1996 Saturn Won't turn over!! Help!!

[jtricer1973]

Ok guys, I am trying to fix my daughters Saturn. Its a 4 cylinder automatic. Problem is it wont turn over.

Had battery tested and it was fine. Removed starter/sylenoid and it tested good. When you turn the key the sylenoid clicks so I don't think its the ignition switch. Was thinking about the neutral safety switch but was told that if that was bad the sylenoid wouldn't click. Can someone confirm this?

So basically I am at a loss. Can't think of anything else to check. The way I see it is if the battery, starter and sylenoid are good and when you turn the key you hear the sylenoid click it should turn over.

Oh, I also checked all the associated fuses and all were good. Thanks guys

[tempfixit]

Do you have a multimeter so you can check what voltage you have at the starter with the key on start position? Should be 12V or better.

I agree that if the neutral safety switch is malfunction the starter should not have current.

Did they do a load test on the battery? I have heard of battery's being tested good, but still not up to par. How old is battery? It seems to me it is either a battery connection, bad battery or battery cable bad.

Have you tried boosting with another vehicle?

[Headnsouth]

Was the battery LOAD tested?

[jtricer1973]

Hey guys, I usually get my batteries tested at Oreilly and they do load tests and everything, but this time I took it to NAPA cause thats is what is by my daughters place and they didn't load test the battery. All they had was some handheld thing that they hooked up to it and said it was good and just needed charging. The car had been sitting for several weeks so I wasn't surprised that it needed charging. They then charged it for me.

To be honest, I didn't like their method for testing and have been considering taking it to Oreilly. After I reinstalled the battery I checked the voltage with my multi meter and it did read 12 volts though.

I had the Starter/sylenoid tested at 2 different Oreillys' by 2 different people just because I wanted to be sure because it was kind of a pain to get off and it tested good both times.

I have not checked the voltage at the sylenoid because I figured if I could hear it clicking that it was getting power.

Oh. and by the way, the battery is about 4 years old.

[Headnsouth]

I'd start with a load test or jump it with another vehicle like as suggested.

[jtricer1973]

Have tried jumping it but that has not worked either. I also didn't mention that this started gradually. She said it got to where sometimes it would't turn over but after a few tries it would turn over and start. The problem continued intermittantly until one day it wouldn't turn over anymore. We had it towed to her place where it sat for several weeks. She said she then tried it one day and it turned over some and then quit turning over and hasn't since.

By the way thanks for the assistance fellas.

[tempfixit]

Have you tried a known good battery? I think battery has a short, thus you are not getting the extra current from the boosting battery.
Battery needs at least 12.6V to crank engine and should be around 14V charging.

Also check your cables, check with voltmeter at the stater to see how much voltage is there when ignition switch in start position. Cable could be corroded inside (Peel back insulation)

Check all grounds

Check igniton switch.

[RC1488]

Get a new battery.

A batter with 12v is great but sometimes will not have enough amps to crank the engine. The fact she kept trying to start it (even tho it wouldnt start) probaly drained the battery enough to ruin a cell in it. Just like leaving your lights on can kill the battery so that it wont hold a charge anymore. The battery should be able to crank the car, with the lights on seeing a very small change in brightness.

Also, check all gounds, battery terminals, and wires to the starter for corrosion.

As for it not starting when it does crank, check for spark at the coil towers. No spark there indicates you need a new Crankshaft Position Sensor. If you do see spark, then most likely the engine is flooded from all the tries getting it started. removing the spark plugs and cranking it will get rid of the excess gas. Also, putting the pedal at Wide Open Throttle (WOT) when cranking shuts off the injectors.

The fact the starter is clicking says the safety switch is fine. You would get nothing if it was bad.

[BRADSKI77]

since u had the starting and charging system checked..........correct.... u need to look into what could not let it turn over. if u can, look at the crank sensor. i just had to replace mine. and it sent me in a loop at first, because i thought that i had lost spark. but it would start every few hours. so i spent 113 dollars and replaced the coil pack. it started but it died again. the only other thing to look at was the ckp. 20 bucks fixed my problem. good luck

[RC1488]

Originally Posted by BRADSKI77

since u had the starting and charging system checked..........correct.... u need to look into what could not let it turn over. if u can, look at the crank sensor. i just had to replace mine. and it sent me in a loop at first, because i thought that i had lost spark. but it would start every few hours. so i spent 113 dollars and replaced the coil pack. it started but it died again. the only other thing to look at was the ckp. 20 bucks fixed my problem. good luck

CPS is not the problem regarding it not turning over. If it turned over and would not start then yes the CPS may be the culprit. However since the engine is not turning over at all the battery, starter, or anything regarding the them is where the problem lies.

Check your battery (or get a new one)