My 95 Saturn sl1 would start kinda sluggish. Meaning when I put the key in and turn, it would sought of stutter before it started. Now the other day when I went to start it, nothing happened when I turned the key. Just a dead turn.( Only noise was from it letting you know to fasten your seat belt.) All the lights on the dashboard light up and the radio and headlights come on,so im trying to figure out what the possibilities of the problem. Would definitley appreciate some feed back, Thanks.
Dare, Turn the key to the run position and shift the car to neutral. Turn the key to the start position and see if it will start.
There have been problems with the park/neutral switches that can cause this type of problem. If it still wont start, we will proceed to the next step.
Regards,
If the starter motor will not crank the engine over first check the battery to see if it is fully charged. A volt meter across the battery should read at least 12.6V. If you do not have a volt meter, turn the ignition key on and check the rate of the turn signal operation and check that the headlight high beams are bright as normal. If the rate of turn signal flashing and headlights are normal, chances are the battery is charged and the problem is else where.
If TS and HD Lights are not normal, fully charge the battery. Then with the head lights on try to start the car. If the head lights dimm or go out, you have a bad connection in the wiring going to the starter motor or a bad battery. Clean the battery terminals and try again. If NG, have the battery load tested.
If after charging the battery and the car starts normally, the question becomes, does the battery run down because of a draw in the system or because the alternator does not charge the battery while driving. You can take to car, it is now running right? To any number of auto parts stores and they will check the battery and charging system for you in the hopes of selling parts.
If the battery and alternator check out, the battery is most likely being depleted over time by some accessory in the car pulling power when it should not be. This can be quickly checked by putting an amp meter in series with one of the batter terminals. It will show the rate of draw in AMPS that is the problem. Finding that problem is a process of elimination ( say by pulling fuses) until the problem goes away then examining the circuit that the problem occurred in. Most times it is the interior lights.
Good Luck!
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The lights do come on when its in the start position.I actually went down to start it and it cranked up this time.So im guessing this can narrow down the problem some.
Oh yeah, I do not have a volt meter and it is an automatic.
Hi Dare..... Do you have access to a volt meter? If not, is your Saturn an automatic or manual transmission? Do any "dash indicator" lights come on when you turn the key to the "start" position?
Thanks,
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