98 Intrigue Intermittent Starting Problems

Approx. every 2 to 3 weeks 98 Intrigue fails to start. Interior lights are on when door is opened. As soon as key is turned in ignition electrical system shuts down. Interior lights, radio, power locks, dash clock, etc. all go dead. Battery is only 6 weeks old. Work around for problem is to disconnect and reconnect battery cables. Car then runs fine for a while again. Any thoughts on what is causing this behavior are appreciated. Thanks

the ignition switch may be getting bad. You could always just get a battery switch for 5-10$ that would help you with the situation also (cheapest solution). Look at the ignition switch problem postings in this and other forums. Alot of Intrigue owners are having ignition switch problems.

If you just continually turn the switch on (start)and then all the way off will it start? See what it does if you continually hit start and back-off, repeat about 3 times a second for about 10 total times.

When you turn the key to start you should hear a solenoid (electric switch) click. The reason for the solenoid is the large current involved when starting a car motor. If you hear a the solenoid clicking everytime you engage start there is something wrong with the starter itself. If you don't get a click each time there is something wrong with the ignition switch or a connection. I would say your ignition switch is shorting out somehow.

Make sure the car is in park-try moving the shifter some while starting.

Most likely it's a ignition switch short.

I was at Checker Auto parts today to buy some fuel injector cleaner and they (and I'm sure other auto parts stores) will loan you a code reader for free to see what error codes are coming up.

Thanks for your response ... it would seem that the problem extends beyond the ignition. The entire electrical system is dead when the problem occurs. Dash lights, interior lights, clock, radio, head lights, turn signals, remote door locks, rear trunk release (anything electrical) are all inoperative.

Next time problem occurs I will make a point of getting to an auto parts store in the area to dump the codes.

It has been suggested to me from another source that perhaps there is corrosion on the battery cables causing the power distribution center to disable. I checked the cables and there was significant corrosion on the positive cable that I cleaned. Will see if that helps.

Thanks again.

Looks to me like a broken battery cable or a bad or corroded connection between the battery and the car. When you open the door and the lights go on you know you are getting power from the battery. When you try and start it you pull a lot of energy out of the battery and your connection goes dead. It's probably a marginal connection and all of the current flow causes arcing and a high resistance connection. Use a wire brush, sandpaper, dremmel, etc to clean them thoroughly.

I had the same issue, once I had the ignition switch replaced all was fine.
(2000 Intrigue)