The last few times the car started it sounded as if it was barely turning over but then it would fire up. Now it doesn't turn over at all, no noise when turning the key. The car has been sitting around for several months, is only started once a week or so and is rarely driven on the road. It is to be my son's car once he gets his driving privilege straightened out. I thought the problem was the battery and so had it on my CTEK charger today and after 7 hours the charger finished its cycle and indicates a fully charged battery. When I first hooked up the charger there was a sort of sizzling noise down in front by the starter or so it sounded to me. I unhooked the charger and reconnected the clamps and the noise was gone and the charging seemed to proceed as normal. Now the car still doesn't turn over. So in the morning I'm going to first check the voltage of the battery. If that's fine any suggestions on how to proceed with a diagnosis? The car is a manual and I tried depressing the switch button above the clutch pedal manually with my finger since I was messing with the master cylinder connection to the pedal and thought maybe there was a problem there but it still doesn't turn over when doing that. The plunger shaft on the master cylinder is now correctly connected to the pedal. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
2007 Saturn Ion 2.2 manual won't turn over
- Thread starter schuylkill
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Old batteries lose capacity. The Ctek thinks it's full. I bet if you left the headlights on for ten minutes the voltage drop would be substantial.
Of course the biggest job for a battery is to crank the engine, and all evidence you post seems to indicate it's not capable.
This should be a size that works with the $49 walmart value battery.
Of course if you only start the car to charge the battery, this could be something that waits.
Of course the biggest job for a battery is to crank the engine, and all evidence you post seems to indicate it's not capable.
This should be a size that works with the $49 walmart value battery.
Of course if you only start the car to charge the battery, this could be something that waits.
Do you have a jump box?
Quote
Put voltmeter leads on the battery posts (not the terminals).
I'm not clear on what you mean. The battery has connections on the side, hex head bolts connect the cables to the battery.
Put voltmeter leads on the battery posts (not the terminals).
I'm not clear on what you mean. The battery has connections on the side, hex head bolts connect the cables to the battery.
Man you guys are giving good news replies. I do have a jump box and I'll try it in the morning. I always jump to the worst case scenario I guess, even if I don't know what it is. HAHA. Hopefully it is the battery. Does Walmart really have a $49 battery?
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Unhook the battery and wait 5 minutes and hook it back up then try it again see what happens.
Unhook the battery and wait 5 minutes and hook it back up then try it again see what happens.
There are interesting clues here such as the sizzling noise. There recently have been threads on this site addressing this problem. The side terminal connections on the 95 GMC in my sig gave me problems.
Originally Posted by schuylkill
Man you guys are giving good news replies. I do have a jump box and I'll try it in the morning. I always jump to the worst case scenario I guess, even if I don't know what it is. HAHA. Hopefully it is the battery. Does Walmart really have a $49 battery?
Yes, they do
$49 Walmart battery
If that's not the right one, search for "Valuepower (battery size)"
Man you guys are giving good news replies. I do have a jump box and I'll try it in the morning. I always jump to the worst case scenario I guess, even if I don't know what it is. HAHA. Hopefully it is the battery. Does Walmart really have a $49 battery?
Yes, they do
$49 Walmart battery
If that's not the right one, search for "Valuepower (battery size)"
Side terminal connections. Believe Saturn have stack connections which are a B
Side terminal connections. Believe Saturn have stack connections which are a B
Sizzling noise would make me think cable connections, or possibly cables or starter solenoid-you have a loose connection somewhere.
I used to own a 2007 Ion with manual transmission. It had an intermittent problem of just all the electronics going dead and would not start. After setting a few hours or a few days it would start up again. My mechanic finally traced down the problem to the fuse block and bad connections within the block itself. When he pushed down on the block in different area's he could get the vehicle to start up again. After replacing the fuse block with an LKQ fuse block, no more electrical problems. Hope this helps.
PS maybe the "sizzling" noise was a relay or computer booting up. If the battery was truly dead this could happen when power is reapplied.
If you have side terminals in poor shape a normal 3/8-16 bolt works. I like to get a 1-inch bolt, nut, and lock washer. Assemble with the lock washer against the wire, the nut against that, then run the bolt through the whole mess to gently bottom out in the battery terminal. Finally, tighten the nut so it crushes the washer. Tight, and it's a bigger surface area for jumper cables.
Are we sure this car doesn't have the battery under the rear seat/ trunk with a vent or whatever?
If you have side terminals in poor shape a normal 3/8-16 bolt works. I like to get a 1-inch bolt, nut, and lock washer. Assemble with the lock washer against the wire, the nut against that, then run the bolt through the whole mess to gently bottom out in the battery terminal. Finally, tighten the nut so it crushes the washer. Tight, and it's a bigger surface area for jumper cables.
Are we sure this car doesn't have the battery under the rear seat/ trunk with a vent or whatever?
Originally Posted by eljefino
PS maybe the "sizzling" noise was a relay or computer booting up. If the battery was truly dead this could happen when power is reapplied.
If you have side terminals in poor shape a normal 3/8-16 bolt works. I like to get a 1-inch bolt, nut, and lock washer. Assemble with the lock washer against the wire, the nut against that, then run the bolt through the whole mess to gently bottom out in the battery terminal. Finally, tighten the nut so it crushes the washer. Tight, and it's a bigger surface area for jumper cables.
Are we sure this car doesn't have the battery under the rear seat/ trunk with a vent or whatever?
My 2005 Ion has a trunk mounted battery with vent so suspect this does also. When I tried some time ago WalMart did NOT have a suitable replacement battery with the vent. Thought I was smart and grabbed a Sears Diehard. Too bad Sears probably won;t be around to warranty if needed.
PS maybe the "sizzling" noise was a relay or computer booting up. If the battery was truly dead this could happen when power is reapplied.
If you have side terminals in poor shape a normal 3/8-16 bolt works. I like to get a 1-inch bolt, nut, and lock washer. Assemble with the lock washer against the wire, the nut against that, then run the bolt through the whole mess to gently bottom out in the battery terminal. Finally, tighten the nut so it crushes the washer. Tight, and it's a bigger surface area for jumper cables.
Are we sure this car doesn't have the battery under the rear seat/ trunk with a vent or whatever?
My 2005 Ion has a trunk mounted battery with vent so suspect this does also. When I tried some time ago WalMart did NOT have a suitable replacement battery with the vent. Thought I was smart and grabbed a Sears Diehard. Too bad Sears probably won;t be around to warranty if needed.
Originally Posted by eljefino
PS maybe the "sizzling" noise was a relay or computer booting up. If the battery was truly dead this could happen when power is reapplied.
If you have side terminals in poor shape a normal 3/8-16 bolt works. I like to get a 1-inch bolt, nut, and lock washer. Assemble with the lock washer against the wire, the nut against that, then run the bolt through the whole mess to gently bottom out in the battery terminal. Finally, tighten the nut so it crushes the washer. Tight, and it's a bigger surface area for jumper cables.
Are we sure this car doesn't have the battery under the rear seat/ trunk with a vent or whatever?
My 2005 Ion has a trunk mounted battery with vent so suspect this does also. When I tried some time ago WalMart did NOT have a suitable replacement battery with the vent. Thought I was smart and grabbed a Sears Diehard. Too bad Sears probably won't be around to warranty if needed. There are jump points under the hood I also use for charging/jumping when necessary in the past.
PS maybe the "sizzling" noise was a relay or computer booting up. If the battery was truly dead this could happen when power is reapplied.
If you have side terminals in poor shape a normal 3/8-16 bolt works. I like to get a 1-inch bolt, nut, and lock washer. Assemble with the lock washer against the wire, the nut against that, then run the bolt through the whole mess to gently bottom out in the battery terminal. Finally, tighten the nut so it crushes the washer. Tight, and it's a bigger surface area for jumper cables.
Are we sure this car doesn't have the battery under the rear seat/ trunk with a vent or whatever?
My 2005 Ion has a trunk mounted battery with vent so suspect this does also. When I tried some time ago WalMart did NOT have a suitable replacement battery with the vent. Thought I was smart and grabbed a Sears Diehard. Too bad Sears probably won't be around to warranty if needed. There are jump points under the hood I also use for charging/jumping when necessary in the past.
So voltage at the battery in the trunk reads 12.8 volts, drops to 12.6 when the key is turned. Car won't crank with a jump. Can I rule out a bad battery? Checked fuses that are marked with ignition or battery for continuity and okay. Swapped an ignition relay with an identical one for the fan, nothing. Disconnected the battery for awhile, no change.
I'm still suspicious of the override switch at the clutch pedal, but as bullwinkle mentioned the sizzling noise would seem to indicate a problem. Since the battery is in the trunk that may add to problem connection possibilities I guess. Voltage under the hood using positive post and block for ground is 12.7. I guess next up will be getting access to the starter and solenoid. Anything I can read on testing for voltage and continuity at the starter? Maybe I can find something on YouTube.
I'm still suspicious of the override switch at the clutch pedal, but as bullwinkle mentioned the sizzling noise would seem to indicate a problem. Since the battery is in the trunk that may add to problem connection possibilities I guess. Voltage under the hood using positive post and block for ground is 12.7. I guess next up will be getting access to the starter and solenoid. Anything I can read on testing for voltage and continuity at the starter? Maybe I can find something on YouTube.
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