2010 Saturn Outlook electrical issue
 

My wife's Outlook's lift gate wouldn't open, so I changed the fuse and it didn't correct the issue. Figured it was the relay switch and pulled it. I took a 2735 relay switch from the fuse box under the hood, and attempted to reach the switch for the lift gate in the glove compartment with no luck. I was able to take the old switch out of the glove compartment box, but couldn't fit the one from the fuse box under the hood in, so I gave up. Too small of an area for my hands.

When I plugged the good switch back into the fuse box under the hood, I lost all power to the vehicle. Totally dead. I can't even get the keys out of the ignition. What could have happened? What should I do next? The picture is of the fuse box under the hood, and the switch I moved and fuse I replaced is circled. Thanks

Dan

Could be a number of things.

First of all, is it 100% no electricity to anything?
No Clock?
No Dome light?
No chime?

And are you sure you lost all power upon plugging the relay back in (that was the triggering event)--like you saw the DRLs go off or something---or is that what you found when you got back to the driver's seat?

I'm asking these questions because electrical issues are almost always cause==>effect.
So we need to know the exact event (outcome, exactly what works and what doesn't) in order to see what type of electrical event could have caused that.

For starters, check the DC V across the battery. Should be 12.6V ish with the vehicle off.
Also, check to ensure the battery connections are clean and tight. If your ground connection is missing you will not have a complete circuit.
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My initial guess from what you described is that you had the key in the ON position the entire time you were trying to troubleshoot this. In doing so, you ran down your battery but didn't notice you had no lights on the dash.
Already dead, the putting the relay back in didn't actually change anything because the battery was already dead. It was at this time that you noticed it. The DCV of the Battery across the terminals will tell you

Thank you for your response. I have no electric whatsoever. No break lights, dome light, break pedal feels difficult to push. No hazards. Key wont come out of the ignition. Could I have killed the battery that much to where there is no power at all? I have had a few dead batteries before, but this has me stumped.

I have had batteries just quit dead. Like an internal short in the battery. My wife’s car started fine at home and was completely dead after stopping at the post office. Replaced the battery and it has been fine since.

Just take the battery somewhere and get it load tested. Go from there.