I've had my car ( 1989 GTU) for a little over six months and love it; when it works. Recently it has developed a little problem starting. When I turn the key in the ignition to the ACC position the "check" lights in the center of the dash will light up but upon attempting to the engine they simply die. The engine will not crank over and their isn't even an audible click. So I try it again and even the lights do not go on; no charge what so ever. The car will jump without issues and starts right up on the first attempt no problem, but just can't bring itself to do it on its own. Today I had a diagnostic of the battery and alternator performed but to no avail they checked out. I recently had my car broken into, could their be some anti-theft device working preventing the car from starting that needs to be reset? The car has a little over 140k on it and I'm aware that the electrical system is fragile at best in cars this old and can only be complicated further by the mileage; could their be a broken ground somewhere that would cause this? Could the battery lose its charge within a few minutes if their were a free ground? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated; and thank you in advance to any replies that can get me behind the wheel again.

The Schwigga

 

sounds like dead battery or loose battery cables or loose main fuse box connections

 

^^ what he said, also mebbe alternator depending if lights are on or what not.

 

i'd say it's the cables... try replacing them

 

I recently cleaned the terminals and tightened them. And all the visible wires (in totallity) in the engine bay seem to be firmly affixed. I don't have a voltameter, nor do I have any idea what kind of draw would be going throug each wire if I did have one to prove this though. I was just hoping that their may be some kind of quick fix that others with more experience with this car may be able to share