I suggest you get a Haynes Saturn Manual for your year car and check the troubleshooting guide. There may be something in there that can point to a resolution to the problem.


However, if the car can be push started but simply won't start while cranking, it points to three possible problems:


(1) The battery has drained to the point there are not enough cranking amps remaining,
(2) Your plugs and wires may not be carrying full current, although this seems unlikely in regard to the hot/cold aspect,
(3) compression may be slow to build for some reason.
Have no other ideas at the moment, unless your ignition switch is failing and when you jiggle it just right, it catches and starts.Do you typically carry a heavy keychain, ya know, a lot of keys on it? Heavy key chains tend to damage ignition switches.
Edited by: LGO-SC2

 

BTW, I forgot to mention that my car is an automatic, so it can't be pushed started. Also, now it's not a hot/cold problem anymore, it just won't start at all. And no , I don't have a heavy keychain, just a single car key. But I really appreciate the feedback...[img]smileys/smiley6.gif[/img]

 

Well, a crank sensor and a coolant temp sensor later, I am still not sure what the problem is. But my mechanics at Kia have narrowed it down to either a fuel pump or fuel filter. I found a used fuel pump on ebay and I am just waiting for it to arrive. He thinks it's the fuel pump because we banged on the gas tank while he was cranking it and it started. So we put the car on the hoist to listen for the fuel pump and it made no noise when we turn the key to the "on" position, and hence the conclusion. I will post updates after I install the new "use" fuel pump.

 

Unfortunately, you've taken your car to a place that wants to charge you by the part.


If the car won't start, the first thing you should check is fuel, air, spark, and compression.


If any one of those is missing, the car won't start.


A fuel filter is CHEAP. Why not change THAT first, and then worry about the fuel pump? You can TELL whether or not the pump is working simply by listening for it to come on. If it is not coming on, then either your pump is bad (less likely), or the pump RELAY is bad (very likely!), or a FUSE is bad. With electronically fuel injected cars, if the fuel injection relay or fuse is bad, the fuel pump may not come oneither! This is a safety feature.


Relays and fuses are relatively inexpensive and should ALWAYS be checked before replacing more expensive parts like fuel pumps.


Yourshop is either uninformed, or simply taking advantage of you. I'd guess uninformed... For every good mechanic at a dealership, there are 5 that don't know how to read a manual and won't bother to do it.Edited by: LGO-SC2

 

Thanks for the input. I actually work a car dealership so I get free labour. I forgot about the relay so I will check the relay first thing tommorrow. Thanks again.

 

btw, just out of curiousity, how do you check if the relay is working fine or not. I am sure my mechanics would know how, but I am just curious myself.[img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img]

 

Here is wherea manual really comes in handy.


You check for continuity using a multi-meter. The manual would tell youwhich poles/tabs on the relayto connectvia themeter to check for continuity.


Either that, or even easier, replace the relay with a fresh one and if the car starts you know that was the problem.


Checking for continuity will tell you whether the relay is working. One problem you may have, rarely, is that more than one of those relays or fuses could have failed. I've never experienced that, though. Relays and fuses seem to stagger in their demise... one at a time.


Free labor will definitely keep the costs down!


If you check the trouble shooting section of a shop manual or even the Haynes manual, you'll cover the majority of possibilities.


If you're certain the relays and fuses for the fuel pump and injectors are good, and the fuel pump still doesn't come on, either the pump is bad or it isn't recieving the electrical signal to come on.


If you have spark, if the air filter is clean and there is no obstruction blocking the air intake, and if you have fuel and compression, the engine must start, assuming it cranks over fast enough to build compression, and the spark and fuel are delivered at the right time.


It's likely something very minor, like a relay or fuse.


Let us know what it turns out to be.





Edited by: LGO-SC2

 

My mechanics did check for continuity when we took the fuel pump out and it seemed ok. So hopefully it is the fuel pump. Still waiting for the fuel pump to arrive. But thanks fot the input.

 

So you're certain that the engine isn't getting fuel?


Did anyone check the fuel injection relay or fuse?

 

Finally, I am glad to say that my car is fixed. For those of you whose has been following my story, it was the fuel pump. I sincerely "thank you" to all those who have tried to help. Have a good one.[img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]