1996 SL2 Won't Start - Electrical - Dash Lights Go Out

[jrandallc]

Replaced the dead battery on my 1996 SL2 Automatic today. It ran fine for a few starts. Now it won't turn over at all. When I turn the key forward (ON Position) I get bright dash lights. Battery has a full charge (12 volts). When I turn the key to crank it, the dash lights immediately go out (the whole dash dies) and there is no ignition response. If I take the key out and put it back in, no dash lights at all. If I pull the positive terminal on the battery and replace it, I get the dash lights again and go into the same vicious cycle.

Also, I tried to jump it off, but only got the same results. And the remote release for the trunk would not work when the dash lights were out, but it would work when it had been "reset" by pulling the positive battery cable.

I have checked all of the fuses and they are good. I haven't done a test on any relays at this time.

It really seems to be something electrical, in my opinion. A guy told me it was probably the computer. If so, how can I troubleshoot/diagnose that? What is the exact name of the part that I need to purchase?


Thanks in advance for any info and help.

[jrandallc]

Ended up being the battery terminals. I pulled the starter and it tested fine. So I went back to square one and replaced the battery terminals, which were on my list to do anyway after replacing the battery, and it started right up. Weird symptoms for compromised battery terminals, but that's what fixed it.

[Cat Fuzz]

Please don't take anymore advice from the guy that suggested the computer was bad. Saturn ECM's RARELY go bad and your problems are certainly not a symptom of a bad ECM.

The side terminal battery connections that GM was so fond of have been the weak link in the electrical systems for years. It's very easy to tighten that bolt down thinking you have a good connection when you don't. Glad you found your problem BEFORE you spent a ton of money on bad advice.

Also, a voltage reading from a battery of 12 volts would actually indicate a DEAD battery. A fully charged battery would have a reading of 12.6 volts or better. I know, that doesn't seem like much of a difference but it is.

[jrandallc]

That's all good advice, Cat Fuzz. I appreciate the response. When I said the battery had 12 volts, that was an estimate. It was somewhere above 12, but that post of an estimate stemmed from my lack of knowledge that 12.6 or above was an accurate reading of a good battery. Thanks for that tid bit. I'll keep that in mind. I've never owned a vehicle with a side-mount post on the battery before this one, but the design did seem problematic. If I (and my son) learned anything from this, it was to start troubleshooting with the simplest fixes first.