Hey guys and gals, 2001 saturn sc2 coupe, automatic, 127k miles. Vehicle was abandoned by my gf because it was having intermittent starting issues and asked me to junk it... the interior is spotless and only thing wrong (I thought) was the paint ate up and the tires weathered from sitting since 2017 next to a garage. So instead of junking it i said "why not tinker and get it running again?"

Boy I regret that.. car turns over but fuel pump does not cut on and no spark is being generated.

I have replaced the crank position sensor, ICM, coil packs, plug wires, plugs, PCM and figured i nailed the issue. I did the relearn and noticed the security light stayed on the entire time but still cranked over after I completed (or so I assume) the relearn process. Steering wheel has to be jiggled with key to get it to unlock. Not sure if my issue is in the ignition or the BCM.

any advice, tips, etc would help. Bought new wheels and tires for it, fuel pump, etc and look forward to painting it soon but it would be a major plus if it RAN.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hopefully you have the title for this vehicle. If not, your journey will be likely hellish trying to get the car legally back on the road. Unless you still speak with your ex, in which case you could still get the title and have her sign it over to you.

If the vehicle sat undisturbed for 7 years outside, there is a real possibility that critters may have chewed some of the wiring.

Sounds like you may have a combination of a bad CKP along with an ignition switch passlock sensor issue.

When I say bad CKP, I should really say no CKP signal getting to the PCM. If you purchased the CKP from AutoZone or advanced, there's a 50% chance it was DOA. Get one through Napa or somewhere like RockAuto.com. do not ever buy electrical parts from AutoZone or advanced.

Bad CKP leads to no spark and fuel injectors not enabled. Car will crank freely but never fire and therefore never start.

Passlock issues will prevent the injectors from ever being enabled. Should still have spark, however. Sometimes vehicles with passlock issues will sputter start for a second or two and then stall. This occurs because small amounts of gas leak from the injectors into the cylinders.

You stated the fuel pump does not kick in. Are you referring to the fact that you cannot hear it prime when you turn the key to accessory when trying to start the vehicle? Or are you saying that you can never hear the fuel pump turn on? Have you checked the fuel pressure at the rail? Some of the pumps can be extremely quiet. Best to confirm with a measurement that your pressure is zero with a measurement. Fuel filter may also be blocked but will get to that.

I would start with a thorough inspection of all the wiring under the hood and back by the fuel pump, and everything in between unfortunately. A lot of critters like to make a nest on top of the fuel tank because it is out of the elements, including the wind. When they do, the wires are right there and chomp chomp. You do not want to drop the tank more than once, so investigate everything you can first.

I would also start with another new CKP from the places I mentioned above and a thorough inspection of the wiring that leads from the CKP to the PCM. The CKP is down low on the vehicle and is therefore a more likely target for getting chewed.

Also measure the fuel pressure at the fuel rail. You can loan a tool from advance or AutoZone by putting down a deposit, borrowing tool, and getting your deposit back so it is free.

Do these things one at a time so that you can determine what if any effect each individual change makes or doesn't make.

The vehicle will still not start due to passlock, but without getting fuel and spark, it's not going to start anyway.

The spark issue is not related to passlock. With no spark, nothing else matters for the time being.

I would seriously consider putting the original PCM back in, as there doesn't sound like any formal troubleshooting of the PCM was performed. Plus you know that it previously started the vehicle. You can also swap back and forth while doing some of these troubleshooting steps, just don't get confused.

 

I should clarify my passlock comments.
We cannot tell at this point whether the ignition switch pass lock sensor or the BCM is creating the passlock issue.
It's not worth throwing money at a brand new key cut from the VIN if you don't have everything else you need for the car to run.

Step by step.

 

Ok thanks derf! I'll be able to get my hands on it Tuesday morning. And no worries about the title my gf gave me the title when she told me to junk it. I'll start with looking at the wires and tracking those back a bit. The initial ckp I installed last week was from rockauto (I used to work for autoadvancereillys) lol so I may snag one from Napa down the street if the wiring comes out clear. I'll keep you updated.

 

Did I miss something in your post about the girlfriend being an ex? I got the impression she's still your girlfriend.

 

She is in fact still my gf lmao I just figured he read quickly and assumed hahaha. No biggie

 

I guess my brain figured that only an ex would stick you with a car like that.
Or I can see the future, in which case working on this vehicle may end your relationship.

I hope not.

Apologies, sir.

 

Lmao no worries at all. Trust me it has not been fun but I couldn't just throw it away with it being so clean inside and only having 127k miles. I've heard they're reliable. Tomorrow will be the bane of my existence. I'm built like a fridge so trying to track wires down is going to be... interesting

 

Unfortunately you cannot test for voltage at the ckp (easily) because a signal is generated (a pulse) when a special part on the crank goes by it. No voltage/current is sent by the pcm to the sensor. So you would need to have an oscilloscope to view the signal as a function of time. Might be able to detect presence on ac voltage setting with it connected and leads across it. Not sure.

You can and should measure the ckp resistance when cold.