Weird electrical problems with Saturn LW series wagon....now dashboard dials are dead?

Question

I have a 2002 Saturn LW200 station wagon. About 2 weeks ago the car would not start at all and it was as if the battery were absolutely dead.....no dashboard lights or radio at all, no "turning over" click noise when attempting to start. A jump start seemed to fix it.

A week later, it happened again, this time jump start didn't fix. Towed to mechanic, said it was simply a frayed wire and was simple fix.

Now it's a week after that and suddenly none of my dashboard dials work. Car starts and runs fine, but gas gauge stays at empty, speedometer stays at zero (ironically the cruise control still works), and temperature gauge stays to the left at "C". Digital odometer shows but doesn't change mileage and can't get to the "trip meter".

Do you think the 2 are related? And whether you do or not any thoughts on the dashboard problem?

Answer 1

Sounds like you may have a bad instrument cluster or body control module (BCM). The BCM has the mileage programmed into it at the factory (and at the dealer when and if it is replaced) and it is the computer module that "tells" the instrument cluster what mileage to display, what fuel level, what speed, etc. Your former electrical problem could have "spiked" the BCM and caused it to go bad. Your best bet would be to have the car looked at either at the dealer or a mechanic experienced in Saturn cars. Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 2

I'd call an electrician, for a couple of reasons. First, safety. If something is wrong with the wiring, that could be dangerous. Second, convenience. I'm sure it's a pain in the butt to have this stuff going on. You have an old house, with a new panel. The panel probably was put in as part of a renovation (often the Kitchen). The rest of the house's wiring was left either untouched, or additional outlets were added to existing circuits. It's a little more costly to run new lines to the box, but you'll stop blowing breakers. I run into this all the time. Good luck.

Answer 3

I'm so sorry, but saturns are junk. I mean big time. Fix it and get rid of it. The problems will never end for you.

Answer 4

Check the body ground cable. Remove & clean to bare metal. (may be on a rusted or painted surface, not making good contact)



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Answer 5

This happened to my dad's Toyota Avalon and I posted a question here about it. The answer worked. Maybe it will for you, too: https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20070831155458AARiveW

Answer 6

Check your fuse box and make sure that all your fuses are intact.



Sometimes it is the simplest solution...