From: snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net (F.H.)
Whole system goes dead. No lights, no radio. Dead. Then it comes back. Figured battery. This morning it went off (dead) when I was in the middle of parking at a restaurant. Open the hood, shook the battery and it came back to life. Took the battery back to Walmart (I know, I know) and they could find no problem. I know its unlikely, but /could/ it be something else? TIA for any input.
===> it's common for the battery acid to seep into those covered battery connectors over time and corrode them and they look good on a visual glance.
moving them around just breaks up the corrosion some under their protective cover and the cable makes contact and that is why you aren't having any troubles, but when you least expect it, the corrosion will build back up and you will left with a no power response.
most of the time, it's the positive lead. to be safe, it doesn't cost much for new battery cables and you're done with the problem.
look at the overall problem. you had a no power start up. shaking the battery brought everything back to life. took battery in - checked out fine - so what's left? answer - what is attached to the battery.....? battery cables....
another point to consider is that since this is a 1997 model, those cables have been exposed for 14 years of the chance for them to corrode..
hope this helps.
~ curtis
knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional "Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
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