Shuts off while driving?

Car ran fine then just shut off, used a jump box and it started back up. When trying to crank it before jumping it off there was a loud clicking noise coming from somewhere around the motor. Car cranked fine this morning, drove about 3-5 miles and it shut off again. Used jumper cables and it cranked back, made it about 1-3 miles and car shut off again. There was a "jerk" right before I lost power. Tried to jump the car off and it will not crank back. It tries and almost does but will not.

Can I ask if when the engine was running did you have a battery warning light on? The reason I ask is it sounds like the battery is dead either because it needs to be replaced or the alternator is not charging. If the battery is more than 4 years old, I would get it checked at the auto parts store.

Once the battery is charged or replaced let's go over this guide to see if the alternator is charging:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

Please go over this guide and get back to us.

No battery light, messed with some of the wires while trying to figure out what was wrong, and it tried to crank on its on! Traced it back to a ground wire that screws into the side of the motor. Thank you for responding and offering your help.

No problem, has the wiring been tampered with? The engine should never crank on its own unless you have something wrong with the wiring, can you please upload an images of the engine wiring?

We bought the car used, had problems with it overheating. They finally put a new motor in, probably not done right when this was done. I can see if I can get any good pics, my husband has already taped everything back up.

We should run the codes as well; this guide will show you how:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

Also, are the problems still the same since you repaired the ground wire at the engine block? Please go over this guide and get back to us.

It ran for a bit but has gone dead again this morning. Think it has been narrowed down to the junction box area. He is off work the next few days and there is a heat index of 111 today, so will look into it in the next couple days. Thanks for all the advice and suggestions!!

Wow thats hot, I have seen the junction box go bad and cause this problem, but it would be good to run a scan as well and check the alternator output. Here is how to replace it which is easy because it self learns. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.

Currently waiting on an Ignition Coil Pack Connector to come in, I was incorrect in it isn't the junction box. Will update if this fixes the problem. Car cranks and runs okay, but still shutting off. If you "wiggle" the wires where the clip is it cranks right back up.

I would replace the coil pack as well, it sound have an internal connection problem. I have heard of the coil packs having issues as well. Check out the images (below). Let us know what you find.