So wife driving along car just shuts down, pulls over, won't start. Towed home. (FIY 6 month ago replaced bad starter, so its new, so is battery, great power, headlines bright, and voltage, 12.6 volts(. I open door, dash door-ajar light comes on, turn KEY to ON position, no bulb check lights come-on, START position nothing also. Power locks and other things that work "independent" of key in ignition work. So Key Turn does nothing, and also died while-driving. Never happened before even intermittently. So ELectrical Ignition / RUN circuit seem most likely? ECM RElay? Ignition switch? only two, I can think of. "Jiggling key while turning", in ON or START position does nothing. Ideas??

 

It sounds like a faulty ignition switch (not the ignition lock and not the key)
The switch is (sometimes) the white plastic piece connected to the ignition lock

 

2001 santa fe ignition switch Removal (anyone know how to make these pics smaller ?)


2001 santa fe ignition switch (removed) blue and white connector

2001 santa fe ignition switch is out and getting new one. I see that door ajar and green glow ring around key still come on,so they must not go through that switch.

Replacing this current ECU relay while I'm at it, its the only one I haven't replaced, I did all the rest with OEM Hyundai relays (only) which solved several problems.

 

Dang! replaced ignition switch,Still no power to cluster, no power to start circuit ( still glad I replaced, so can rule that out). Checked fuses in boxes near steering column, and engine bay.(any other fuse locations? Fusible links?) Now, if I want to trace upstream, anyone know where the power to the cluster / ignition switch comes from? (Only other clue was wife said car "bucked" while driving, just before total shut down)

 

From what you describe, it seems like a complete loss of power to ign syst. If you have your owner's manual, in there it should show all the fuses and their location and what they protect.

How did you check the fuses? Just looking at them is not reliable. You need to confirm continuity either with a test lite or meter.
Also don't be afraid to look underneath the power dist panel under the hood in the engine compartment. Sometimes unfriendly visitors get in there and cause problems.
I would suspect a poor connection supplying the ign system.

 

hanky's advice was on target ! Just found a bad fusible link, the big [ ALT 120 ], is fried, that must be what my wife heard pop while driving. On our early visual checks it did not stand out, but just took a look underneath the power dist panel under the hood again, went back on each link and fuse with test light and meter & found it (last of course). Now, trying to find replacements in town, and ordered some from online as back up. That big baby had to blow for a reason, anybody know any usual suspects that may cause that?

 

One comment about why the ALT fuse may have blown while driving, was a short circuit on the alternator main power supply would seem likely.
So, I got some new ALT 120 Fuses , but what would be a good order of operations to take next? Say, put the new fuse in, and reconnect the battery? Or do some sort of check on the alternator first, or, disconnect alternator beforehand, or other idea ???

 

What about this?
In order for any fuse to blow (fusible link too) there had/has to be a direct path to ground between the wire from the alt going to the battery positive terminal.

Something this big should be pretty easy to find by just looking for a wire rubbing against some object and providing that path.It doesn't have to be that particular wire , it could be something that wire feeds. In order to keep from replacing fuses every time you hook up everything (Circuit breaker this size could be expensive) What is sometimes done is to place a large drawing part like a headlamp in series with that supply and as long as the headlamp stays lit the path to ground (short) is still present. When you move whatever is allowing that and the lamp goes out, you found the problem area.

 

New 120 fuse, researed connectors on junction box, and it started and ran fine. Use alternator test function of battery charger, 3 times, and it passed all 3 times. been driving it everywhere for days, all good. Then today, while warming up at idle in drive way, DANG engine just turned off and no dash lights. Same as above. 120 amp fuse in engine fuse box is blown again. I now have 5 spares, and a new alternator just delivered. My plan is to have my mobile mechanic check all wires and if they are all good, replace alternator in case it is intermittently shorting out. Any suggestions welcome.

 

PROBLEM SOLVED. well Hanky,as you thought there "had/has to be a direct path to ground between the wire from the alt going to the battery positive terminal". There was anintermittent one. So, on subsequent test, car started and was warming up nicely in driveway!! Then as idle speed slowed, it just shut down!! I immediately checked the ALT 120 fuse and was again blown. I d/c the batt cable and did a did an amp draw test with my meter in the 20 amp mode between neg. cable and batt, and it literally went up in smoke! There was now a dead short at the moment. I Had my mechanic come by to a check wiring and alternator, he found the ALT cable had been put in backwards (by a shop over a year ago), allowing uninsulated connector to make contact with exhaust system when it vibrated (which it did more as it aged). He reversed cable to proper orientation, and it is completely fixed. ThankYe Hanky