2000 LE, Auto, 2.2l

Got into the car to go home from work, turned the key, got dash lights as normal, turned the key to start position and nothing happened.
At first I thought my battery could be 100% dead from a draw somewhere, so I pulled the key and tried one more time, and the 2nd time nothing happened at all, no dash lights, no radio, no clock, seemingly nothing switched by the key at all.

I've had cars with wonky ignition switches before, so I gave it a few more attempts, slowly, with wiggling and without, just inserted and pushed all the way in. After these intimate moments with my ignition switch...
I checked the battery terminals, no dice, nice and tight, clean, crimps are good.
For the clear plastic fuses, I saw none blown. While in the fuse box I gave each relay a sharp rap on top.
I got back in the car, had the thought that maybe the neutral safety switch that keeps me from starting in Drive could be malfunctioning, and messed around with the shift lever a little.

Next attempt the car behaved completely as normal. The clock and the radio had both reset.
Drove home fine, though I definitely had a firmer grip on the steering wheel while on the offramp in fear of losing power again.

I just got home, and it's cold and wet outside, so I haven't done anything more.
Any thoughts, or further questions?

Also as another note, I am amazed at the amount of answered questions on this forum, especially considering that they seem to get asked in literally every category on the forum, and seem to have no organization between generations or types of problems. Coming from VW and Volvo forums, honestly congrats.

 

It was the negative battery terminal. It's tight, but not tight enough. Had the same problem this morning, methodically tried starting after attempting various things, Saw a teeny spark on the terminal when I really cranked on it. Started right away.
I think I'm going to re-order my radio presets, given this opportunity.

 

Great job on finding the fix. Had the same thing on a car and was able to hand tighten the nut on the terminal to get it going.

Thanks for the kudos. It is a small, user friendly forum and operates as such. One of the reasons I am still here.

 

Really informative, easy to understand for someone who isn't a gear head, such as myself. Really good man! Keep them coming!


Kodi nox