Truck lost power on the freeway

Was headed out of town on a trip this weekend on the freeway and gunned it, pedal to the metal on a certain section of road, my 2006 second gen lost power steering and throttle, the check engine light came on, as well as the oil maintenance light. We thankfully coasted to a shoulder on the freeway.

I turned the truck off, and back on again and regained power and all the warning lights turned off as if nothing had happened. Anyone have any idea what this could be? Or where to start looking?

 

Bad battery terminal or ground.

Losing power steering would really only be if the engine died or the accessory belt snapped, if the belt is good you lost power somehow, I'd check/clean/adjust your terminals.

 

Sounds like it stalled, as to why it stalled

Have you checked for codes?

I have heard of the fuel pump relays going bad and failing to switch to high speed at times but that's just a guess.

 

I've got a code reader and its not showing anything.

 

Here's my terminals

 

Definitely looks like they could use a good cleaning, the negative looks seated high, do the wiggle at all or are they tight?

What's the accessory you've added off the +Pos?

 

i think that’s the factory fuse box wire.

 

I thought that was crimped in with the to alternator/starter wires?

Then again it's been a good minute since I was stock.

 

maybe not then? I rewired mine years ago so I don’t remember either haha.

 

My guess based on the photo: battery cable broke off the crimped connection to that weird OEM metal plate piece, someone put an eyelet connector and connected to the top nut. If it was completely stock the cable would be off the back of the metal bracket (see the red line in photo below). I don't have a good photo but mine is stock and that's how mine is.

Or it's some kind of aftermarket accessory but by the looks of it I wouldn't think so. If you were adding aftermarket stuff the cable would probably look different than stock. This one looks stock to me.

Edit: Sorry I forgot to include my guess as to what is going on here. I would also check the battery connections. Adding to that check the ground connection to the driver fender off the negative terminal, they can come loose. If it were mine I'd test the battery and alternator as well.

 

Thank you all for the suggestions, im a new tacoma owner and not very mechanical YET. Have a lot to learn.

 

If you think that needs cleaning, you'd have a heart attack after seeing mine.

 

So I cleaned my terminals this morning, there was some corrosion that i scrubbed off. I then took the truck to auto zone to use their scanner, and it didn't come up with any codes.

The guy said to try to replicate what happened yesterday when it stalled and if it happens again to take it to a shop, so I took the truck down some country roads and gunned the hell out of it, and it didn't stall at all.

So im confused, and wondering if it was something as simple as cleaning my terminals. Seems to easy but I cant get the truck to stall anymore.

 

It sure happens. Back in the day when I had a summer job driving a truck the one I had flamed out just like this on a bridge 50 miles from the plant. The main mechanic drove out and worked on it for an hour and was stumped. Towed to a gas station or somesuch and the guy came out took a quick glance at it and said "it's your battery terminals". Wiggled them and it fired right up. Then cleaned them good and tightened them down, and that was it.

Then more recently on my Corvette when I replaced the battery I took apart this terminal circuit board mounted atop it to get it out. I disconnected a couple of main feed power wires I didn't need to disconnect. Put them back when I was done and the nuts had an interference fit, like a lock nut, and I guess I didn't get one totally tightened. A year later the Vette would flame out like this once every week or 2... then start back up. I was puzzled and stumped for awhile before I got around to check the basics and found the problem. Not dirty, just a half thread loose. D'ooohhh.

 

Wow, crazy!

 

Battery terminals is a pet peeve of mine. Believe me, I’ve seen some wonky shi*. One someone bent a penny and stuck it between the terminal and post. I recommend a new terminal, declined so I stuck the penny back in and wished them luck.

A cheap battery brush, some spray on protector or felt pads will save you some grief.

I could be wrong but, cleaning the terminals and posts, disconnecting the battery can clear any saved obd codes.

 

Yes it can, it usually takes a few minutes but not always.

Clean terminals are also a big thing for me and I've seen plenty of snow cones and freaky shit, my favorite was a bare fraying wire wrapped around a terminal and then itself.

I'm running the SDHQ billet terminals and love them, not the greatest picture but I was testing my voltage booster for the proper AGM charging and you can kinda see them here:

 

Don't forget the ones that pour cola all over their battery and don't rinse it off leaving a sticky mess.

Baking soda mixed with water is much better at neutralizing battery acid and removing all the crud and doesn't leave a mess behind.

 

Hey, at least a penny is better than aluminum foil.

 

Should have used diet coke. Less sticky. ;-)