Car Won't Start - Losing Power

[Sethkj]

Hey guys,

I have a '99 Malibu that I have bought last month. Lately, the car's been acting weird. When running errands, after getting in the car, and turning the key to "On" Position, the car will chimes as normal. Then when I turn the engine over, everything goes black. The car's dead and I would have to leave it for about an hour to two hours. When I let it "Rest", it starts back up fine. What could be the problem? I have noticed that when car losses it's power, the entire dash lights will dim/flicker, and then the needles for the speeodmeter, gas gauge, tempature gauge, etc will spike up for a second, then back down. This has happened once before and I would just let it sit for a little while until I can start it up again. It's not the Passlock thing becuse I do not see the red light on the steering wheel light up. Could this be some kind of electrical problem? Because my mechanic has checked the battery and alternator.

I'm getting a little ticked off. I love driving it when it's fine, but man, it has an attitude sometimes! Ha. Any help is greatly appreciated. I'd hate to be stuck on the road somewhere. My mechanic tells me that he can't find the problem until it actually happens. Again, any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[igkyoa]

could it be a problem with your ignition switch shorting out or loosing connection?

[Sethkj]

I tried, but found out that there was a loose terminal on the battery. Hopefully that will help. However, the lights still dim everytime I start the car.. hmm (The dash dims as well).. any suggestion?

[bcopeland]

I was thinking battery post conenction. You need to check for corrosion at the battery terminal. That can suck the life out of a connection quick. Clean it real good with a wire brush. You might want to put new terminals on as well.