Starting Problem

[The Critic]

Vehicle: '96 Saturn SL2, 1.9L DOHC
Miles: 93,700

Alternator: Replaced with "new" PepBoys unit @ 70,000 miles.

Battery: ProStart Premium, replaced 28 months ago. Tested fine as of Friday night.

Serpentine Belt: New Tensioner, and new "Gatorback" Belt was installed @ 89,000 miles.

Problem: On Friday, vehicle would not start. Cranked seven times, no luck. On the eighth try, it finally turned over, stumbled, but "survived" and didn't stall. After a short drive, and shut-off, problem reappeared, but this time it only required three tries to start.

I'm certain that the battery was NEVER drained on Friday.

I called AAA on Friday night, and after waiting about two hours, their battery van came out, brought a new battery in preparation to install one. As it turns out, the charging system and battery tested out fine, so that wasn't the problem.

Any ideas? I'm thinking Starter.

Thanks in advance.

PS- Problem hasn't occurred since Friday.

 

[Jim 5]

Mike,

If the starter is cranking the engine over, then I don't think it's the starter. However, if you're hearing a "whirring" sound, like the sound of an electric motor freely spinning, or do you just hear a clicking sound when you turn the key, with no activity (cranking or whirring) after?

Starter and starter solenoid problems can be intermittent.

Alternatively, if the starter is spinning, and it is engaging the flywheel (therefore cranking over the engine), then you have a different problem. Then you need to look at the key failure points that will prevent an engine from running:

- is it getting fuel?
- is it getting spark?
- is the timing correct?
- does it have compression?

I am aware that you have been performing some maintenance on this car for your dad. You might want to backtrack a litte to determine if any of the work you have recently done could be causing this condition.

If you can get more specific about the problem, (namely, is the starter engaging the flywheel and cranking the engine each and every time?)I think you're in the right place for getting the tips you need to sort this out.

Let us know. We'll help if we can!

 

[The Critic]

Thanks. I haven't done any maintenance yet on the car, I have to order parts later this week, and then this comes up.

I wasn't in the car when this happened. My mother was the one operating the car.

Is it possible for the starter and starter solenoid to be a single unit?

 

[Jim 5]

I believe some GM's have integrated starter/solenoid units. Or at least the starter solenoid is darn-near attached to the starter.

Often the starter/solenoid is located so close to an exhaust manifold that the solenoid becomes ineffective due to the heat.

If it's the solenoid, eventually it's going to just plain stop working. Same with the starter. Then you're stranded. I've temporarily "fixed" a starter that was going out (on an off-road trip..because it was full of mud) by bashing on it with a wrench. That's good for one, maybe two starts.

Do your mom a favor and drive that thing around (close to home). Start it and stop it so you can reproduce the symptoms and report back. If it's a starter or solenoid, your mom's going to be stranded somewhere. They don't get any better once they start to go.

 

[bdcardinal]

ok, if it cranks it isnt the starter. you are hearing the starter turn the motor over. also, if you are hearing the starter, then its not the battery, as that provides power for the battery.

so, i would start looking at fuel delivery, spark, or lack of compression. try doing the basic, compression check, leakdown check. if it were me i would check the coil voltage and check along the spark plug wires, i use a MATCO touch probe for this. check fuel pressure, if the plugs look bad, replace them as part of the compression check, which i think you stated as doing as part of the maintainence. are there any codes present? fuel filter been changed recently? all things i look for in a cranking no start.

 

[Gary Allan]

He's hearing it second hand. He doesn't know if it's a starting problem or a starter problem. People who don't know about cars illdescribe symptoms all the time, that's why a good service writer asks a few questions to differentiate between a starting problem and a stalling problem ..or whatever. Most poeple grab at the most familiar terms and misapply them.

Michael's also not making himself clear. When he says "cranked 6 times" ..does he mean 6 cyclical rotations (as heard with ONE engagement of the key) ..or 6 individual attempts to start the engine of some unknow length in duration ??? We've probably all heard a starter drawing too many amps (in older cars, if we bumped the timing too far) and here Wu-WU-WU-WU-(catches)wuwuwuuwuw. There we can hear each individual rotation.

So, Michael, just what are you trying to say here

 

[The Critic]

After further interrogating my mom, she said the car merely "clicked," and didn't crank. So does that generate even greater evidence that it's the starter or the solenoid?

Having the starter tested in the school shop tomorrow, stay tuned.

 

[Thermactor]

man, critic, that saturn is just a bunch of problems

 

[kgb007stb]

2001 SC2 1.9 DOHC owner here: while doing extensive research on the high idle problem many people mentioned that when the crank position sensor goes bad it will not allow the ignition to come on thus you can crank but no start. They did also seem to mention that after several cranks the engine would fire back up. Hope it helps as a starting point.