My friend has a '97 saturn SL2 with a 1.9l 4 cylinder & 5 speed. It will start just fine, but when
u turn it off It will crank but not fire up for 15-20 minutes. Any ideas what
this could be? Oh, It can be push started but just won't crank
with the key
Edited by: deathtorice

 

I have a 99 SL2 that has recently developed the same problem you described. It will always start immediately when cold but sometimes after shutting off engine and returning in an hour or two the engine will crank but not fire at all. If I try it intermittently ten or 12 times cranking for 5-10 seconds it will usually suddenly start and run as if nothing happened. Once I left it overnight and when I returned in the morning it started with no hesitation. I have not tried push starting but I will next time it happens. Would appreciate any news. I dont want the mechanic to just start replacing parts.

 

I'm having somewhat of the same problem with my '94 SC2, but it's to the point where its not cranking at all. Last night it cut off on me twice while coming to a stop. While I was in a store for an hour or so, my car would not start at all, even with a jump. I had to push start it.

 

I have since discovered what caused the problem I described in my first post. The crank position sensor was bad. It would work ok when cold but when shut off and attempted to restart later it sometimes would crank but not fire up at all. Saturn apparently had a bad run of crankshaft sensors for that year for it turned out to be a fairly common problem. If your Saturn sometimes won't start after being run...do yourselfa favor before you start replacing all the expensive stuff like ignition modules etc....replace the crank position sensor. It costs under $20 and your mechanic can replace it in 10 minutes.

 

Interesting. Typically such a problem would indicate a temperature sensor failure. What is it about the crank position sensor that is affected by the temperature? Does heat separate a connection?


Was the REASON for the CPS failure explained? Just curious.

 

i have a 96 SL2 and I'm also having problems with starting the car. I've been having the same problems and have been stranded more than once because of it. Mine problem has been evn more extreme though. After driving, I'll shut the car off. When i come back, the thing won't start. I'll leave it for a couple hours, still won't start. I'll come back in the morning, and it'll start up just fine. After letting it sit, it'll start up multiple times in a row, but as soon as I take it somewhere and leave it for awhile, it dies and won't start up again. Does this have anything to do with the crak position sensor? Or would it be the starter that's giving me problems...

 

Could be any of a number of possible problems. Once again, though, your problem sounds as if it's temperature related.


My 2001 SC2 has recently been having starting difficulties, not temperature related.


I replaced the battery due to noting the clicking noise which is common with battery problems. The car started fine. A few days later I went to start it and I couldn't even get a click.


The alternator seems okay, the security system stays on, and the windows and radio work, so now I suspect the ignition switchto befaulty.

 

I drive a 92 SL2 and experienced the same problem last night. After driving the car for about an hour, I shut the car off, came back in about 5 minutes, the car would crank but it wouldn't turn over. So i let it sit for about 2 hours and it started, although the rpm went up to about 3000 for about 10 seconds before slowly coming back down. I work at a car dealership so I had my mechanics change the temperature sensor (part was about CAD $20) thinking it's the logical choice because the problem is temperature related. Well, same problem happened tonight. This time I opened up the hood to allow it to cool down faster and it started in about 15 minutes. So I am going to change the crank shaft position sensor tommorrow and we'll see what happens. I will ost updates afterwards.

 

We'll await your update.


Something I found with my car is that the positive battery cable and screw-postdevelops corrosion very quickly. Using a brush, I've had to dremel out the inside of the cable to remove the corrosion, dremel brush the actual screw-post, and then coat it with dielectric grease prior to reconnecting the battery. This tends to slow the corrosion process for more reliable starting.

 

Well, I changed the crank sensor today and same thing, it won't start. But it just started last night, even when it's cold, it won't start. Any suggestions would be appreciated...[img]smileys/smiley19.gif[/img]