2002 Saturn SL2 Saturn SL2 Shift and electrical problem

HEINDJ03

MEMBER
2002 SATURN SL2
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
178,000 MILES

I was driving my Saturn tonight and noticed the tranny didn't seem to grab coming from a stop after about 10 minutes of driving, but I've been driving it all day and it was fine. The engine revved up just fine, but the car slowly gained acceleration, very slowly. Once out of first gear it seemed fine. At that time I also noticed my dash lights dimming and the stereo kicked out and came back on. Electricity seemed to restore to the car as I drove it, no dummy lights ever came on, but it continued to accelerate slowly from a stop. I got it home and now it won't shift into reverse. The shifter isn't stuck, you can put it in reverse, but the tranny stays in neutral or park. I checked the transmission fluid level and it was a little low so I plan to fill it in the morning. But other than that I don't know where to begin. Any ideas? You're help is greatly appreciated.

3 Replies

SATURNTECH9

MECHANIC
30,870 POSTS

I would check and make sure your battery cables are clean and tight that yr saturn had a lot of leaky batteries so take the cables off and make sure that's not the case with yours.I would also take a multimeter while it's idling and see what the voltage is at the cable's since you mention your radio was cutting out.

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Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 AT 1:37 PM

HEINDJ03

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Hello and thanks for the quick response,

Since your post, I checked the battery cable ends and made sure they're getting a good connection. They seem fine. I replaced the battery and that didn't solve the problem. I took out the alternator and had it tested, it tested good. I recently installed a new CD player, so I took that out too. But I still have the same problem. With a full battery the car runs great for about a half hour to 45 minutes, then it starts to lose electricity and has very little acceleration in 1st gear/reverse. I checked the ground wires off the battery and their good too. I left the battery connected all night to see if it was draining while the car was off, but this morning the car started right up with a stronger charge then I left it with last night. So it seems like the battery is just not charging while the car is running. But the alternator and cables from it are good. What else could be the problem? I'm running out of ideas here. Please help!

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Sunday, July 25th, 2010 AT 4:38 PM

SATURNTECH9

MECHANIC
30,870 POSTS

Let's do this since you think your alternator isn't charging the battery let's just make sure your right. Charge up your battery and start the car up and see what the voltage reading is at the battery with it running. If it's not charging I will tell you which wire's to check for battery voltage. Let me know what you find.

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Sunday, July 25th, 2010 AT 9:17 PM