Okay, what the hell. My car is haunted.

[kronus]

Bad connection at one of several places:
Battery + or - cable at the battery
Terminal block to main power cable
big red cable at back of starter
engine ground
battery cable to chassis ground in trunk

Lastly, possible bad cable, but remove, clean and tighten all of the above. You probably solved it by tightening the battery cable.

Excellent, thanks. Going to go down that list and clean tomorrow morning. Do M20's have two or three ground points? I could only find two(oil pan strap and under the diagnostic connector), just making sure...

[mooseheadm5]

Bad connection at one of several places:
Battery + or - cable at the battery
Terminal block to main power cable
big red cable at back of starter
engine ground
battery cable to chassis ground in trunk

Lastly, possible bad cable, but remove, clean and tighten all of the above. You probably solved it by tightening the battery cable.

[StereoInstaller1]

I would explain what is going on, but I hafta go poop.

[kronus]

Ground connection is sparkly.

[accident]

battery came out of my wrecked ETA. brand new in october.

check your ground cable connection to the body.

i doubt the ignition switch could cause this.

[kronus]

This is a known-good battery. Previous one wasn't.

I cleaned out and tightened down the clamps. We'll see if it happens again. Could the ignition switch do this?

[Knockenwelle]

Check and make sure the cables are both tight on the battery posts. Maybe try a known-good battery? Yours could have internal issues.

[Adrian_Visser]

gremlins, fun times are the battery cable conectors corroded? could be that same thing for the alternator if there is corrosion on some conection on it.

[Court M3]

battery ground cable maybe? Just going off 2 and 3.

[kronus]

Basically, the way it goes: I unlock the car, power locks work fine. Door opens, lights come on fine. I sit down, turn the key, dash lights blink and then ALL power goes out. No clock from relays, no starter motor whirr, no interior lights, no dim OBC display.

I get out of the car, open the trunk, trunk light is out. At this point, there are several ways I've brought it back from the dead:

1) have it sit for a month in Farbin's driveway, swapping random parts that we thought were malfunctioning. Eventually it just starts up and drives.

2) take off the battery cover tray, and brush a jumper cable clip on the positive terminal of the battery. The rest of the cable is not attached to anything at this point. Suddenly, there is a spark, trunk light comes on, and it starts up fine and drives.

3) lightly press my hand down on the plastic battery cover tray. Suddenly, the trunk light comes on, it starts up fine and drives.

4) whack the alternator with a wrench. Same story, starts up fine and drives.

The battery is fairly new and stays completely charged after these episodes. When the car is not dead, it's working 100%.

I am stumped. Help. '87 325.