I have been experiencing an electrical problem for the past six months with my '97 Grand prix GT. I have had it at the dealer for other work and had the electrical system "checked". It comes up as OK.
My problem is that in the process of starting the car, I lose all electrical service. No interior lighting, the clock resets to 1:00, and I can't even remove the key from the ignition switch. The battery is reasonably fresh and the terminals have a dielectric coating and are clean as a whistle...no corrosion. This only happens when starting the vehicle.
The process begins normally. Insert the key , turn it with all the normal sounds, but before it can start, everything dies.
I open the hood, take a 5/16 wrench and loosen the positive battery terminal. I never remove it completely. I get to a point that I tighten the terminal. I can hear relays pulling in. Try to start again and everything is perfectly normal. The quick effortless start reminds me that the battery is strong. It may be several days or a week before the problem occurs again.
One additional point, this scenario is more likely to occur when I have driven several miles or 5-10 minutes, turned to car off to dash into a store or pump gas, and then attempt to continue my errands.
In talking to two service managers, neither has comes across this problem and are only offering 'shotgun" suggestions to correct it. I'm hoping someone out there has something more than a guess.
Thanks in advance. Wib