Car Trouble

Coal

I've been having some trouble with my car recently. I bought it this year (used) but it was in great (if not excellent) condition, having only a few miles on it honestly. The car itself is a 2004 Saturn Ion.

What has been happening is that recently, when I go to try and start the car after not having used it for a few hours, it doesn't exactly want to start. It will act like it is going to, but never actually start up. What I mean is that I can turn the key and get a sound like it does when it starts, but then it cuts off. Occasionally it will start, and then turn right back off. It has only done this maybe four times in a month, so I'm not TOO worried (I've had it since June), but I do want to figure out the problem and get it taken care of before I'm stranded at work or something.

I talked with my Step-Father and Grandfather about it and what my Grandfather said he thinks it might be is a battery problem. My Step-Father, on the other hand, said I might need a new alternator. Now I know next to nothing about vehicles, so I'm not really sure what an alternator would cost, if that's even the problem. What I'm basically wondering is if there are any websites I could get a decent estimate on a price tag, that way I would know what to expect.

mastman

Almost every auto store will do battery checks for free.

Gnome-Interruptus

Sounds like the car is stalling when the RPM arent up high enough. The only way the battery could be causing the problem is if its not sending enough juice to the spark plugs.

A better indicator of battery problems would be if your dashboard lights get really dim when you turn on your headlights, like there are too many draws on the power for the battery to keep up, so things just get less juice then they need.
The alternator just helps keep your battery charged, by turning excess RPM / Horsepower into electricity. A better indicator of alternator problems is if your battery keeps dying and you constantly need boosts.

If the car is stalling due to the low RPM, then a mechanic can turn up your throttle so it idles a bit higher, also, giving the car a bit of gas when you first start it can also help. Maybe get your distributer cap, cables, and spark plugs changed may help as well.

From there you need an actual automotive mechanic to have a look into things like the timing belt etc.

Ruckus

Sounds like an ignition or fuel system problem. Many parts stores will code scan your car (from the ODBII port) for free, to check for bad sensors or control modules.

Coal

Awesome, thanks guys. Hopefully it won't cost me too much to find the problem/get it fixed. Thanks again for the help!

Food?

Do you live anywhere where it's cold?

BomanTheBear

When I was building my MG, I came across the same bitch of a problem. I call it a bitch because it's a symptom of several other problems. Perhaps it will help if I list mine.

1. Batter no longer holds a charge. Just go get a new battery. ($60)
2. Your alternator isn't charging the battery efficiently, or is sapping the battery of power when it's off. If you don't know where your alternator is, you're better off letting an expert handle it. ($30-$400)
3. You've got a solonoid problem. It could be not making full contact with the flywheel. Whether or not you know what this means, it's a big fucking problem and could cost several k to fix. This probably is not your problem. (If it is, it'll go between $1500-$4000)
4. Bad connection between starter/ignition or a short in one or the other. There are trial and error options for this, but a mechanic could tell you pretty quickly. (Free-$300)
5. If you've got an electrical starter, it could be sending a bad signal to the ignition. Quick fix, but only experts have the machinery to do it. (Free-$100)

Don't look at the numbers and panic, I just listen the options it MIGHT be. It probably would be a safe bet to just take it to a mechanic and get a diagnostic run on it. Otherwise, you might be aiming at the wrong causes. Hope this helped.

Coal

Food? wrote: »

Do you live anywhere where it's cold?

Well, I live in South Carolina. It's pretty cold (IMO) at the moment actually. I had asked my step-dad if that could possibly be causing the problem, actually. Would that cause a problem?

BomanTheBear

Coal wrote: »

Well, I live in South Carolina. It's pretty cold (IMO) at the moment actually. I had asked my step-dad if that could possibly be causing the problem, actually. Would that cause a problem?

Whoa, where in SC?

Coal

Around Clemson/Seneca.

Food?

Depending on how cold you're talking about, yes, it could. You could get condensation in your fuel line, which would cause the misfired ignitions as well as the engine halting right after starting it. If there's condensation in the line, when it reaches the engine, it doesn't burn (obviously), so the engine stops/won't start. I had this problem for a bit with my old Taurus - you can pick up stuff you dump in your fuel tank that will prevent the problem.

BomanTheBear

Coal wrote: »

Around Clemson/Seneca.

Kickass, man, I live in Greenville. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Clemson to recommend you a good mechanic.

Coal

Food? wrote: »

Depending on how cold you're talking about, yes, it could. You could get condensation in your fuel line, which would cause the misfired ignitions as well as the engine halting right after starting it. If there's condensation in the line, when it reaches the engine, it doesn't burn (obviously), so the engine stops/won't start. I had this problem for a bit with my old Taurus - you can pick up stuff you dump in your fuel tank that will prevent the problem.

Do you think this is something I should try first? The reason I ask is because it only just started doing this (ie: when it started getting cold at night and during the day).

BomanTheBear wrote: »

Coal wrote: »

Around Clemson/Seneca.

Kickass, man, I live in Greenville. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Clemson to recommend you a good mechanic.

True. I've got a friend moving to Greenville later this year, haha.

wunderbar

How cold is cold though? Up here in Canada land we go for months in temperatures below the freezing mark, and our cars don't just suddenly stop working.

We all need block heaters to make sure the car starts in the morning when it gets really cold(below -20C(-4F), but we only really start to have problems with our vehicles when it hits -30C(-22F) outside.

Food?

I would say so, considering the stuff is pretty cheap (like, $6). If it doesn't work it's not like you wasted a bunch of money.

Does the car start fine later in the day? When this happened to me 3 years ago, I had to get a ride to school, only to find out that half an hour later my dad had been able to start it (the condensation had pretty much been flushed out).

Have you tried giving it just a little bit of gas as you start it too?

Coal

Food? wrote: »

I would say so, considering the stuff is pretty cheap (like, $6). If it doesn't work it's not like you wasted a bunch of money.

Does the car start fine later in the day? When this happened to me 3 years ago, I had to get a ride to school, only to find out that half an hour later my dad had been able to start it (the condensation had pretty much been flushed out).

Have you tried giving it just a little bit of gas as you start it too?

Well, usually after I start it (after it gives me a bit of trouble) then it starts fine the rest of the day. Usually what I will do is try to start it in the mornings, and if it doesn't want to cooperate I've been waiting around 10-15 minutes and then trying again, and it starts up just fine. And yeah, I've been giving it gas when I finally get it to start so it won't cut off.

And when I say cold, it's been around I'd say below 40 around here. Not cold to you I'm sure, but for here it's pretty rough.

Food?

It sounds extremely similar to the problem I had. My problem occurred when it was about 15-20 degrees, but that doesn't mean it can't happen at higher (but still cold) temperatures.

Coal

Food? wrote: »

It sounds extremely similar to the problem I had. My problem occurred when it was about 15-20 degrees, but that doesn't mean it can't happen at higher (but still cold) temperatures.

Do you happen to remember the name of the product?

Edit: Also I just checked the temperatures, it's actually below 30 right now (28) so yeah, hopefully it's that problem.

wunderbar

no, your car should not be breaking at 28F. Cars are designed to run in -20F temperatures with no problems. That is a sign that something else is wrong. When I work up this morning it was -18F outside and my car started with no problems at all, no block heater.

kevbot

If it isn't your battery it could be your crankshaft position sensor, or really any number of other sensors. In my car the sensor leads can come loose sometimes, leading to the problem you described (the car starts, but the vibration disconnects the sensor and the computer shuts the car off). Since you have a newer car you have a few options... you could find out how to get the car to display its trouble codes (most do this by blinking the check engine light after a certain combination of turns of the ignition key), which usually gives you a pretty generic list of engine problems, or you could go out and buy an OBDII reader and use it to read the car's engine diagnostic information (which is usually ridiculously in-depth... everything from fuel pressure to spark amperage). Either one of these will pretty quickly tell you what's wrong. You should definitely get a repair manual for your vehicle (mine is by Haynes), which will tell you exactly how to get the diagnostic information out of your car. If you don't want to do any of these, just take your car in to any modern mechanic and get the computer read out by them.

Lord Yod

<- ASE certified mechanic and smog technician

Ruckus wrote: »

Sounds like an ignition or fuel system problem. Many parts stores will code scan your car (from the ODBII port) for free, to check for bad sensors or control modules.

This sounds like it to me.

When you say 'it sounds like it wants to start', do you mean that the engine is spinning full-speed? If so, you don't have a battery problem.

You should not have to press the gas to get a Saturn (or any other fuel-injected vehicle) to start.

Is the engine light on? Looks like

but sometimes says 'Check' with a little engine graphic. If this light is on, the onboard computer is detecting a problem and you should have a mechanic check it out. (Only pay for the diagnostic service, after that you should determine what you should do before dumping more money into it)

(My guess: Bad ignition coil ground connection)