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2008 Redline won't start

5K views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  JohnWR 
#1 ·
I went out to start my 2008 Redline after sitting since November 2018 in a heated garage. Nothing. Nil. Nada. And to add insult to injury, I can't get the key out of the ignition. I hooked the battery up to a trickle charge which has been going about 20 hours. Still nothing at all. No interior lights, no gauges, no clicking, and I can't get it out of park either.

Suggestions? I dread having to disassemble the front end to replace the battery. This is a worse design than what my 1998 Intrepid had. On that one you had to jack up the right front and remove the wheel.
 
#21 ·
It harder than you think to access the battery. Remove right front wheel. Prop passenger open. Remove lower fiberglass fender panel. Find hidden screws to remove metal fender. Remove battery tray. Disconnect battery. Remove battery & replace. Put in battery tray. Reconnect cables. Reattach battery tray making sure cables aren't touching anything. Reattach metal fender, making sure it is properly aligned and hidden screws are installed correctly. Reinstall lower fiberglass fender, making sure the right screws are used in the right places and the 'glass doesn't break and it's properly aligned. Reinstall wheel. Close passenger door. Try to start vehicle.
 
#19 ·
Why ask for help then ignore suggestions?

Get an extra long heavy duty jumper cable and hook'er up. If you don't have dead cells she'll be good to go.
This iz embarasking. I called AAA to tow the car to the local dealer. He jumped and started it straight off.
So you didn't bother to try and jumpstart the car? :willy:
 
#7 ·
I would try a full power battery charger, and not a trickle charger.

I would not jump start the car unless you can measure 12 volts from the battery terminal on the underhood fuse block to the engine ground.
 
#9 ·
Some may be over-thinking this a bit

Nephew had let his Solstice sit too long with a newish battery. It was in the autumn when he called. Drove the VUE over and pulled up really close to the garage door. We hooked the cars straight together terminals to terminals. Let the SATURN run for a few minutes and then he tried to start her up. Vroom, Solstice came back to life.
He drove it around the block a couple of times and then let it sit in the driveway running for about fifteen minutes. Then came the test. He shut it down, slowly counted to twenty, and then tried to restart it without a jump. Vroom, fired right back up and it didn't give him any problems after that. Of course after the scare he learned to go out and start it up every few weeks. These cars hate to be ignored!
 
#10 ·
Try, try again

I had the charger connected directly to the terminals. I'll try the illogical method. Sorry, after 60 years of charging batteries, I got into a rut of always connecting to the terminals.

I may need to spring for a battery, tho. It's a red top Optima that's around 4 years old.
 
#12 ·
Red Line still won't

I was actually hoping I'd come back here and post "IT'S ALIVE, MASTER! I TELL YOU, IT'S ALIVE!!" but no such luck. The charger indicates a full charge but there's nothing. And the key is stuck in the ignition again. :frown:

I guess it's off to AutoZone or O'Reily's for a new one.

mstrjon32, that sounds like a good idea.
 
#14 ·
Some 08 cars have experienced issues when the battery goes dead. They loose the remote keyless entry and a couple of other functions. If my memory is not totally shot, a software update can fix this problem. Others with more knowledge will let us know.

Some cars, a small number of instances, have experienced issues with the BCM / ECM functioning properly after jumping them at the battery. They report that dealer fixes are required when this happens. Apparently if you use the positive lug on the under hood fuse box it avoids the potential for this issue. Stated another way, you might jump the car ten times at the battery and on the 11th try wipe the code in the ECM or BCM.

The automatic needs power to activate the electrical key interlock which is probably why your key is stuck in the ignition. If its not an automatic, then look at the ignition lock failure. If you have not had the ignition recall done on your car, the tumblers can fall out of the lock and prevent turning the ignition or removing the key.

If the battery is showing 13 volts and you are not getting any function out of the car, look at the terminals and the ground. If the volts are there but not driving the car then there has to be an issue with connectivity somewhere.

Good luck
 
#15 ·
Well, I sprung for a 25 AMP digital charger. It has a screen that tells you if the cables are connected correctly, if at all. Connected to the positive terminal on the fuse box and to the air intake for ground. Display said not connected. Tried again. Not connected. Then connected directly to the battery terminals. Not connected. I may be wrong but it seems to me something is totally bunged up.
 
#16 ·
Try connecting your charger to a battery that you know is good to make sure that the charger is working. If it is, you probably have a shorted cell in your battery.
 
#17 ·
This iz embarasking. I called AAA to tow the car to the local dealer. He jumped and started it straight off. I'm still going to have the dealer check it out. Since I bought the car used there was no owners manual. Why do people throw out owners manuals? Any way, after doing a search I found an online manual that calls you to use a special grounding post near the firewall.
 
#20 ·
Sorry I didn't answer sooner. Yes, I did try to jump start it. I tried using a dedicated jump start machine as well my turbo MKZ. Neither do doodly. Found out at the dealer (why do the idiot engineers make the batteries in accessible, as on the Sky and Dodge Intrepid?) that two cells were dead and another on life support.
 
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