2005 Saturn Ion Intermittent starting solution

LisaH_1028

We have struggled for years with intermittent starting once the temperature gets below 30F. We've had it several places for service, but FINALLY have it fixed. There was a recall on the ignition switch a few years ago. That's the culprit. We actually had it replaced 2 times - something faulty with the manufacture of the part? Anyway, 2nd time has been the charm (knock on wood). Car starts every day for over a month, even during the polar vortex with temps 20 below F. Hope this helps!

Mr_Shiftright

Thanks for posting this. Intermittent starts can be very difficult to track down because a) the possibilities are nearly endless and b) often they cannot be diagnosed until they are actually occurring. The ignition switch being the culprit certainly makes sense, given the symptoms.

imidazol97

The ignition switches on those are shared with the Cobalt, HHR, and an Astra.

The switches had spring that held them in a position that were weak. The switches were replaced in service
but the replacements were not segregated by whether they were the original design or the modified design with a stiffer spring resisting movement due to torque forces on the key head from a heavy key ring.

I would think if the car originally had a contact problem of some type causing a no contact for the crank circuit on the original, replacing with either the weak spring or the strong spring replacement should have fixed it.

I'm glad it's fixed. Has to be really irritating to not know if the car will crank or not crank when it's cold. AND add the
frustration of searching for solutions. I just wonder if the problem was something that got moved or retightened when the second replacement was done, beyond being the actual switch itself. Either way, it shouldn't have happened.
Glad it's fixed.