1997 Saturn SL not starting

[b1957r]

Got a 97 saturn sc2, went to start nothing, no sound when key was turned. Had no interior lights, no [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]power [COLOR=blue !important]windows[/color][/color][/color], no power door locks, and no door chimes. Had lights on dash and radio, still nothing. Went to passenger side [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]fuse [COLOR=blue !important]panel[/color][/color][/color], popped it off and looked on back of panel, took out the one that is a 10 amp fuse marked body and replaced the new fuse and lord and behold it cranked! Hope this will work for some of yall that are having the same problem. .89 cent 10 amp fuse, and my car started!

[b1957r]

Got a 97 saturn sc2, went to start nothing, no sound when key was turned. Had no interior lights, no [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]power [COLOR=blue !important]windows[/color][/color][/color], no power door locks, and no door chimes. Had lights on dash and radio, still nothing. Went to passenger side [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]fuse [COLOR=blue !important]panel[/color][/color][/color], popped it off and looked on back of panel, took out the one that is a 10 amp fuse marked body and replaced the new fuse and lord and behold it cranked! Hope this will work for some of yall that are having the same problem. .89 cent 10 amp fuse, and my car started!

[mistyssnow]

Ok, I am having a problem with my saturn sl1 that is mind boggling. I am thinking it is the clutch switch but not sure. It is intermittently not starting, it cranks and will not turn over, if I keep cranking it after the fourth crank the battery is dead. If someone jump starts me it will start up. The lights do not dim at all radio works fine nice and bright. I took it to advanced auto parts and had them check the battery, alternator and starter all tested good. It will do it only every couple of months. No engine light or codes which is frustrating cause I have no idea what is wrong with it to bad the stupid thing cant talk right. nothing abnormal about it anyone have any ideas for me to try or has anyone had this problem also

[denisond3]

If the battery tested good, but it acts like it is dead after a brief period of cranking the engine, I would suspect a bad battery cable or cables, or something in the wires between the battery and the fuse box under the hood. And the negative wires are just as important as the positive ones.
The fact that it cranks over (engine is turning), doesnt guarantee that the computer and the spark igniter is okay or getting enough voltage. The coil pack on the front side of the block needs to be well grounded to the block. The coils can be removed from the base - and the base has electronics in it. All those contacts should be clean, the connector in good shape. The Service Manual even recommends replacing the four bolts after each removal. (I just re-used them myself, but made sure the iron of the block was cleaned with emory paper, for good contact.

I dont know how the auto parts places test batteries, alternators and starters. If they didnt remove them for the test, then it wasnt a complete total test. Im still glad they have the service though.

I have had a battery that would work fine most of the time, and hardly work at all part of the time. Eventually I learned it had a cracked inter-cell connector. That battery would crank the engine over nicely for a few seconds. Then the cracked into-cell connection would get heated up - and the engine cranking would slow dramatically.

We have had several Saturns in the family, both SL1 and SL2's. With three of them I added a pushbutton on the left side of the dashboard, that would feed 12 volts to the -small- terminal on the solenoid atop the starter. This was becuase the sophisticated electronics that car had would sometimes decide to not spin the starter. My pushbutton would always do it, because it bypassed the various safety interlocks. With the ignition on, pushing the button would spin and it would be running.

Another interlock that I never had trouble with, but others did, was the 'range sensor' on the transmission. This was also the 'neutral safety switch', to prevent the starter from working unless it was in park or neutral. Or at least when the switch believed it was in park or neutral. But if your starter is spinning the engine, that switch would not be the problem.

If your battery cables are in poor condition, it might be worthwhile to replace them. It will be a time consuming job though. The small bolts on the side terminal batteries take an 8mm socket - and preferably a 6 point kind, not the more common 12 point kinds. 5/16" is the same size as 8mm by the way.

[Rasp]

Another idea to try.

Maybe swap a known good battery from a different car and see if that fixes the problem. At the very least it would rule out the problem being the battery.

Also as stated above make sure connections to the battery are clean from corrosion. If they are corroded you can make a quick solution of baking soda and vinegar to clean them very easily.