turn ignition key on everything lights up as it should turn key to activate starter and everything goes dead
My first guess, either looseness or corrosion at the rinky dink side terminal connections.
I am going to second what @oldtimer-11 said… Almost textbook dead battery / bad connection symptoms. If it is a side post those are known for this… I hate side posts, always have. Fully charge that battery and definitely clean and tighten connects… if that doesn’t work…replace batt.
what did you conclude since car did not crank? have you ever had a bad battery in any other car? how did you resolve it in that situation?
…or test the battery for free at an auto parts store.
The battery or its connections are highly suspect but it might also be the ignition switch. Do you have a multimeter you can check the voltage to see what’s happening with the battery? They sell fairly cheap ones at the parts store…
your car is junk. You’re gonna need to throw it away. Lemme know where you are, and I’ll do it for you
or, get the battery checked, and if need be- replaced. If battery is good, then check battery cables for corrosion.
It was the ignition switch
Glad to hear you got it fixed! and thanks for posting back…very much appreciated!
Interesting. That’s usually a bad connection between the battery and starter motor somewhere. Or just a bad or discharged battery. Discover something new every day here, thanks for the good feedback.
Did you replace and re-key or were you able to re-use the existing components?