1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Did they fail the car just because it wouldn't start!? Not cool! That 'inspector' must be sleeping on the couch at home...a nice guy would just void the test & tell you come back when the car will run.
__________________________
Have you had the car long? How many miles? Ignition switch issues are common in the following circumstances:
- Higher mileage or lots of short trips & age.
- Bad catalytic converter heat shielding (heat rises).
- Convertibles...ie, if the top was ever left down when it rained.
- All c900s...if coffee or soda pop got spilled, or there was ever a naughty kid left unattended in the car with a juice box.
The electrical component beneath the ignition key can crap out & reduce amperage delivered to the starter solenoid & if the starter is tired already, this will be most evident when things are hot. How do the battery cables look? If they've got any missing insulation, dirt can get into them & make a four gauge cable behave like a twelve gauge. As you might imagine, if your car is afflicted with multiple problems, a little heat is the final straw.
The first thing you should do is try bypassing the ignition lead to the solenoid. This is very easy - get a short length of 10g or 12g amplifier power wire & crimp a large (preferably insulated) female spade connector to one end. Disconnect the small 14g wire from the solenoid & plug in your 'test wire'. ~STOP & VERIFY THE CAR ISN'T IN GEAR!~ Now simply touch the other end of the wire to the battery cable where it connects to the starter. The starter should now be turning the engine over. It should be doing this irrespective of the position of the ignition switch...if the ignition is on, the engine will (should) start, if it's off it won't...but the starter will (should) turn anyway. Try this when the engine is cold & again after it gets warmed up & won't start normally as you described.
If the battery & cables are known to be good (are you sure?) & the starter won't turn using the jumper wire when the engine is hot, you need a new starter - if it does, it could still be the starter! But you probably just need a new ignition switch...which is a lot cheaper!
The ignition switch is only a $38 part & isn't a big deal to replace. Not knowing what I do now, I once (well ok, twice) hooked up a HD 30amp relay to the solenoid connection, tripped by the ignition wire. This "fixed" the problem on my 85' 900t until I got around to replacing the starter...but on my 83' 900s, which had a bad ignition switch, this created a 'relay loop' & once the key was turned, the car started...but the starter wouldn't shut off!!! Very exciting! I'll never understand why the 'relay fix' worked on the 16v & not on the 8v...go figure.
A bad ignition switch will eventually also stop feeding power to your fuel pump...which can be a difficult thing to diagnose. I once had a separate battery in the back of that 83' 8v jerry rigged directly to my fuel pump, but not before I had swapped in a spare pump - Doh! Ahh, to be young & stupid.
BTW - I have a feeling you need a starter, as you only have to enter your radio code when voltage drops significantly & a bad starter can draw a lot of current...though it could be the ignition switch. You may also have a battery drain someplace (look on the bottom of the battery facing the front of the car...the drain may have been left loose the last time the battery acid was changed - Ha Ha!!! Sorry, I need meds ;)
Anyway, remove the neg. battery cable & connect one lead of a multi tester/voltmeter to it & the other lead to the neg. batt. terminal...yes, seriously. Be sure to isolate the battery cable so it doesn't touch the terminal. If there is any reading above say, .25v you've got a drain someplace, the higher the reading - the worse the drain. Keep in mind that the clock will always draw a little. Start pulling fuses until you find the source...there may be more than one. If you have a drain & are stumped, try disconnecting the pwr. antenna turn on lead...Good Luck!
posted by 68.99.169...
, Tue, 8 May 2007 14:27:40
, Sun, 6 May 2007 19:30:10
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
