Got an old '97 Accord, the lowest end model, here. Great car. The factory radio finally went kaput a few months ago, and since I plan on driving this baby for a while yet, I got tired of the silence. So I picked up a cheap stereo. I installed the stereo and it worked fine. Pleased with myself, I tried to start the car. It didn't start.

Here is exactly what happens... When you first connect the battery (which has been tested and is good 12.7 V), everything works. The radio, lights, fan, whatever. As soon as you click the key over to ignition, it goes completely dead. I mean nothing works at all. The engine does not try to turn over. It seems like something is causing it to cut off. It will not come back on until you disconnect the battery for a few seconds and then put it back on. At that time, everything comes back to life until you try to crank the engine.

I checked all the fuses, the battery, and now I took out the new stereo and returned it to its previous configuration. The same thing happens still.

Please help... I thought this would be simple enough and now I'm a vehicle down

 

Ahh....just me but it sounds like you have a bad battery connection.

Was the battery load tested?