01 SL1 wont start

Hey Gang,
Got kind of a strange one. My daughter called me and said she left her lights on and ran the battery down. She had a friend try to jump start with no luck. I went up and got her jump started, brought the car back to my house, charged battery and tested charging system...all checked ok. She calls the next day and says it wont start. All accessories worked, but when you turn ignition key .....nothing. I watched the headlights to see if the starter was drawing when I turned the ignition key....nothing....just dead. The strange part is if I disconnect the negative post from the battery and reconnect it starts....like something is being reset. Any ideas?

TIA

Danno

Hmmm....
Sounds like the battery is shot. The battery is not designed for a slow discharge. You can actually ruin a cell in the battery by leaving the lights on. From then on, it wont hold a charge for long such as in your case.

The other thing is that you could just have a bad connection at the terminals. Check for corrosoin.

Thanks for the reply, RC. Had the battery and charging system tested at AZ....they both checked out fine. When it wont start, the starter is not drawing on the battery at all. It's like the circuit is open......until the battery is disconnected/reconnected. Both terminals are corrosion free with good solid connection.

Hmmm....
Sounds like the battery is shot. The battery is not designed for a slow discharge. You can actually ruin a cell in the battery by leaving the lights on. From then on, it wont hold a charge for long such as in your case.

The other thing is that you could just have a bad connection at the terminals. Check for corrosoin.

Interesting. Automatic?

Does the car have remote locks (RKE)?

Yep....it's an automatic.

Now that you mention it, I think she said something about the remote locks not working since this ordeal started. Sorry for leaving that bit of info out...could it be related? I haven't verified that, but she would know. Never connected those as possibly being related to the 'no start' problem.

Interesting. Automatic?

Does the car have remote locks (RKE)?

BTW...are the starters located on front side of engine, or on firewall side? Thought I might try tapping on it while my daughter tries to start. I tried following the + battery cable....but it was dark outside.

Started is located on the Firewall side.

If you dont hear a click and the lights do NOT dim, you have an ignition issue.

Make sure the locks are unlocked WITH the remote. If they are not, then its possible the RKE is being set off. Odd that removing power will reset the RKE as that should not happen IIRC.

Also, more the gear selector to N or to 2 then back to P. See if that helps

Had a Saturn do the same thing. Turned out to be the starter. I connected a jumper wire with alligator clips to the solenoid post on the starter and the other end to my test light lead. Grounded my test light to a good ground with another jumper wire. Turned the ignition switch to start. The test light lit up but no crank from the starter. Hope this helps.

Double check the cables too because they are noted of rotting from the inside out. I would also look at the battey if it has any more than 5 years on it. I'd go ahead and change that as well. The starter is another good area to look at. You said it acts like it is totally dead when this happens? Do you mean you don't have a domelight and the gauges don't move when you try to crank it?

Thanks for the replies you guys....much appreciated. Didn't get a chance to look at it last night, but will get into it this weekend. I want to check into the remote lock FOB. I had already tried moving steering wheel and shifter....no change. Again, the battery load tested fine, cables all check out, and when I say it doesn't do anything....the lights, radio, and all accessories work fine. When we try to crank it over...nothing at all. No click, no noise, no 'draw' on the headlights.....acts as if there is an open in the starter. I want to try tapping on the starter to see if there is a dead spot....that's what it acts like. The only weird thing is that it starts after disconnecting/reconnecting battery cable....which makes me want to believe it's not starter related. Since this all started after she ran the battery down and had somebody try to jump start her, I'm wondering if they crossed cables and damaged something. Probably a stretch, but I'm a believer that there is usually an underlying reason why things like this happen. I will definitely keep you guys posted as to what I find. Danno

When it won't crank are you sure the passlock light isn't flashing? It's real common to have PK2 security issues in all of GM's lines. Also, many times if it's the security light, it'll also come on every so often while driving too. If it is flashing or on while driving, I have a way to perminatly bypass it.

Hi Ponch,
No....not sure if it's flashing or not. Went out today, and it started right up. I tried to get it to fail, and it started every time. Temperature outside is quite a bit warmer today(40's)....wonder if the temp. could be a factor here. Oh, the door locks also worked today....so the two are related. When it won't start, the remote locks dont work either. When it is starting, remote locks work fine. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. danno

When it won't crank are you sure the passlock light isn't flashing? It's real common to have PK2 security issues in all of GM's lines. Also, many times if it's the security light, it'll also come on every so often while driving too. If it is flashing or on while driving, I have a way to perminatly bypass it.

Hi Ponch,
No....not sure if it's flashing or not. Went out today, and it started right up. I tried to get it to fail, and it started every time. Temperature outside is quite a bit warmer today(40's)....wonder if the temp. could be a factor here. Oh, the door locks also worked today....so the two are related. When it won't start, the remote locks dont work either. When it is starting, remote locks work fine. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. danno

Definetly something wrong with the RKE i think. Check all your grounds inside the engine bay. Look at the connections going to the PCM also. The BCM gives codes to the PCM that allows the PCM to start the engine. If the PCM cant get the passcodes, then you dont get to go anywhere :)

Interesting. Do this. If it's starting sit inside the vehicle and lock it with the remotes. Sit there for about 30 seconds then try to start it with the key and see if it starts.

maybe its the battier cables my cables were shot and my starter would just clcik and shut off try replacing the battier cables saturns are a pain arnt they one thing after another chagend my tranny and battier cables :mad: 3mounths later and im still fixing mine

Ok...got a little more info here. Just went out and started the car several times....started every time. Sat in the car hit the door locks, waited a minute and it started right up. I did notice that when I hit the remote lock that a security light was flashing on the dash until I started the car. But this info may be irreleveant given my new findings. I decided to close the hood and park it outside for the night, but as soon as I closed the hood, got in the car and tried to start it....no worky. What I did discover is that the remote door lock does still work when the car won't start.....it did for me anyway. Daughter claims it didn't. So anyway, right now car wont start. I disconnected battery cable and reconnected...still no start. I disconnected again and left it for 10 minutes...reconnected and still no start. So maybe it was just coincidence that it started before after disconnecting. Not sure. I'm going out and see if I can tap on the starter. Oh...I do hear the fuel pump when I turn on the key. Another thing I noticed is that when I put the car in any gear other than park the lights come on and then go out when I attempt to start. When I put the car in park and turn the lights on while trying to start....nothing...no draw....nada.

Put a test light on the small wire on the starter then try to crank. If the light illuminates but the starter still won't go, replace the starter. If it doesn't light up while trying to crank, you have some other problem upstream.

It's the starter. Had my son try starting...as soon as I tapped the starter it cranked right over. Must have been coincidence that it started when we were disconnecting/reconnecting battery terminal. I feel bad leading you guys on a wild goose chase with bad info. The worst part is listening to my wife saying she told me so...she said it was the starter from the beginning.:rolleyes:
Going to look and see how hard it will be to get at the starter laying on the ground. Doesn't look like fun, but daughter has no money to take it to a shop....I'll probably give it a shot. Thanks you guys....really appreciate all the replies.

Danno

WATCH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6awyslXkeI

Glad you figured it out :)

Thanks, RC....gotta love YouTube.

WATCH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6awyslXkeI

Glad you figured it out :)

Getting the front up on ramps would be ideal. The hardest part is getting at the top mounting bolt just because you just can't see it. A long extension that will allow the ratchet to turn behind the starter tends to work for me.

No problem. Glad you figured it out. I just had a buddy that was going crazy with his kids' 2002 Alero that I put a remote starter on last year. His Ex was all over him for getting the remote starter and was sure it was the cause of the car stalling out and sometimes not starting at all. When he called he said he could remote start it but when he put the key in the ignition then pressed the brake it would stall. I told him it was the ignition switch. I just swapped out the switch for him tonight and it's all good now!!!

Have a question for you, hope you can help me. I have the same starting problems you did, if it sits for awhile it will start, and I have a problem with the remote locks. You said it was your starter, when your starter was bad, and it did start did it start up like normal, because mine does, thats why Im thinking its not the starter. Please reply , it may help me... Thank you. Michael michael_parks2001 @ yahoo.com