I thought I was out of gas, but put gas in and the engine turns over but won't start. The engine light has been on for about 200 miles before this problem occured. Saturn L300, 2003
SOLENOID,Evaporative Emission Canister CAN CAUSE THIS PROBLEM.
There is no way to know for sure without some troubleshooting and since your engine light is lit which im assuming is the check engine light you can have someone with an obd scanner pull the codes and go from there that is pretty much your only option at this point
The information below was complied by me, it explains what causes the check engine light to come on and the process of finding the cause.
When the Check Engine light (or Service Engine Soon or small picture of an engine) is turned on, the systems computer control unit (called the PCM) has sensed a fault in the electronic controls of the engine and/or the emission system. When this happens you will seldom feel the car engine run any different. There are about 200 possible system faults (the gas cap is just one of them) that turn the Check Engine light on, to know what has developed a problem you must have the system tested
Starting Problem # 1: Engine Won't Crank At All
Scenario: You turn the key, but nothing happens: And by nothing, we mean there is no dash light, no sound, nada. The first thing you should do in this case is to pop the hood and check the battery. Either the battery is completely dead or there's a wiring problem in the starting system. Try jump-starting the battery. If that doesn't work, you'll probably have to call for assistance.
Scenario: When you turn the key, you hear a rapid clicking sound, and the dash lights dim. This is your classic low-battery symptom. Jump-starting the battery should get the engine to start.However, if you keep experiencing this problem, you could have a bad battery or alternator, or it could be someÂthing as simple as a loose alternator belt. Take your car to a mechanic just as soon as you can.
Scenario: When you turn the key, the lights on the dash come on, but you don't hear anything. Make sure you have the shift selector all the way in park. Move it out of park and then back, or try starting it with the shifter in neutral. If your car has a manual transmission, make sure you have the clutch pressed all the way to the floor. If that doesn't help, you can try jump-starting the battery, but it probably won't work. There's a good chance your car has a bad starter or a problem in the starting circuit. That could mean a probÂlem in the ignition switch, neutral safety switch or starter soleÂnoid.
Scenario: The dash lights come on when you turn the key, and then go right out, and the engine doesn't crank when you turn the key to start, But, the lights slowly come back on when you release the key. This is another classic: the bad battery connection. When you turn the key to start, the starter pulls so much current that it breaks the connection. Then, when you release the key, the connection slowly comes back. The connection provides enough power to turn the dash lights on, but not enough to crank the starter. Cleaning and tightening the battery terminals may fix this probÂlem.
Scenario: When you turn the key, you hear a single, hard clunk. Turn the headlights on and try again. Do the lights dim slightly when you turn the key? If so, you probably have a bad starter or a seized engine. If the headlights don't dim at all, or just barely dim, there may be a connection problem between the starter solenoid and the starter itself.
Scenario: When you turn the key, you hear a loud, scraping or grinding sound like metal on metal. The starter drive is bad, or the ring gear on the flywheel damaged, or both. You may get the starter to engage if you try turning the key a couple of times, but let go of the key right away if you hear the noise again. If the car does start, you should drive it right over to local repair shop and have the problem fixed.
Starting Problem #2: Engine Cranks but It Won't Start
Scenario: The engine seems to crank normally, but the engine doesn't even sound as if it's trying to start. Is there gas in the tank? Gas gauges are notoriously inaccurate. If you have to move your head to one side to get the needle to move off empty, try adding some gas to the tank.
Scenario: When you first turn the key on, you don't hear the fuel pump run. In cars with electronic fuel injection, you should hear a light hum a few seconds from around the fuel tank. That's the electric fuel pump running. If you don't hear the fuel pump run for a couple seconds when you first turn the key on, try cranking the engine until the oil light goes out. That may start the pump running and allow the engine to start.
Scenario: The engine cranks normally, and it sounds like it wants to start, but it won't. You may have flooded the engine. Hold the gas floor and try again. (Let the gas pedal up when it finally starts). If it's raining out, the ignition system may be wet.
Scenario: The engine cranks unevenly in a repetitive-sounding pattern. You may have a bad timing chain or timing belt. Call a tow truck and have it towed to the repair shop.
Starting Problem # 3: Engine Starts but It Shuts Off
Scenario: The engine starts right up, but shuts off as soon as you release the key. This is the classic symptom of a bad ignition switch. A new switch should fix it.
Scenario: The engine starts and runs, but when you put the transmission in gear, the car lurches and the engine shuts off. The converter clutch in the transmission torque converter probably is engaging when it shouldn't. On some cars, you can bypass this by disconnecting the torque converter clutch solenoid; but unless you know which wire to pull, forget about it. Call for assistance.
Scenario: The engine starts and runs, but seems to idle slowly and stalls when you come to a stop. This probably is a fast idle problem. When the engine is cold, it's supposed to idle a little faster than normal to keep the engine running. You may be able to drive using two feet until the engine warms up: one on the gas to hold the idle up a little and the other for the brake. However, don't keep driving it this way. Take your car to your repair shop just as soon as you
Car not starting or turning over indicates towards multiple possibilities. It can be issue with battery or weak battery. But if battery checks out ok, then it can be starter issue or faulty alternator or problem with low fuel pressure or no spark at spark plugs due to dirty spark plugs or faulty ignition coil or injectors getting cracked or dirty and needs to be cleaned.
To confirm the problem, the basic troubleshooting is required.
Click this link below and follow the troubleshooting:------
http://technoanswers.blogspot.in/2012/02/car-starting-issues.html
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This will help.
Thanks
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Saturns have an ESV???valve that gets clogged and the car stops running.I had this happen in another Saturn. I'm not sure I'm giving the correct letters for the valve, trying to remember, it was in the SL series
Pulled in to the grocery store, it died as i was stopping thought it was just a little cold when went to start it up it turned over like it was trying to start but not getting gas. I thought I was out of gas but actually had a little above the empty line, so I put gas in and still cranked over but just won't start. Please help me solve this problem. Thanks.
Disconnect the battery for 30 minutes and try restarting
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