EDIT: hey derf, I’ve been searching for hours for some help, you seem to be a legend round these parts.
if you see this, HALP!!
Hey everyone!
I’ve got an 02 sl2 with a weird electrical issue going on,
(87k miles)
When trying to start the car,
Putting the key into the acc position gives power to windows, AC / Heat but no radio
Putting key to run position makes all the lights in dash flicker, radio still doesn’t power up,
Car will try to start but it won’t. I noticed that if I wiggled the wire cluster under the radio, it would sometimes trip whatever was happening and the car will work fine for a few days then stop
Key note I’ve noticed *
If radio/clock isn’t on, car ain’t coming on,

New battery,
ignition switch
ignition lock cylinder

im no mechanic just a poor man trying to make it to work.
Will take videos and pictures when suns up.

 

Look for a burnt pin or wire in the instrument panel junction box. Somewhere in the F row. On the fuse block itself, not the side with the fuses. Caused by too high of a constant current being pulled by the combination of devices receiving their power from this one pin.

Access it by taking the instrument panel kick panel off of the left side of the lower console. This gives you access to the back of the fuse block.

When the car will not start, do the chime and dome light work?
Do they work when it does run?

 

about to head out to the car now. Will take pics like I said this morning I’m no mechanic but Im trying to fix this.
to answer your question:

no chime, no radio = no start
chime , radio work = start

Dome light has been burnt out since I bought the car haven’t changed it

No radio/ no start

Dash lights flickering

Panel under radio, (driver side)

 

That is a textbook symptom set for a burned terminal.

Fuel pump, radio, chime, and lighter and dome light are all receiving their power from a single power distribution point on that fuse block.

People who plug in phone chargers don't realize that the lighter in that car was designed to be used as a lighter and not a charging port. It has a picture of a cigarette on it, not the symbol 12 volts.

A lighter requires high current for a short time.
A phone charger requires medium or higher current for an indefinite amount of time. People that upgrade radios to ones that draw more current than stock also contribute to this issue.

Basically the terminal has so much current running through it to supply all of the aforementioned devices hat it overheats and over time burns the connection between The 12 volt feed from the under hood junction block to that F terminal.

In your case, it's probably not completely burned through, or things are still in close enough physical proximity to allow you to wiggle the connection to get it to run.

Driving as is, you risk the car instantaneously stalling because if the wires lose contact, you lose the fuel pump.

I either stickied a write up on this or have a link to someone else's sticky. It sucks to search for because f2, F5, f12 get removed from search phrases on most forums. I don't have the layout for the back of the fuse box memorized, so give me a few to find it

 

EDIT: car is not on the picture. Clock is always on when working properly
No worries, I disconnect the battery before trying to remove the junction box to get a view of the pins inside
turning the 7m bolt to left make it’s get tight and the whole unit starts to contort ( can hear the stress in the plastic) and turning right does the same, so I’m stopping here on the removal to not cause damage
( I wanna be clear, I’m not a mechanic,)
I checked fuses on the passenger side but found nothing significant.
was literally just finishing up while waiting for you to reply.
Put all fuses back in, connected battery and idk lucky I guess ??

 

From an ancient post on a different forum from guys who know their ****



{on the back of the fuse block by the gas pedal....loosen the 7mm, and remove the wire block. look for a burnt or hogged out terminal at the red wire location on both the wire block, and the male pin of the fuse block}

That is the bull you need to remove to find the wire/terminal that is burned.

I think the red wire is the 12 volt feed coming from the under hood junction box that I mentioned earlier. The post I pulled the text from that is above I could not determine which generation of S car it was from. First gen was F5, second and third generation, I believe one was F2 and the other was F12, But don't quote me. I think the columns of terminals are labeled across the top or side.

The only burnt pin or wire you will find is in the F row / column. I would go in my garage and look at mine, but my car is covered in snow at the end of the driveway. Mine is a first gen 95 coupe, so while I could ID how to find the F row column, the actual pin would be different.

You can do this. Just go slowly.

It will rear it's ugly head again. It's just a matter of time.
Again, you take the risk of it stalling with no warning when the fuel pump no longer has power to it. That means you lose power steering and power brakes and if you're going 70 miles an hour in the left lane on the highway, that is not a situation you want to be in. Worst case? Sure

Very possible. Yes. Especially since it sounds like you shifted the connection loosening the bolt and tightening it back up.

Not trying to scare you.
You have the car at home and you know what to look for.
That bolt has to come off to fix this. Whatever happens as you remove it would happen to anyone else removing it.

Just take your time. Remember it's 23-year-old plastic. It's going to make noises and that boat had not been turned since 2002.

You can do this.

 

[img alt="Numbering starts from the bottom, so does lettering. Lettering starts in bottom right as does numbering.

The F column is all the way to the left in this picture. If you expand it greatly, you will see the burning on the terminal. You need to inspect the terminal, what it plugs into which is the wiring harness you have removed, and also weather the pin is still firmly connected.

In this picture, it is the F5 terminal that is burned. Yours may differ. "]https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.saturnforum.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/saturn_fuse_box_2_7c9add8fd499909c206aa41725235c0e bba78221.jpg[/img]
Numbering starts from the bottom, so does lettering. Lettering starts in bottom right as does numbering. The F column is all the way to the left in this picture. If you expand it greatly, you will see the burning on the terminal. You need to inspect the terminal, what it plugs into which is the wiring harness you have removed, and also weather the pin is still firmly connected. In this picture, it is the F5 terminal that is burned. Yours may differ.

 

Wow That picture did not upload.

 

Ready for the plot twist? I’m red/green colorblind, not fully but enough for the military to take my job away the *****
anyway i don’t know if you saw it but i did message you about I think the box itself is upside down? ABCDEF is on the bottom of the plastic and upside down.
idk if it matter or not but context is important,
as for turning the bolt, i will try to turn it more left and see what happens,
i need this ole beaut to run reliably
thank you for the inspiration and kind words !

 

Your picture and my picture have the same orientation for the box itself relative to the things that connect to it.

Go with whatever is labeled in the box by GM.

Wherever the burned terminal is, it will make itself visually evident. Remember to also check inside what plugs into it from this side meaning the back. The terminal inside the connector may be burned away or melted enough that it is no longer springy and therefore not making good contact with the pin sticking out of the back of the fuse box. You'll find it

You can double check that you found it by wiggling whatever wire runs into the connector that goes into the wiring harness and onto that terminal and watching your radio flicker on and off and the same with your chime and I think actually the horn which I forgot about.

You got this.