'99 SL2 will not start

[glennco1]

My wife called me this morning. She has a '99 SL2 and when she tried to back out of a parking lot the car quit and will not start back up. When the key is turned to the on position, the car's "dummy" lights turn on, but when you turn the key further nothing happens.

Has anyone ever dealt with a situation like this before? Any thoughts on what I should check for?

A few years ago the car had a similar problem, and the end result was the entire under-hood fuse panel had to be replaced. Hopefully this won't be something similar.

thanks,

Paul

[glennco1]

Ok, I have some follow-on info for this problem.

I went down and took a look at the car today and saw the following:
1: The starter does not turn over
2: There is power at the power distribution block
3: Most interior functions work properly with the exception of; Radio, power locks.

Any other thoughts on what to check next?

[PlayStation3]

it is electricaly, probelly is the fuse book since you did that a probelm with it earlyer

[glennco1]

So could there still be problems with the distribution block, even if I'm able to measure power at all the fuses within the block?

[PlayStation3]

is the car putting out a code?

[sickcallawayc12]

Originally Posted by PlayStation3

is the car putting out a code?

I don't think you can read codes if the car isn't started, not even with the accessories on (i could be wrong though). It may just be the battery. retighten the battery cables. what you described sounds similar to what happened to me a few month ago (as well as other local fellow saturn owners around the same time ).

[glennco1]

Well, I checked all the fuses, then ended up taking it into the shop, I just don't have the time, or the best diagnostic tools to be dealing with this.

They called me and said some of the terminals in the junction block had melted, AGAIN.

Has anyone ever seen this before. What could cause the terminals in the junction block to melt?

Any thoughts?

[PlayStation3]

Originally Posted by glennco1

Well, I checked all the fuses, then ended up taking it into the shop, I just don't have the time, or the best diagnostic tools to be dealing with this.

They called me and said some of the terminals in the junction block had melted, AGAIN.

Has anyone ever seen this before. What could cause the terminals in the junction block to melt?

Any thoughts?

the terminals melt becuase of the the favorite law amongest electricy ohm's law and car;s i belive are dc which give of more loses to heat then a/c does so a short probelly happened that carryed a current of dc into the junction box that was stronger then what the terminals where rated for, thus causing them to melt.


now who was right About this?

[glennco1]

Technically, you're only partially right.

Assumingly, something is drawing more current through the circuit than the terminals can take, but your fuses are supposed to protect you from this. Of course the starter circuit seems to be unfused, so that circuit could potentially drain the entire amperage that the battery can provide. Of course if the circuit was designed this poorly, I would expect this to happen to a lot more SLs than just my wife's.

Now AC power can be transmitted over long distances, mainly due to the ease in which you can transform AC power, which is why power that is running over power lines is typically in the 50,000 volt range, thereby reducing the current that is moving over the line.

[PlayStation3]

is it possable that there is a bad ground connection somewhere cause that also is there to protect.

[glennco1]

Well, it turns out it was the fusebox under the dash that melted a connection. The 10amp ignition fuse.