[wired1000]

All,

Thought I had fixed the electrical/charging issue... but this morning my gf reported that her car would not start. When she turned the key "nothing happened"

I'm already at work, but I had her check some things:

-battery voltage (taken at battery with multimeter) = 12.5V (battery is only a couple days old btw). VERY COLD in Chicago though.
-when she turns the ignition switch to Accessory, nothing happened
-when she turns the ignition switch to On, nothing happened (no dash lights or anything!)
-when she turns the ignition switch to Start, nothing happened (no clicks, no solenoid, nothing)

Thinking this sounds like a failed ignition switch, I asked her to jiggle the key around to see if we could get a connection of some kind. She did this and said she could get the radio to sometimes come on.

Additional background... we've been having alternator issues that *I thought* were resolved... She's driven the car only a couple times since then.

I had her check the Ignition fuse... it's good. Changed out the Ignition Lock Relay for a spare, no change.


Is there anything else it could be *besides* the ignition switch?

 

[16saabs]

it could be the gearing is not operating underneath to engage switch, but have a go yourself and see if there is any resistance when turning switch, as if it's normal pressure etc, you may just have a bad connection are your new battery connections tight and good, as a new battery should read higher voltage than that if new.

 

[wired1000]

Hmm... will have a look when I get home. To respond to these ideas...

she mentioned it felt harder to turn the key than normal, but I wonder if this is just because it's cold out. It is normal for it to feel "heavier" when cold.

When I replaced the battery I cleaned the terminals/connections and coated with a thin layer of dielectric grease. The car started up fine several times after changing the battery.

I do sort of wonder if the alternator wasn't really fixed, and the last trips she took in the car were just draining the battery (w/o the alternator recharging it). However, even in a *really* dead battery, the dash lights make some attempt at lighting up.

 

[wired1000]

I'm going to have her try again with a jumper box attached to the battery (should rule out dead battery).

Also going to have her see if the hazards will work normally (should tell us something about battery connectivity)

 

[wired1000]

Well, I guess it's a dead battery (REALLY DEAD). I've never seen a battery so dead it wouldn't even light up the dash lights before... but when she hooked up a jumper box, the dash lights came on and the car made a sad attempt at turning over.

Guess I'll recharge the battery and make another effort at grounding the alternator