No electrical power...

[DDakRT]

Well I thought my problem was a corroaded battery cable, I was getting 6 volts on the cable, after cleaning it went back to 12.5ish. I did not get a new cable, only trim the end of the cable off and cleaned.

But after a short test drive and shutting the car off, the problem came back. The car was bearly getting and electrical power, no more than a few volts on my volt meter when I turn the key into the "accessary" and "on" position. No interior lights, no radio, not enough power to do anything but move my gauges's needles.
My idiot lights don't even turn on when the key is in the "on" position.

The problem will go away after a short while or after something gets jiggled, as I got power again when I was shutting my hood, it could be coincidence, I'm not sure.

Also the problem doesn't seem to come up while the car is running (as in it won't stall and not have electrical power) , only after shutting the car off does this problem come up.

Something is loose, but where. Do you guys have any ideas?

 

[Ishodu]

It may sound as you need new battery cables or connections, If the connections at the starter and clean and tight.

 

[smak]

thats true since the problem seems to have reared its head after the oil change, the connections could have gotten worse i guess from oil drainage.

is this issue very similar to your previous probs (i know the abs light that appeared was a first, but other than that) or did the other problems seem different?

when i bring the terminal cleaner we can have a go at the B+ starter connection. i'll bring some electrib parts cleaner also. and my multimeter

does anyone know if the small sensor plug on the alternator being loose could cause the power to be cut like that? that was giving a false battery light reading just before he took his the car out and it happened.

 

[Redskull]

those clamp-on battery ends are junk. Get the real thing, and take a wire brush to the ground connections on the frame. Plus it never hurts to run the battery through the testing machine.

 

[Troglodyte]

For me the problem was the positive cable being loose. I replaced the cable to the alternator, bought new terminals and cleaned the batt terminals and everything's been good since.