Car started fine and had been running fine except for a couple of occassions where it did the same thing but started up right away. I started to reverse and it just cut out, turned key on again but nothing lit up on the dash. Nothing electrical in the car works. Checked fuses and battery ground all looked OK, Any suggestions?
Thanks
Always start such a search with the simple possibilities.
If the car has an alarm system that may be a suspect.
The battery may LOOK OK but if > 4 years old it is highly suspect. Tug on its cables to ensure that they're really tight.
Turn on the headlights. If they're bright (battery OK) then I'd suspect the ignition switch.
After that I'd check the battery's ground connection to the chassis and the chassis connection to the engine.
I think there is a possibillity that the fuel pump relay is bad too. Fuel pump are also another possibility.
I would think that if the battery were lame, it would not start then seconds later totally die to the point of supplying no electricity. Also, after startup, it is possible to take the battery out(Though not suggested since it acts as a damper in the electrical system.) and the car will still run on the alternator. I'd suspect a loose wire somewhere, or a bad ignition switch like T.G. said. The fuel pump relay may explain the random dying, but not the totally dead electrical system.
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