My wife'* '97 will occasionally just die in traffic. All the electrical goes completely dead, but will start up within seconds.

I checked the obvious battery cables. I removed the boots, cleaned them using a wire brush, and re-installed them. I then used a battery terminal spray to keep them from corroding again.

I also checked the fuel pressure (before my wife told me that all electrical was going dead). It has 50 psi.

Any ideas? I'm going to check the ground end of the battery cables yet. But when it runs, it runs great. It dies maybe once a week or so.

Thanks for any help!

you are on the right track. check the ground cable. also check the grounding blocks on the sides of the front footwells. you can then check the icm ground plane.

as a side note, my 97 did this till the fuel pump died altogether. hasn't done it since. (it could be the fuel pump)

i went thru this phase with my 95, it ended up being the computer

The 97'* are a heartier PCM. While it'* still possible, we have seen many other items that you will want to check first before you head straight to the PCM.

When mine was doing that, it was the positive battery cable, corroded throughout its length. Cleaning the connectors obviously has no beneficial effect when the length of the cable is corroded inside its rubber/plastic insulation. See if you can cut a slit down the end of the insulation a couple inches and see if the cable is corroded. If it is, -replace the cable with a new one.