UNCJD

1995 LS400 with 257K. Tonight, I was doing the Too Many Cars Shuffle in my driveway and the Lexus behaved just fine...at first. When I went to start it again, it croaked as soon as I turned the key. All electrical dead, like I had no battery at all.
I unhooked the battery and tried again: no good. Checked fuses--all good. Hooked up my charger and it started right up. Unhooked the charger--which I left on for maybe a minute from on to off--and it kept running. Turned it off, on, off, on. Would not repeat the malfunction.
I sat and ran it awhile with the lights on and fan on full blast, thinking maybe the battery wasn't charging and it would die. Didn't. Showed 13 volts with motor off. I should have checked alternator output, but I had to go in.
In the last 4K miles, it's had a new battery, new alternator, new negative battery cable, and I checked all grounds I could find. Up until tonight, it worked fine.
So...any ideas what this might be?

dicer

Any UFO's sighted in the area? Maybe a special emp for voting machines and it hit your car? Just brain storming some Ghostly ideas.

UNCJD

I'll have to check on that. If I take off my foil hat, I'll hear them better.

Michael

I think I had that happened to my 93 while back (I am guessing about 6 years ago?).
I was concerned but did nothing. The problem never came back.
I agree, it is strange....

Is there a possibility the cable in the trunk may be causing this?

Losiracer2

its possible it could be a bad cell in the battery.

I had a Duracell car battery, only a year old, was working fine the night before showing no signs of dying and then all of a sudden the next morning, it wouldn't start.

I would have the battery checked out for any defects.

dicer

Those hats amplify the effects, never use one, ever, and could be the reason the car crapped out on you that day.

UNCJD

So I took the foil hat off and realized the positive battery cable was just a LEETLE loose. Saw this when I was hooking up the charger after this happened for the fourth time. Tightened it up, was able to start it without the charger. D'oh!

Stereorob

car was in a bad mood and wanted to troll you.

Lykos1uzfe

Mine did the same thing only 2 times in last 2 years I have owned the car.
One time driver side door wasn't closed completley and interior lights drained the battery over night.
The second time I had power but it wold just click like the starter has gone bad. I was the security system that prevented me from starting the car as some electrical parts got wet from heavy raign that day.