The car is entirely factory standard. The only thing I added (because it was an RS w/o stereo) was a basic AM/FM/tape player back in '92 when it was brand new. The car makes no sound prior to or after the "short" other than the shutting down of things and the beeping alarm

I dont know if it is related or not (would think not because it sounds mechanical) but the other abnormal sound that just surfaced is that when I am turning right hard (i.e., more than 30 degrees shift in direction) I hear a clacking sound coming from the left side of the car, probably close to the wheel. It sounds as if something was loose and it clicks with every revolution of the wheel/tire

The short happens with no correlation to the clicks. In other words the short has happened before, after and without the clicks.