Car Wont Start, Electricity Intermittent

[SirEdwardthe4th]

Okay so i have a Subaru Legacy Outback 2003 and i got out of school today and i walked up to it and it unlocked and i turned the key and everything came up fine and the radio started, but as soon as i pushed in the clutch and turned the key, everything shut off and there was no clicking, the radio died, and no indicator lights were on anymore. I removed the key and tried again, except this time the radio, lights etc didnt come on. i tried to turn the key several times, but nothing. No radio, no clicking, no power, nothing. So naturally i thought it was the battery. I got out my little jump starter thing and tried to use it, to no avail. The jump starter did however somehow get the lights and radio to come back on, but they went out again when i tried to start the car. I was able to convince a friend of mine's parent to come jump my car, but just as the jump starter box, it had no effect.
So i got it towed, and now its in front of my house.
When it got home i noticed the electricity was back on again but i didn't bother to start it again because i want someone else to do it so i have a witness to this, because i'm 99% sure its going to cut out again.

Okay so possibilities that ive been given as to what the problem is:
-My friend's mother said if jumping doesnt work, it could be the starter
--My dad said its probably not the starter otherwise id still have radio, lights, etc.
-My dad said it could be the volt meter regulator (or something)
-My mother said it could be the clutch interlock switch (btw clutch replaced not even a month ago)
-Guy who towed my car said i could have a main engine fuse blown, but i dont think thats it due to the power going in and out

I had to make my own special yahoo answers post because nobody else has had my exact unique problem.

[woofgang]

I had this same problem many years ago with a car. very frustrating as it always worked fine when I took it to the garage. Eventually it died on me at a friend's house so i had a witness and I didn't even try to start it, just called out the RAC and got it shipped to the garage where they tried every thing till they thought to check the battery leads, they looked fine but one was broken inside the covering.

[RAV1D]

some car keys have a chip in them that let your car start when you turn the key. if that chip inside your key has been damaged in anyway like a knock or drop on floor or bang in your pocket it stops telling the car to let it start. its called an imobilizer chip. Its a safty device incase anyone got hold of your car key and had it copyed. this could be why your car is refusing to start maybe.

[SirEdwardthe4th]

Bare metal key, no chip

[tonyav]

Check the battery earth lead, undo the bolt were it connects to the car body and clean it up around the bolt hole with some emery cloth or similar so that there is clean bare steel showing and also clean the connector that bolts to the body work. Also make sure that your battery connections are clean and tight.

[andres]

Similar problem about 8 weeks ago. Just dead . Nothing at all. Turned out to be a loose wire in the starter motor .

[bhg481]

It sounds like the battery is favourite - how old is it and is the engine petrol or diesel? Diesel engines need a much healthier battery than petrol engines.
Radios etc take just a few amps, so will operate on a low battery. The starter takes hundreds of amps and might have drained the battery so low that the radio etc wouldn't work afterwards. Leaving things for a while allows the battery to recover enough for radio etc.
I've never used "a little jump-starter thing" but I don't see how these devices can supply 800 amps to turn over an engine.
Your friend's jump may have failed because of not making a good enough connection with your battery terminals - because of the large current required you can get a large voltage drop with a poor connection - this includes cheap jump leads even with a good connection.
The clutch interlock switch is nothing to do with the operation of the clutch - it is merely a switch connected to the clutch pedal which only allows the starter to operate if you have depressed the clutch. Changing the clutch will not affect it but that doesn't mean it isn't faulty in its own right although, if it has failed, it shouldn't allow the battery to drain and stop the radio working.
Faulty starter motor is a possibility.
If you can get the battery to eg Halfords and get them to test it for you. Be careful before you take it out of the car - you may need the radio code when you put it back in and there is sometimes a ritual you have to follow for the security systems on the car. On my Volvo, for example, you have to wait 5 minutes after shutting the car down before you remove the battery to avoid confusing the security systems.

[Graham-W]

Like Tonyav said, but if still no joy there is sometimes an earth strap between the engine and the car body. These can become broken or corroded at the ends. Try putting a jump lead connecting the engine to some bare metal on the body. This can show whether it is the problem.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

If the battery is of dubious make or is older than 4 years then it may be time for a change.If its newish then get it charged overnight.If this fails then check all connections on the starter HT side..solenoid and starter.If this fails then check operation of solenoid and starter....good luck.