Sunday night we went out to meet with friends. Two hours later we went back to the car and it was dead. The lights on the dash blinked for a moment, but everything was out. We got a jump start from security and drove home without incident, but after we got home the car was dead again. I couldn't do much at night any, but the terminals were tight on the battery.

The next evening my father in law took the battery to put on the charger and I took the battery cables off to clean them. Later my father in law calls me and lets me know that the battery was still fully charged. Go figure.

This evening I cleaned the cables and the contact points in the car and reinstalled everything. Car started. Yay for now.

I was thinking of testing the charging system, but then again battery was full. What would be the logical step? Should I start checking for ground issue, relays, etc? Any thoughts?

I have been having electrical problems with this car as well, passenger headlight(lows) doesn't work but bulb is intact and interior dome light not working.

 

Think there might be a few issues.
1) Have the battery tested for holding a change and under load.
1a-IF and when this happens again-is there voltage going to the small wire on the starter. "Could be the starter" going bad.
2) Fuse for the headlight is ?

Dome light could be many things.

 

I'll see about having the battery tested, should be under warranty.

I replaced the starter before the battery due to mechanical failure, mounting flange snapped off. The question would be, would the starter prevent any and all electrical components from working? When we tried starting the car, it was as if there was no battery in it.

Fuses for the headlight are good. There was some problem with the connection, so I'll check the wiring and socket.

 

Bad connections on that starter can cause you to have battery drain. Take it for a battery test under load where you bought it..

WheelBrokerAng

 

I would agree, however the battery wasn't drained (as per my father in law) and the car was dead again after a 30 - 40 min drive. I just turned the car off when I parked and absolutely nothing came on with the key in the on position.

Checking battery is still on my list.

 

Really sounds like loose connections on the battery, bad battery or blown main fuses (but that usually doesn't happen by just driving the car.

Do you have a volt meter to take some readings?

 

Check the cables. I've seen a couple things that many people don't look for.

- Bad (corroded or loose) connections between the cable end-lugs where they're crimped onto the cable itself.

- Corroded & mostly broken wire strands in the middle of the cable - covered up by nice clean insulation.

 

A failed/intermittent ignition switch assy will cause same symptoms. T

ry wiggling switch around and see if starting is enabled. If yes, a new switch is indicated. Easy DIY.

Check DIY forums and youtube for videos of this repair.

good luck