Won't start, seems electrical

gi4usa1

My son owns a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2L. He turned it off last night and this morning it had no electrical power. The battery and alternator were recently replaced so I didn't suspect them. When I looked at it it had no power, no lights, radio, nothing. I thought maybe the cable connections were dirty. I cleaned them and we had power. As soon as we tried to start the car, it clicked and we once again had no power. Any Ideas???

gi4usa1

The battery an the alternator were replaced not the starter. Typo

stever

Typo fixed.

You may want to check the connections at the "firewall" side of the battery cables and do a load test of the battery, even though it's new. Actually, you may want to recheck all the battery connections. Sure sounds like a dead battery.

gi4usa1

I have checked the connections. I can disconnect and reconnect the cables and I have power. The lights work and the door buzzer works. As soon as I turn the key I loose everything. I am leaning toward the ignition switch.

Mr_Shiftright

No I also think it's battery related or connection related. One thing a detective has to know is not to assume anything, even a new part out of the box being good. Test everything and go to the most likely cause rather than an outlying cause.

thecardoc3

gi4usa1 do you have a volt meter?

dunker1956

replace your battery cables they have a problem with corroding inside the terminals