form be connected to the main electric, hence why even if no battery is in a car you can unlock and turn the wheel

 

[The Soundworks]

Also sounds like a classic case of a dealership trying to avoid warranty work. (Assuming its still under warranty) Happens all the time. They'll blame anything thats not stock as part of the problem.