97 Won't Start Sometimes! PLZ HELP!!

I have a 1997 Saturn and it starts sometimes. Like a week ago I got in and truned over the key and the car didn't do anything, it just made a click noise but all the lights inside the car were still working. So my boyfriend jumped it and it started right up! (Which didn't make much since to me because it seemed like the batt. was OK) Then it was fine after that, for like a week... then just a couple days ago I went to the store, came out and it did the same thing! When it does this, I can only start it by either jumping it or poping the clutch. Or if I let it sit for like an hour, sometimes it will start. I have no idea what the h*ell is wrong with it.. I don't understand why a jump makes it start if the batt. isn't dead... Can anyone help??:banghead:

how old is the battery? Sounds like you need another one but just a guess. just cuz the accessories come on doesn't mean the battery is okay. The lights and stuff don't need all that much power to function, they'll still usually come on even when there isn't enough juice to start the car itself.

Well I bought the car over a year ago and haven't replaced the batt. yet. If that is the problem, why do you think the car will start sometimes? Is that possible?

it happened to my satty, also a 97 but there could be other possibilities too. loose wiring, starter, alternator isn't charging the battery. Only a guess though. May have to wait for regulars like Cat Fuzz, Sierra, or Saturnspeed to chip in. Best way to see if the battery's good is to get a voltmeter and see how many volts the battery has. I believe wal-mart and some auto shops will test it for free also.

Ok, I think I will go have the batt. tested before doing anything else. When it happened to your saturn, was it just the batt. that was the problem? I pray that the only thing wrong with it. Its been such a great car other than this.

my battery was old and very corroded. my car wasn't a great car either.

I would check the connection on the battery. make sure the terminals are tight on the battery. If they are, check the battery. It is a possibility that there is a ground wire that could be loose somewhere too.

It was the Starter! I took it to a shop and they replaced the starter and its been working everytime, so far. I thought thats what it could be but if the starter was bad, why did the car start when we jumped it? Just curious..

I missed this thread but I would have said to replace the starter. This is a classic solenoid failure. The contacts inside the solenoid wear down unevenly so that sometimes they connect and sometimes they don't. Jumping the car gave it just a little bit more power to pull the solenoid plunger a little harder to make the contact. A running vehicle is putting out 14+ volts while your car, by itself while cranking, only has 12.6 volts available.

OK, let's get this topic started again. I'm assumming that I have the same problem but I'll ask anyway.

1997 Saturn SL2 Automatic

I got back in the car after filling up with gas and it wouldn't start. It would make a click noise and that's all. I tried to jump it off and it still wouldn't start. So I got a ride home and came back with my volt meter. I hooked it up across the battery and told my buddy to start the car. Well...wouldn't you know that it started the first time with no problem. The voltage across the battery was about 13.2 V prior to starting, during starting it dropped to around 10.5 V and then went back up to 14.0 V after the car was running.

I'm thinking the same thing with the starter but I wanted to get another opinion. Also, how hard is it to change out the starter? And is the solenoid mounted on the side of the starter on this model? Thanks for any help.

Bill