I apologize if this issue has came up before, I have searched and cannot seem to find a thread that covers my exact problem.

So drove over to my parents house last night which is about a 20 minute drive, shut my 8 off and spent about an hour inside then came back out and car had NO electrical power. Now for details, when i first turned the key into the ACC position the radio turned on, still had interior lighting and was acting like normal, turned the key to the on position and still everything acted like normal, full power up of the dash and so forth, however as soon as i turned the key to crank the engine everything immediately dies and I mean everything, no interior lights, no brake lights, no horn, no headlights.

So got out popped the hood and checked my battery connections, pulled my negative connection then placed it back on and noticed that my interior lights just came on, so jump in the car give it a crank and it starts right up, drove home and then this morning it did the exact same thing.

I'm currently at work so I haven't had a chance to run any diagnostics yet. My car is a 2007 GT, I have an AEM intake and two weeks ago installed some glowshift gauges that I have not had any problems with however I am wondering if they could be related to the problem. It could possibly just be the battery, just looking for a place to start the diagnostics when i get home tonight, any ideas?

 

Yes, it's the battery. More specifically, the battery terminals. You disconnected the negative, but if you didn't clean it, resecure it properly, AND do the same to the positive terminal, then you haven't really solved it.

Basically, the connection is poor, but there is enough there to flow the current for the interior lights and dash. Not enough to flow to the starter. Everything inside turns off normally when you have the key to 'start', that is just a relay kicking in, but no power to the starter points at a fuse or battery problem. The fact that you could jump it fine eliminates a fuse from the possibilities.

 

Thank you for the quick reply, I didn't think it was the connections because I cleaned them up about a month ago really well, and both my terminals were connected securely, Also I didn't jump it, the car started under its own power. However your reply does make perfect sense if it is the connections.

 

Whoops, misread "jump in the car". But yes, same thing. A fuse can't fix itself, so that is still out. You resecured the battery terminal, so that made the change needed.

If the weather where you are is humid/raining/etc... then it's corroding very quickly right now. Get the cables off and thoroughly clean the terminals and the clamps. I've found with a few different cars in humid climates that the battery posts corrode away and actually lose width faster than the battery wears out. After 4 years in Rhode Island, my original battery posts were hourglass shaped, and i had to replace the battery just so I could get a secure connection again. (I don't do those patch replacement post things)

 

Well I sincerely hope you are right, I am located in Utah which is not humid at all, however I big storm has been rolling in since last night which has dropped the temp about 20 degrees.