alright, heres whats goin on. when i turn my key, nothing happens. no radio, interior lights, nothin, but sometimes my headlights and brake lights will work but not all the time. other than that the car is dead. anyone have any ideas? cuz im really lost on this one.
Since some of the tests will bypass the safety interlocks, make sure that the car is in neutral and the parking brake is set. Becoming a pancake isn’t part of the repair process…
Check battery, terminal connections, ground, starter relay switch (also known as solenoid) and starter in that order.
1.) Will the car start if it is jumped? Then clean battery terminals and check battery.
2.) Check the battery to engine block ground, and the ground behind the engine to the firewall.
3.) Jump the big terminals on the starter relay next to the battery with a screwdriver - watch out for the sparks! If the engine cranks, the starter and power wiring is good. The starter relay is also known as a starter solenoid.
4.) Then pull the small push on connector (red wire) off the starter relay (Looks like it is stuck on a screw). Then jump between the screw and the terminal that is connected to the battery. If it starts, the relay is good and your problem is in the rest of the circuit.
6.) The starter may be hung, loosen up the bolts that hold it on, and give it a good whack with a big hammer. Tighten up the bolts and try again.
7.) If that doesn't work, use a jumper cable from the positive lead on the battery direct to the starter post where the big wire from the relay connects. If it cranks then, it is the power wire from the relay gone bad. This will be hard to do, since there isn't much room to do it.
8.) Pull the starter and take it to Autozone or Pep Boys and have them test it. Starter fails test, then replace it. If you got this far, the starter is probably bad.
In you case look for bad grounds, low battery and dirty connections.
Then hit all the primary power connections IMHO (Like JR said). If things which receive constant power are toast too, it should be related to a big power wire (battery, battery cables, solenoid connections, etc - as said above).
ok guys, im startin to get really frustrated with this, i replaced the starter sulanoid, and it still isnt workin. i know there are other things i have to check but if someone could walk me through it i would appreciate it. thanks guys
If it had some slow starts over a few days, I would suspect the battery. You could take it out and take it to Autozone or Advance for a free test. Try swapping in a known good battery. Sometimes even a jump will fail if the battery has lost an internal connection, so I would try a different good battery. If that fixes it, get a new battery. If not, start checking the wiring. Typically, clean both ends of the positive and especially the negative/ground connections. I have had bat cables pull loose inside the molded lead connector and fail. So wiggle all the battery cables after you clean the connections.
Since you don't have lights or power, it should be one of the those two things.