I took out the ECU this past weekend and all of the connections going to the ECU were fine. No corrorsion or anything were seen on the plugs or connectors. All the plugs were in connected very well, so I don't think it is a connection problem at the ECU. Maybe somewhere else possibly though.
Here is some more information. The first time I saw the problem it was a very hot day here in Texas. Yesterday morning it was a little cooler and the problem only happened once on the way in to work. On the way home yesterday it was raining and the temps were much lower and I didn't see the problem at all. So now I am starting to think that this issue is temperature related.
Also, hearing the relay click back on when the guages come back is making me think that I am running in to a low voltage situation that causes the relay to open like when you shut the car off. The Alt that I have on there is the original one and I am currently running around about a 1700 Watt system off of it. I have been patiently waiting for the alt to die, but it just keeps going and going.
I am starting to think that the voltage regulator in the alt may be starting to go. This may be why the relay turns off the ECU. I thought about this before, but the stereo never shut down while I was listening to it. It could be possible that the shut down voltage for the ECU is higher than the stereo systems. I know that most stereos will run down to around 10V. Maybe the shut down voltage for the ECU is 11V or even 10.5V. That may explain why the deck never shut down.
My plans are to wait for another hot day here. Shouldn't have to wait too long for one here
. Then I'll run the car for a few minutes on the highway to get it nice and warm. Take it home and let it run in the hot sun in the driveway. While it's running I'll hook up my DMM to the output of the alt and look for some fluctuations in the output voltage. Hopefully I'll see some and then my problem will be solved with a new High Output alternator.
If you have any other ideas, please let me know. I love my car and want to get it running right again.
Thanks,
Mish