What would cause a 1998 S70 to shut off the entire electrical system during startup? I have a 175k miles engine in good shape, when I go to start it, turn the key to "on" the system turns on, then when the key is turned to crank, the whole electrical system shuts off in one click. I have to remove negative power cable to just to get it back to step one....Any ideas?

 

Sounds like a dying battery....test the battery and see, or replace with a new one

 

All my old cars do that occasionally. If you have corrosion in the battery cable connections, you can get in a situation where heat generated by trying to power up the starter will create a bad connection and in just an instant shut down the whole car. Fooling with the battery cables will usually jiggle the offending connection and you're back on.


The cure is to get rid of the corrosion. I have probably experienced this 100 times (I like cars), but when people describe it on the internet, it always seems to suggest something much more complex.