I've been having a number of strange electrical problems over the past several months. I'm not sure if they are related to one another or if it is just a series of things going wrong so I'm hoping that if I just list what's been happening, someone may recognize a pattern and have a suggestion as to what repairs could be done and if it's cost effective to do so vs. start looking for another vehicle, or just ignore it.
So here is what I've noticed so far in chronological order. These issues are intermittent and I have not noticed a pattern so far. Most of the time none of them are present but they come out of nowhere and have been increasing in severity:
- Front passenger window sometimes "jitters" when being raised lowered from the driver door controls.
- Engine failed to start when turning key. No "click" or lights or any pre-start diagnostic stuff. Noticed I had left windshield wipers on when I turned the engine off so I moved the wiper switch to 'off' position and turned key again; engine started normally. This has happened a couple times, not always solved by turning the wipers off if left on, however.
- On several occasions, in the middle of summer on dry roads at extremely slow speeds (~5-10 mph) when slowly stopping at intersection the ABS activates and I can feel the "crunching" in the brake pedal.
- On one occasion I started the truck and began pulling out of my driveway into the street and realized that my power brakes never turned on and I had to push the brake pedal very hard to slow and stop. Turned engine off and on again, power brakes came on fine.
- Started truck after getting gas. Got warning to shut off engine immediately due to low oil pressure (oil levels checked and were good and recent oil change), dash also displayed warnings to service 4x4. Turned engine off and on a few times and the issues cleared up and everything went back to normal.
Hopefully someone will recognize a pattern, or these may all be unrelated problems. This probably isn't something I can fix on my own, so what am I looking at as far as repairs? I'm concerned nobody will be able to do anything because these issues happen randomly and sometimes weeks or months pass before they happen again. Are electrical problems expensive to repair? What are the chances I'll be driving down the interstate and some strange electrical problem causes my brakes to fail or spontaneously activate? Is this possible? Should I seek repairs or would it be better to just start looking for a new vehicle?
