On the M11 today on way down to London, cruise control set to 70, Jeremy Vine on BBC radio 2 in the background and satnav/in car gadge busy working away when suddenly *BEEP BEEP BEEP* "ENGINE FAILURE" comes up on the dash and everything dies. Radio, power steering, gadge, all engine power, LPG system and cruise control die.

About a second or so later (by the time I've gone what the ****) everything returns to normal, engine power is rebooted, in car gadge powers back up, radio back on and cruise control is resettable.

Two points to note, it was almost like I'd turned the key to off and then back on, but A) the MPG screen was still on the dash after this event (normally would go back to date if you'd stalled the car and restarted it for example), B) Cruise control wasn't resumable and had to be reset so that part of the system had had a total power loss.

Thought all was ok and then the same happened 30-40min later but this time on a slight bend and the loss of power steering really shook me up (I've always laughed at those who loose power steering when driving and say it's dangerous, I can see why now! :-o)

So wiggled key in ignition incase it wasn't turned properly, and that wasn't causing the issue. Got to destination and checked battery and -ve terminal was loose. So walloped that back down, but can't see that being the cause as the alternator should have been more than ample to keep me going should the battery have been disconnected should it not?

Any ideas?

Jon.

the alternator recharges the battery mate
if your -ve terminal comes loose all power is lost
take it easy for a few days maybe it was just the terminal
losing PS is a nightmare mate
completely takes you by surprise especially on a corner as you have to exert more force to turn the wheel
you were probably have a leisurly cruise with 1 hand on the wheel and suddenly had to grab the wheel with both hands

loosing power on the bends is bad, i've had that with my mums car, when it went dead on the roundabout and then back to life exactly same way and i'm pretty sure it was a loose battery contact...