One click then dies

[silvinoguitars]

I have been searching but can't find the same problem, if you can point me into the right direction that would be great.

1985 Celica GT-S, I put the key in to start, dash lights turn on, when I try to start, ONE CLICK, then everything goes dark, no start, no more lights.

I had this same problem on my Grandpa's 1984 Celica GT and I THINK what did was replace the distributor and never had that problem again.

I am looking for confirmation before going out and buying parts like crazy.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[sirdan]

Shouldn't have anything to do with the distributor. Is this an issue that happened suddenly? or has the car been sitting? What is the condition of the battery? make sure your battery terminals are nice and clean. Good place to start. I wonder if the ignition switch behind the key could be the culprit but I would make sure the battery and terminals are clean. I have had weird stuff happen with a loose terminal.

[twotone_ra64]

Sounds like the battery is real dead. Do you keep the car on a trickle charger when not in use?

[sirdan]

My truck actually did exactly what you described today. My battery is a year old and I cleaned the terminals really good when I installed it. I took the terminals off the battery and they looked great. Then it dawned on me I never cleaned where the cable bolted onto the battery terminal. I cleaned it up with sandpaper and it fixed the issue. I got new terminals for piece of mind. Hope your issue is this simple.