I have a '90 9000T.
>
>Monday got the oil changed and got new button covers for my ACC.
>
>Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, but not Tuesday morning or evening,
>turn the key and the starting engine sounds wrong, so turn off key and
>try again, engine starts right up.
>
>Wed afternoon, turn the key, NOTHING. Get a jump from AAA, nothing, get
>towed to mechanic.
>
>Mechanic claims it is either
>
>1) Wire to starter is loose
Easy to check and fix.
2) Ignition switch is bad
Ditto, but not quite so easy.
3) Starter is bad
Possible.
4) Some combination of the above.
They forgot the starter solenoid. The ignition switch is incapable of handling the 200 to 500 amps needed to run the starter.
>They claim they checked wiring including the live wire from the ignition
>and it has power when they turn the key, so they put in a rebuilt Bosch >starter.
It's easy to check the starter by just bypassing the relay. Presumably they've done that.
>I come to pick up the car, turn the key, NOTHING. They try it a few
>times and eventually get the car started. They then claim that the
>ignition switch is ALSO bad.
So when they tested it, it never happened to them.....
Told to come back in an hour. Come back
>and am told that they put in a new ignition switch and had the same
>problem, that it takes several tries to start the car. THUS the
>original ignition switch was probably o.k., that my starter was
>completely bad, and that the rebuilt one has bad spots.
Right....
New ignition switch was not needed... New starter was possibly not needed, but that's hard to tell. Assuming that this is so... I'm really curious as to why the new one has "bad spots".... Sounds like a real quality control problem...
They claimed
>that another rebuilt bosch starter they got a few months ago was also >bad.
Wonder what percentage that is... I'd be suspicious of the starters...
>CURRENTLY: I have the rebuilt starter in the car and can get the car to
>start after several attempts. They are going to find a new rebuilt >starter supplier.
As long as the battery is in good shape, when you start the car... assuming that there is NO starter present, you would hear the starter relay click in (and it isn't really quiet) on a conventional car. Saab's might be different, but that's hard to say. If you don't hear that, then I'd suspect the starter relay first, then the ignition switch. Lastly, I'd suspect the starter itself. IIRC, a common starter fault is that it spins, but does not engage...
I'm assuming that you mean that the starter does not turn at all....
These people are either having a bad run of luck with what they're doing, or they sound a bit clueless.... OR I could be wrong with all of the above.
Harvey
>Have any you had a similiar type of problem? How does this all sound to >y'all?
>
>At this point I am seriously considering disposing of the Saab and
>getting a Subaru. The AWD will be nice for upstate New York winters and
>my first car, a Subaru Justy, was great and Subaru's have a reputation
>for dependability. I don't want to spark a Saab vs. Subaru flame fest,
>but constructive comments would be welcome....
This sounds more of a garage problem than a Saab problem. You could duplicate the same chain of events on any other car except a Yugo.... in which case, you'd just get another 3 foot length of rope for the starter cord....
H,