98 Saturn SL Won't Start- New Battery

Just got my 2nd battery of the week and 98 Saturn SL (69K) still won't crank on cold start.
With 1st battery it was like the theft detection system turned all electricity off. But for the past 10 days, putting into Neutral, playing with ignition, or going outside and locking and unlocking with Transponder I could eventually get electricity and engine would crank and start. But it was like all electricity was lost. Radio pre-sets and time were lost. After car was started it would run fine and re-start for the rest of the day but sometimes had problems the next day, sometimes it was fine though. Not too cold in San Francisco, just wet but the Saturn is inside the garage. Took car into my favorite shop, on their advice since battery was still under warranty;only 7 months old had new battery replaced.
With 2nd battery, which tested out fine and charging system checked fine after installation, on second day car will not crank again. Electricity seems very weak. Playing between N and P, I can sometimes get radio to show light but electricity seems too weak to use transponder to arm and disarm doors. Interior dome light seems very weak.
Any guesses to what the problem is? Is there an anti-theft electrical kill switch which can be turned back on easily? Is the ignition going? Would you aim towards electric shop or dealer? Not the best start to a new year. Single mom and need the car working. Advice appreciated. Thanks! A7

hey a7
sorry if this doesn't make since to you, (I know my mom would be lost)
ok well with
the battery fully charged and
the charging system fine.

Change your air filter ~$15 well worth it.
Check your fuses
if that doesnt help
You need to check all the electrical connectors (wires, plugs, sensors) to make sure they're not loose - these often resemble bigger problems

or-
Try having a garage check the fuel system for you
lastly you may have leaking injectors

Check your fuses

thats what i'm thinking, check all fuses - start at the chime fuse(it tends to cause the most problems when blown.

also, it isn't quite clear from your post, is this a no start or a no crank? the difference is a no crank nothing happens at all, no sound from starter. a no start means the starter is working and at least trying to start the engine.

after checking the fuses,and not knowing if it is a no start or no crank, i would have the shop do the following tests-

1. parasitic current draw (spell check?) - this test is to see if there is a draw on the battery after the car is turned off - a small amount of current (under 100 mA) is normal draw from the computer's keep alive memory
2. voltage drop of cables - tests the condision of the battery cables
3. starter current draw - tests how much power the starter is using to turn. i *think* the spec is about 90-120 amps, a reading below that indicates a electric problem, a higher reading is more of a mechanical problem
4. starter voltage draw - this test will show if the battery is putting out enough power.

finally a few stupid thinks that can cause problems
1. make sure none of the tail lights are burnt out
2. if your ECT sensor has never been replaced, you may want to have a saturn dealership replace it. that sensor has been the source of countless problems in the past

Thanks for the advice, all fuses are good. The new battery will not crank, seems like not enough electricity to even use the transponder to lock and unclock doors, dome light is dim.
But the strangest things... Seems like the guy who installed the battery did not put the red plastic cap over the cover. And the problems started on day 3, after driving in hard day 2 in the rain. Would this cause problems? Also, one of the shops the car has been into in the past few days or months seems to have left a rag at the bottom of the engine, near the fan belts. Looking for electrical connections I found it. Would this cause the battery to charge unevenly? Thank You!!!

Thanks for your advice, had AAA come out again to check on the battery they sold me, and they did not tighten it all the way, so no connection!!!

Can the starter on a 95 SC2 be "bad" that it will act like a dead battery, at times, but can also blow the fuzable link. Jumped it, a few month ago, new battery last month. Tonight acted like a bad battery but then all power was lost. Waited the 3 or so minutes to reset, car started fine.