I have a buddy with a 2002 Saturn SL2 that is having electrical issues. He emailed me this:
"Have you ever have a starter take out an entire car’s electrical system??? Went to start my Saturn this morning and as I turned the key to start… starter engaged for a second… pop… I have nothing electrical in the car… no headlights, horn, dash lights etc… for some reason the clock on the radio still works but on accessory the radio won’t come on, nor will the CD pop out… hitting the lock button gets a weak click…. Those two are all I found quickly which would work… didn’t check to see if the battery is dead and/or open… I have heard that batteries can go open at no notice.. has that happened to you before??? "
Any ideas?
Whoa. Maybe one of the AGM fuses under the hood blew, or a grounding strap snapped?
Does he have an aftermarket stereo? I know the earlier Saturns had a thing with the junction box in the dash where the wiring wasn't stout enough to handle the extra power and would melt the connector causing all kinds of havoc. They call it the F5 issue on the 2nd gens.
My RX7 did this last year.
I had a bad motor mount which allowed the starter to contact part of the chassis. The positive wire on the starter hit the chassis. It did all sorts of weird electrical things. I replaced teh main fuse and replaced teh positive cable to the starter.
All was good after that.
Rob R.
In reply to DuctTape&Bondo:
No, it's factory.
In reply to bravenrace:
sounds like a poor connection on a battery cable, or a failed ignition switch.
