car wouldn't start (electrical problem)

[isuzutrooper94ftw]

Today I went to start my 2002 cavalier and I heard one faint click and then the car wouldn't start.

i turned it again and nothing happened at all. Then I go to check the dome light and it wouldn't turn on, the radio, the gauges, they were all turned off as if the battery had been disconnected.

I go to fiddle with the chords connected to the battery and then the dome turned back on, so I thought the cord came loose.

I go to start it and again the same problem happened, faint click, all power disappeared. I thought, wtf could it have come loose again? This makes no sense the car barely viabrates when it cranks.

this time I moved the wires on the battery and still no power, so I disconnected the red cable, blew on it, bang on it with pliers in case it was a bad connection and screwed it back in - still no power, then I unscrewed it a little until I heard sparks - and presto power came back on in the car

I go to start it and it revved a few times but stalled. But the power remained on - I go to turn it on the second time and it started, hit 200 rpm, then stalled again

finally on the third time it started flawlessly

now there seems to be no problem but I need to know if this could lead to a serious issue in the future

for reference it's a 02 with 48,000 miles - and never had problems of the sort before.

what could have happened with the power?
And why did it stall twice it never ever stalls before starting?
Did I flood the engine somehow?
Was something out of alignment?

I don't know anything about cars

Thanks!
Jessica

[ronaldk]

I think you did well for someone who says they dont know cars. The thing is you should remove and clean with wire brush both B+ and ground battery terminals. Also on red B+ side sometimes under the plastic it corrodes. You can cut that open with care to clean better. Then when you reconnect you would be running on just alt, that could cause stall out.Good luck and good job

[J-Ri]

Use baking soda mixed in water when you scrub the terminals off. It breaks up the corrosion and neutralizes the acid that caused the corrosion. You can remove the bolt from the plastic and the plastic slides right off. Really easy with channel lock pliers, otherwise just cut them off.
I'm not sure about your car, but after I tuned (reprogrammed) my PCM it takes 3-4 minutes of idling/running rough/stalling occasionally when I disconnect the battery before the PCM relearns how to idle. Connecting and disconnecting power so many times may have caused it to "forget" how to idle. Many newer cars have to relearn the idle after loosing power to the PCM, but I've never noticed that on a J-body car except for mine. Probably nothing to worry about, as long as it doesn't happen again.