In article >,
writes:
|> Hello Everyone,
|>
|>
|> I was wondering if anyone can help us on this one. This has been
|> going on for years. Every so often, my saturn will not start at
|> first. Cranks, first but fails to continue running. After a few
|> attempts, it then starts but runs rough and idles like crap. Have to
|> hold the gas pedal to keep if from stalling.
|>
|> I've been back and forth to the dealer for YEARS now with this, but
|> they can't find what causes it. The find the code for the actual
|> stall, but not for the cause. The car wasn't on the fuel pump recall,
|> or anyother lists ( which btw scares me from ever buying another
|> saturn, if this saturn is the best they made, oh doomed). The car
|> only intermittently does this, maybe 2-3 times a year, but at the
|> worst times. Like wifey driving at night, on very-very cold days, or
|> very very hot days.

This is a long shot. I have a 1994 SW2 that showed the same symptoms,
except in my case it was continuous, and not intermittant. My car
showed no codes of any kind. Its data interface is OBD-I, whereas your
car, being 1997, should be OBD-II. An OBD-II car SHOULD be have more
extensive tests for bad sensors.

Anyway, on my car (maybe not on yours), there are two temperature
sensors in the driver's end of the cylinder head. The upper/forward
one is the coolant temperature sensor, and is fully described in the
factory service manual and wiring diagrams. The lower/rear one (about
3 inches away) is NOT mentioned in the factory service manual! This
second sensor was the one that caused the problems: running rich,
full-scale O2 sensor output, unstable idle speed, stalling at idle
when hot and on acceleration, and hot starts requiring pedal on floor
(flooded start procedure). After a local shop found the problem and
replaced the sensor it, the car is running well again. Credit to
them: they did not have to replace anything else.

--
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Ned Forrester 508-289-2226
Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Dept.
Oceanographic Systems Lab http://adcp.whoi.edu/
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA