Car died, won't start

Yesterday I was driving my Galant and it was running fine. Then I made a left turn and the car died. When I tried to restart it nothing happened. When I turn the key a few dash lights come on and I get the usual beeping noise reminding me the key is in the ignition, the dome light and door lights work, tail lights work, also the power locks work when the door opens and shuts. The things that don't work include power windows, clock, hazards, and nothing happens when I turn the key. I tested the battery and it has 12.4 V.

I would appreciate any and all advice. If you would like me to include any more detail just let me know. Thanks in advance for your help.

John

 

[thedsmguy]

Inspect the battery connections really really well.

 

Connections at the battery are good and tight. I tested the positive and negative cable and tested out fine.

 

by "nothing happens when i turn the key" im assuming you mean it doesn't even try to start. Is that correct? Does the starter click at all?

I would start by turning the motor over by hand with a 1/2" drive ratchet in the crank pulley and ensure you have compression and that the motor isn't siezed up..... after that try and test the positive terminal on the actual starter to see if the power is getting there from the battery..... after that i would test the signal wire that comes from the started solenoid at the starter and see if you get voltage when you turn the key forward.

 

[Chief_Mak]

This happened to me 8 years ago on my 1st gen GST, turned out to be the infamous ECU caps.

 

+1 on the ECU..... good idea.

Thats a little harder to test, but fits the symptoms. If you can get your hands on a different ECU try and pop that in and see if it starts.

 

I think I figured it out. Last week I was having ABS issues so I removed the 60 AMP ABS fuse by the battery. Today I put that fuse back in and now it starts. Also, the two bolt holes on the positive battery terminal seem to have melted possibly causing a poor connection. Tomorrow I will grab a new terminal. I will also post up some pics. Oh, as for the ECU the caps in it are only a few months old, I just had them replaced. Thanks for all the help so far, I'll let you guys know how tomorrow goes.

 

Quoting yaretheytaken:
The things that don't work include power windows, clock, hazards, and nothing happens when I turn the key.



A bad ECU won't cause this. That's a sure sign of a bad fuse or fusible link.

 

I replaced the battery terminal and put the 60 amp ABS fuse back in and now she runs like a champ. Thanks for all the help, I appreciate it.

John