I have a 1997 Buick Riviera. Last night I opened the car with the keyless entry, and when I opened the door to get in, all interior lights were working. Put they key into the ignition and turned it, and electrical system died completely.

check battery cable connections, fuse and relay. will it jump start? have charging system checked at parts store free.

sounds like a bad connection to me.

bad connection at battery. Is battery underneath the back seat of this vehicle?

clean and tighten battery cables.

Ign or starter relay---located in one of the the two under seat (back seat) relay centers. check both relay centers for related relays.

if you like i can send you the locations and wiring diagrams alnog with any related componet info if you like.
let me know and a email ad to send to.
mws919

you should be able to feel the relays click when the ignition is turned on and when it is turned to start (may need a partner)

any luck yet?

you cna swap the relay with an identical one in the fuse box and then see if everything is OK.

what was the cause?

Is the car up and running yet?

Sorry to everyone for taking so long to get back to you. All of your suggestions were extremely helpful. After checking every fuse, the battery cables, etc. I had still not found the problem. It wasn't until I was putting the back seat into the car, that the interior lights flickered back on and then off. Come to find out, the battery cable was loose, just not on the battery end. The red(positve) cable had worked it's was loose from the fuse box. I re-tightend the connecetion and low and behold, the car started perfectly. It only took 2 days!

Once again, thanks everyone.
Now maybe someone can tell me why the car is hard to start!!!LOL!

ya, it's most of the time it turns out pretty simpel, glad you bingo'd it.
thanks for letting us know.