Car only starts if i hot jump the alternator...nothing electrical works on inside of car, i.e. power windows,power locks,dash lamp, no tail lights, no brake lights, no fan for the radiator etc...i changed both battery cables and battery is good. i do hear a clicking in the fuse box under the hood. what could it be?

no car told at all make,model ,year
left door open and engine running for 30minutes?
or engine off key back on and left for 30min.
30 minutes is a long time,
how you left that car is not told and matters huge
did you leave anything on and walk away./

head lamps dead/ those work key on and key off
a huge clue is there.
engine runs and lights means head lights, missing key word HEAD
well if engine runs the error lamp , charge/battery/gen must not glow running,or the alternator died (or its fuses)

i bet all parking lamps work outside car up to 10 lamps
called parking+tail+running lamps front/ rear and sides.
stop lamps dead.
reverse lamps dead.
dash blower dead.

the tail relay runs all park lamps in car over 20 lamps.
inside car 11 in cluter
2 tail ,
1 license lamp
2 front park lamps.
and a fuse. called tail.
the 96 in canada is wired with DRL you got a canada car?
why not say so , so we can use the right books.

the relays if under hood are clearly marked.
look there yet,?

ever look at toy>
relay 3 is marked, TAIL

http://www.toyotamcdonoughparts.com/a/Toyota_1996_Corolla4-DOOR-SEDAN--DX/__5766343/Switch--relay/840566A-8401-151430.html




easy peasy,,,, Japaneezy.


the switch turned to park, grounds the relay coil
and it energizes.

Sounds like the vehicle is not charging you may need a new alternator get the car going with jump leads again and test the voltage at the battery terminals with a DC volt meter expect 13.5-14.5 if you get less than 13.5 your alternator is bad or wiring fault also check the alternator belt is tight.

what happened when you tried jumping the car? sounds like it could be a bad ignition switch since only non-switched things work.

engine runs perfect?
head lights full power bright>? 2 questions, and shows battery is at 12.6vdc rested and 13.3 to 15vdc running, (is it>?_)
ill pretend yes......
blown fuse. what else could cause so many things, to lose DC power.
>?
a fuse can be good, bad or intermittent , even corroded,
a tech would scratch head and pick the easiest fault to fix.
my guess, is
dashboard doesnt work means the guages , and idiot lamps are dead but the park lamps there (dimmable) do work.
so what fuse is that.? i say to self.....
I open the FSM. and look at the power cluster feed.
what do i see.?
posted over 100 times here.
http://www.jeep4x4center.com/knowledge-base/index.htm?utm_source=cj#service

i look in instruments page. (aka. cluster)
tells you how it works
then i jump wiring page 8w-40-2
i see what, Fuse 10. is it good? and fuse 17.
fuse 10 is key on,, and fuse 17, is hot full time.

thats it, if the cluster is dead, only fuses can kill it 100% dead
or it losts its main ground, which is unlikely but voltmeter proves
in 1min flat. (G201)


i picked right, the cluster dead, is the most simple
if Headlights are dead, its most simple (not in Canada with DRL)

bingo?

Well it sounds like you are loosing the alternator - could be the alternator itself or a connection in the harness. Things like diodes and relays can stop working in high heat conditions.
I would check the output of the alternator the next time the lights start dimming.

Often times the tail lights and dash lights are powered by the same fuse. The reason for this was so you would know that your tail lights weren't working if you didn't have any dash lights. I would look for a fuse that says "Tail" or "Courtesy". Your owners manual should have an illustration of the fuse panel and what circuits they power. Good luck, hope this helps!

I would say that you need to replace the alternator. The car was running on the batteries power. When you drove the car, it ran the battery completely dead.

How clean are the connections on your battery terminals and your electrical connections to the starter and ground. Many times this will be the simple problem that is often overlooked.