So this has got me thoroughly stumped. I was driving and the cluster died and lights dimmed, followed by the radio turning off. I kept driving hoping to find somewhere to pull off. Could feel a loss of power as I was driving and once I pulled up to a stop sign it struggled to get more than 5mph before it backfired a few times and died. Jumped the car and drove it 15 miles back home with no issues. Got the battery checked and it was low so they charged it and told me it was in good health. Threw it back in and hoped it was just a fluke. Drove for 2 weeks without issues until today. Same thing as the first time but on the 3rd backfire the whole cluster came back on and the radio turned on. Drove towards home for 15 mins and then died again about 3 mins from my house. Jumped it again and got it home. My first thought was alternator but I replaced it when I got the car 2-3 years ago so I highly doubt it but the fact that a backfire turned everything back on suggests a poor connection to alternator that shoved it just enough to power the battery to get me almost home. Am I completely over looking something?

 

My first thoughts was a poor battery connection or faulty alternator. Would need to check the voltage when the car starts to fail. See if the alternator is charging the battery with no load and when lights are all turned on (AC too).

 

Battery tested at 12.6 with car off and 14.3 with car running and fully loaded

 

Those numbers are good for a smart charging system. Your symptoms sound exactly the same as mine before my alternator died. Now, I am stumped

 

I ran the car in the garage today and forced it to start failing. Tested the battery voltage as it was dying and it was slowly declining from 12 volts and dipped as low a 9v before I turned it off. I have a feeling it’s a slow dying intermittent alternator. That’s my best guess rn so I’m gonna replace it and see if the issue persists. If it does I’ll swap back to the original alternator and proceed from there i guess

 

You have resistance in the circuit. You should clean all the grounds good to start.