[Bricklin] Strange electrical problem

[isensee at aol.com]

When I turned the key to start my Bricklin this afternoon, the starter didn't
crank at all and everything electrical quit - the interior lights went out,
the door wouldn't close, and the air compressor quit running. I thought the
battery might be run down so I hooked up one of those jumper boxes, but no
luck. After a couple of minutes, the power came back on. When I turned the key
again though it all shut down again. I went through several cycles of this
until, finally, the starter cranked over, the car started up and I was able to
drive home with no problems.

It acts as if there is a circuit breaker tripping and then resetting after
some period of time, however, as far as I know, there is no breaker
controlling all the power. Any idea what could cause these symptoms?

Scott