Saab 900 will crank over but will not start?

Question

I think it's a 1999 ? What can i check?

Answer 1

Start with the battery. Sounds like there's not quite enough "umph" to get it to turn over - especially if it's cold outside when it didn't start.

Answer 2

You do not mention whether or not your Saab is a turbo or not, so lets try this. First, if your car is a '99 it is not a 900 model, last year for 900's was '98. Check the EPA compliance tag under the hood on the core support for the model year, upper right corner of the tag. Next, what engine do you have, 4 cyl. or 6 cyl.? If a 4 cyl. then look at the drivers side of the engine head assembly. Is there a distributor cap and sparkplug wires pointing toward the drivers side fender? If so you are not a turbo car. If no distributor then look at the top of the engine head in the center, running the length of the head, there will be either a black or a red long piece that will say "ignition cassette". If you have the cassette there is little you can self test and the local pimple faced kid at the AutoZone etc. can't either so don't waste your time towing the car there for not. This also applies if you have the 6 cyl. engine. If you do have a distributor car then have someone crank the engine while you hold one of the plug wires with either an old sparkplug, (prefered), or a small screwdriver, nail, etc. inserted into the plug boot and the end held about a 1/8" away from some metal point on the engine. If when cranked you have a spark arc then move on to the next test. Since the cassettes will usually give you some advanced notice of their pending death, aka, missfires, poor idle, hesitation on acceleration and the like, all throwing a "check engine" light lets move on. The fuel pump will just up and die, no notice. On the 4 cyl. if you carefully pull the air tube from the top of the throttle body. Again, not knowing your year and model exactly you will have to roll with me here. You will either have just a tube or an air box on top of the throttle body. The tube wil either be bolted with two 10mm head bolts or you will have a hose type clamp. If you have the air box, it has a small wire bale clip on the rear edge under the lip of the box. Unclip it, careful not to lose it as it will fly off. Be mindful not to over lift the airbox as it is connected to the Mass Air Meter by a rubber hose that will split or tear if you over do it. Now that you have access to the throttle body you will see the throttle plate, brass, round and closed off. Pour NO MORE than half a shot glass of raw gasoline into the throttle body opening and refit quickly whatever type air inlet you had back into place. You will not need to rebolt the air tube just fit it in place. Try to start the car, if starts and runs for just a few seconds, you have a junk fuel pump. The fuel pump is in the fuel tank and if you have a 900 or a 9-3 model from '94 to '03 the fuel tank has to come out. A reputable shop will just replace the pump itself, not the whole assembly, saving you a couple of Ben Franklins. It is a Walbro pump and while the labor will be the same either way if they care for your business they will do right by you and just replace the pump. If you have any further questions just ask. Good Luck, Al

Answer 3

Pull the Plug wire and make sure you're getting spark. If there is spark then check the ignition module. The only way you'll know for sure is if you'll take it to Auto Zone and let them run a Diagnostic test on it for FREE. The reason the'll do it for free is because more then likely you'll buy the part there. Good Luck, and make sure you get a a copy of the Trouble Codes that Auto Zone will offer for the asking. Older Cars and Trucks one could fix no problem without the Diagnostic Test because of the lack of Computer Controlled Vehicles. Now days, the Computer runs everything and shows a trouble code when something goes bad with the way the Vehicle performs. Working on a vehicle without running the Diagnostic stage is nothing but a guessing game. If you want it done right the first time Get the Diagnostic's done and then you can proceed to fixing your Vehicle.

Answer 4

I work at a shop and we specialize in saabs. the three most common reasons for a saab of your vintage to "crank but not start" are:

1. ignition/coil module. the "ignition cassette" as it called, that bolts to the top of the cylinder head will fail.

2. crank position sensor. sensor fails due to age

3. fuel pump dies.

there's not a whole lot you can do besides taking it to a specialist. you can't "check for spark" because there's no spark plug wire on your car.. If you can smell fuel, that would at least indicate that your fuel pump is pumping. my shop could diagnose it in less than an hour

Answer 5

You can also try tapping your starter with a hammer while somebody else tries getting it to turn over. Sometimes the starter gets gunked up and it needs to be "loosened" in order to turn over.

Answer 6

check for spark also check fuel pump&filter you should smell fuel if working

Answer 7

water pump or fuel pump sounds like it's not getting any gas