I'm sorry if I'm not doing this appropriately, just trying to learn before throwing parts at my son's car. Problem: 3 times since we purchased the car several months ago. Insert the key, and literally nothing happens. No interior lights, no dash lights, no door chime, etc. But the key will not come out of the ignition. First time I assumed it was a flat battery. Put my trickle charger on over night, next day started no problem. Several days later same issue again. I replaced the Battery, seemed to fix the issue. 2 weeks later (last night) it did it again. Key will not release from the ignition, but no lights no door chime, nothing. As soon as I popped the hood and connected the charger (again), the interior lights came on and I was able to start the car normally. Tested the battery and it shows full charge. Not sure if it's relevant but there is a consistent "alarm system service" warning message on the display when it does start and it doesn't go away.

 

Did you use a (round wire brush) battery terminal cleaner on the new battery and the battery terminals? Is this a name brand "new" battery?

Key not releasing is low battery voltage. It's unusual to have a draw/drain on the system making the battery dead/very low after sitting. Most common is a bad battery or a bad connection.

I'm not familiar with the alarm modules on your car causing a drain on the system - so anything is possible. I would certainly scan the car with a compatible scanner that can talk to all the modules to determine why there are alarm codes and develop a diagnostic plan from there.

 

Yes it is a delta brand battery from my local auto parts franchise. I did not rough up the terminals before hooking it back up, that's a great suggestion thank you. I have access to a scanner at work. I will give that a shot to see what codes come up. I appreciate the quick response and I will update when I have more info.

 

Having a hard time finding "Delta" brand batteries on the internet. There are only a few lead acid battery manufacturing plants in the world. Anybody have a clue who makes "delta" batteries? How much did this "delta" brand battery cost? What size/model did you install? (94/h7, 91/t6)