'96 saturn sc1 wont start. PLZ HELP...

[CardnalSyn]

my g/f went to back out of the driveway and the car just killed on her. we tried to start it up but it wont crank. it will just turnover. whats weird is that last night the radio stopped working and now the door locks dont work also. what could be the problem?? i checked the fuses and they all seemed fine...

[sierrap615]

i think you have crank and turbover mixed up. crank is when the starter motor engages and the crankshaft rotates, turning over is when engine fires up and runs by itself.

i feel the chances are a dead alternator. try jumping to another car. if it starts then dies again shortly after the jumper cables are removed, then there is a 99% chance the alternator is bad.

if a jump doesn't help post back and we'll go to the next step.

EDIT: after just reading one of Tyler's post check your CHIME fuse, if you have the stock security system this may be the cause, and i can garentee the CHIME fuse will srcew up the radio on any S-series

[Tylerc161]

yea, lol.. i almost posted that here too, but i dont want to sound like a rambling asshole.

altho, that chime fuse thing blows me away.. ill NEVER forget that. iv already told everyone i know at work (firestone) about it, so if they get a non working saturn in, check the damn chime fuse..


funny thing is, now my dome light wont come on.. must be the "dome fuse".....


maybe the dome fuse being blown is why im so slow









no wait, i just have a soch.. thats why im slow...my bad

[CardnalSyn]

sorry for my bad terminology...i checked the chime fuse and that wasnt it. i also found out that the dome lights arent working either...

[sierrap615]

sounds like your battery is completely dead, is anything working?

also did you check those large green fuses in the underhood junction block?

[CardnalSyn]

^^yeah, the h/l still work. i check the big green ones eoo. they all look fine. the night b4 my g/f said that she could smell something like burning plastic. coming from by the radio...

[sierrap615]

ah you may have fried a wire, and if no fuses popped then it more likey is a ground wire. if that is the case i suggest you buy a multimeter and/or test light and a Hanyes manual(wiring diagrams are quite good for the price, rarely about $20, but not a Chiltons manual, you couldn't pay me to use those wiring diagrams), then pop open the dash and take a look-see. if find any bad wires repair them with a soldering gun and heat shrink. (hint start testing at the ignition switch, ground connections, and then whatever the large green fuses power, as they commonly power several of the mini fuses, thats where the wiring diagram really comes in handy)

[CardnalSyn]

^^this may sound like a dum question but can it cause the car not to start? or is it a coinincidence that the lights stopped workin and the car stopped runnin??

[sierrap615]

it all depends on what wire/circuit the problem is in, one ground wire can feed ten or more other wires. one tiny electrical problem can cause all sorts of crazy issues. a few examples:

-on saturns,blow one of the two headlight fuses and instead of the lights not working, all 4 lights will come on(although 3 of them dim)

-on Neons i think, there is a a ground wire near the left side of the radiator, lose it and the car will start, but hit the left turn signal and the engine will die.

-on some chrysler 41TE transaxles IIRC, there is a small ground wire for who knows what, lose it and the electricity will instead ground itself through the bearings inside the transalxe, which can in turn require a trans overhaul.

some people say electriciy is lazy, its not, its adventurious!

[ilxebius]

I have been having the same problems with my 95 SW2. I was wondering if you ever found a solution? You can read the history of my troubles here:

http://www.car-forums.com/talk/showthread.php?t=14626

Thanks for the help.

[sierrap615]

Originally Posted by ilxebius

I have been having the same problems with my 95 SW2. I was wondering if you ever found a solution? You can read the history of my troubles here:

http://www.car-forums.com/talk/showthread.php?t=14626

Thanks for the help.

i read the link and here is my theory...

if you have your stock stereo still and you can put it back in do so or just disconnect the radio, and check/replace the CHIME fuse. check for proper operation of all circuits. if the problem is solved, find a new source for a B+ feed to your radio. why is this? the stock saturn stereo uses the CHIME fuse for a B+ feed for the radio presets/clock only and the RADIO fuse for an ignition signal and main power. some after market radios use the B+ feed for the presets and for main power, this can easily blow the 5 amp CHIME fuse. a blown CHIME fuse can lead to many problems including the stock secuity system disabling the engine on some years(ether starting in 95 or 96)

[ilxebius]

Well, I don't in fact have the stock stereo. There was no radio when I got it. I put in the Clarion using an adaptor to fit the stock saturn wire loom, and the car was trouble-free for months after. Also, I don't have a stock security system. Not even power windows or locks. Not even ABS, lol.

But I will point out that one of the first things to come out while I have been searching for the source of the problem was the radio. Then after that, I replaced every fuse in the interior fuse panel. Interesting thing here...there was a 10A fuse in the chime socket, not a 5A.

Anyways, at this point, I have the center console, steering column, top dash panel, instrument panel bezel, stereo and bezel, and knee protector panels all removed. I have unfastened the interior fuse block from where it is mounted so that I can begin testing the backside leads with my multimeter.

The thing I noticed common on the wiring diagrams that is common to all electrical items that are not working is that one trace goes to the number 2 contact on the CHIME/DELAYED DOME MODULE. Does anyone know if this going bad will cause all the problems I have had?

It would be great if someone with a Saturn could pull their module and see if their dome/chime/stereo/fuel pump all stop working!

[sierrap615]

10amp fuse? interesting. i wonder who replaced it, and if they put a 10 amp fuse in there because they didn't have a 5 handy or if it kept blowning 5amps so they put a 10 amp in instead(which is not the right way of fixing things). if the latter is true and the circuit has been carrying 5+amps if it has possibley overheated and damaged the wire harness on the back side of the junction block. i don't have a wiring diagram with wire gauge handy, so i don't know for a fact. but the problem has been intermittent right? i would inspect the wires on the back side of the junction block(accessible thru the driver side kick panel i think), if they all visually look good, wiggle them and see what happen.

[demoncamber]

Hey, Thanks for this thread it really helped me out. I have a 97 SC2 that died on me while I was out with some friends. Everything worked but my stereo, power door locks and alarm. The ignition was disabled. So I checked all the fuses and all that and everything was good, except my chime fuse. It had a 10a in there and it kept blowing every time I put a new one in. So I did some searching and found this thread www.automotiveforums.com

I did everything the service bulletin said to do looking for frayed wires or pins not in properly or loose wires and could find nothing, it looked brand new all terminals were shiny and no signs of arching etc...

So I took my chime unit out took it apart cleaned it all up with some alcohol and put everything back together. Now according to this thread that i cannot find right now, apparently if you use an aftermarket head unit it can blow that 5a fuse that saturn originally had for the chime fuse, now on my side panel where it shows you the fuse layout its 10a fuse for the chime, So I put in a 15a fuse to the chime just to see what would happen.....

Well low and behold it worked, car starts stereo sounds better and I've driven it a total of 40 minutes and everything was fine, started her up about 6x since. I did install the aftermarket head unit myself using the fool proof gm wiring harness kit. But honestly I feel that it just got louder since I put that fuse in. Maybe me.

Anyway I think I found the cause of my problem. My power door locks aren't working right. My keychain will only unlock my drivers door, it will not unlock the passenger side at all. Also it will not lock any of the doors it now just arms the alarm and you hear no sound what so ever when you hit lock, you just see the two flashes of the dome light. A couple weeks ago my passenger window motor died on me, Yesterday to be safe I unplugged the cable to the window switch while I had everything apart. Now, back to the locks. If you go and push the lock/unlock button on the actual doors themselves the drivers side works sometimes and the passenger side attempts to unlock/lock but it's like it doesnt have enough juice to move the rod. I feel that there may be some kind of short on the door lock motor now. Can anyone give me some things to check out or ideas of their own?

On the plus side my acceleration got a tiny bit smoother after I pulled the fuel pump relay and put it back in yesterday

To sum it up put in a 15a fuse to the chime, car started everything works but the power door lock motors, they are acting very odd.