I was in the Costco parking lot the other day and, having come back from the store, loaded the groceries in my trunk (using the remote). I then unlocked the car and went to start it up. Instead I was greeted with... absolutely nothing. No click of relays. No cranking. No clock. No dash lights. No nothing. Two more twists of the key and everything fires up. Clock reads 1:00 (it was 10:30 AM). Radio was reset. No codes. Have I been hit by the Ignition Switch Demon?

 

So the problem has been found...

I had another no start today and this time I had clicking from the starter and flashing dash lights. This time she would not start at all. I called a tow truck and when he looked under the hood while I cranked smoke came from the negative terminal. Somehow, the original negative battery terminal clamp got replaced by a positive one (which is larger) and the negative lead works loose. Looks like I need a new terminal clamp. Anyhow, she fires up right away now.

 

Glad you found it! Yeah the smoke can sure come out of the system when a connection starts getting bad. I just fixed a George Forman grill with the same issue - a wire worked a little loose from a spade connector inside and fried itself apart.