power until key on

[jazzcat]

more of an annoyance than anything but everytime that i put my key in and turn it on i lose power to everything..get out, shake the positive cable, hop in same thing over and over again until the car finally decides to start and then has no issues whatsoever...not sure if that has anything to do with the battery replacement positive cable issues i was having over the weekend but any tips as to what this could be would be much appreciated

[uncandid]

My friend had this problem. He would put the key in, turn it and it would look like everything was dead in the car, like the battery had died. The dash lights barely would like and then die completly. It was actually the ignition switch. Once he had it replaced, never had the problem again. Hope this helps

[FarrisK]

The other issue could be that the cable itself is loose on the battery, and isn't making a good connection. When you say "shake the cable," do you mean shake it's connections? If you do, then they need to be tightened. They should not be loose.

[HudsonValleyVDub]

When I bought my 01 used from a VW dealer, they replaced one of the battery cables claiming it was a known issue that they corrode. I'd check the cable itself.