so, yesterday, as i am leaving the local car wash (32 degrees), just after the air from the blowers moves off the hood, up to the windshield/roof/etc., there's the "trouble bong" noise, and the Battery light shows up on the dash. went away after 30 sec. or so, i just figured, electricy+high pressure water... you know... forward to this afternoon (maybe 45 deg) go to pick up lunch, get back to work, shut off engine, put key to run and listen to radio while eating, the usual, all of the sudden, radio cuts out, comes back, i notice, OH, i left the lights on, turn 'em off, check the voltage reading on the scangauge (9V), OH! turn everything off, TRY to start engine to charge a little, won't turn over, kind of a "womp-womp-womp" sounded like a half turn each time, try it again, same problem. "well crap" head back into work. couple hours later, come back out, try the engine 1 more time, get kind of a low growly turn over and fire, with the word fuse flashing up on the odometer during the crank, but it started up, and i let it idle(mainly to try and charge) the rest of the time i was on break. couple hrs later, when i go to go home, starts like normal, drives home just fine.

running fine untill the lunch time stuffs, no codes came up at all.

 

Maybe some water goofed with the alternator a bit? I'd just check everything over visually and make sure everything is clean and tightened down good. If the car keeps working fine with no lights or starting/charging problems, I'd chalk it up to a fluke.

 

I'm currently operating under the random water gremlin theorem myself.
it was cold enough out that day/night following the wash for something to refreeze, then warm enough to melt when the weirdness happened.

Fingers Crossed.!!

 

well it did it again today, (raining) so yeah gotta be water related,
and i had the sound wrong, it's more like a rapid "clickety-clickety-click" with the scangauge (which draws it's power from the OBDII system) flashing on/off with each click. Then couple hours later , turned the key, and it begrudgingly fired up.

only other common denominator was that i was rolling the passenger side power window up each time the power cut out.

 

Click click click...like the battery is going bad?

 

someone over @ BITOG suggested the same thing....
the battery is a Duralast from late '09-early '10, installed by prev. owner
when i popped the hood yesterday to check connections, i did notice a fair amount of corrosion on both terminals. now just need to clean 'em up.

 

You can get a battery load tested for free too. Might as well to just be safe. It may be a newer battery, but they can go. The one that came in my car was newer as well, and it made it less than a year. It happens; that's why they have a warranty.

 

UPDATE: so a couple days after my last post, i spent the better part of an hour cleaning a TON of corrosion from the posts & cable terminals (esp lovely coppery green on the Positive). then applied a generous application of anti-corrosion spray, and the "anti-corrosion" felt washers, then reattached everything, then another coat of the spray. every thing okey-day for 20 or so days.

so... new symptom time!

tonight, same carwash, no underspray this time, just the cheapo "spray off the bird doo" wash, when it started the wash cycle, i turned car off (not liking to waste gas idling) when the signal goes off to exit, hit the key, NOTHING absolutely NOTHING.
no power whatsoever.
As if the battery was disconnected.
so i turn the key forward enough to unlock the shifter, put her in neutral, and try to push it out of the bay.
can't get over the stop hump. and after a few roll back and try to get over, all of the sudden, the cabin lights turn on, the odometer displays, radio comes on,etc. (3 minutes maybe??)
i climb in, throw it back in park, hit the key, fires right up....

any thoughts????

 

Water has to be getting somewhere...

 

so this morning(well, early afternoon) i go to leave for work, bright sunshiny day, not a cloud in the sky, remote unlock the car, get in, turn the key, no response. none.
FUDGE!
pop the hood, somehow, the positive terminal had worked it's way loose. as i just pushed it back down, i hear the "hey dummy, you left your keys in the ignition w/ the door open" chime, pushed it all the way down, ran around and stared her up no prob. then booked it to work.
1st break, go out, get my small socket set out of the trunk, and made sure everything was down all the way, then cranked the ever-loving snot out of that nut. everything seems okeeday so far. we shall see...

should mention that a couple nights before current incident i had jump started one of the managers @ work (left his lights on), and he must have yanked the cable off my battery more forcefully than i thought....