I have been fighting different problems with my Saturn 96 SL1 for over a year now. Besides the poor engineering, alarm system from hell, and various other quirks this latest issue might help others. I had a battery that was less than two years old and when jump started the car ran fine. The battery checked out fine as well as the starting and charging system. All cables were corrosion free and I had a solid ground from the battery to the chassis. I made certain I was not leaving anything on. Out of desperation I purchased a new battery which started the auto the first time it was installed. The next time I tried to start the car I had the same problems. Jump start and it ran fine until it was time to restart it. I ran an OHM meter from the disconnected positive cable to the chassis to find a dead short. Three days of chasing wire harnesses proved to be a total waste of time leading to no results. I am not a mechanic so I may have done this backwards but I started from the front and worked my way back towards the rear of the car. While ripping out all of the carpet to check the rear harnesses I heard a faint clicking noise coming from the top of the trunk. I ripped out the very small overhead light and found a small relay embedded in the the light bulb clicking on and off at will. It had no effect on the function of the light. Disconnected light and relay and have not had a problem since. Such a simple problem that was so very hard to track down for me at least. Like I said I am no mechanic but I bet it would have cost a fortune. Now I get to spend the next few days putting all the panels and coverings back into place. I do not plan on replacing the stupid trunk light though. Maybe I will blow it up for New Years Eve. I hope this might help someone as I have noticed that Saturns have very similar problems depending on make and model.
Happy New Year to all!