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...Or almost. The ignition switch isn't returning completely from "Start" mode and the starter is still engaged so the engine is overspinning it. You can quickly ruin a starter this way - - it spins so fast that the armature windings are thrown outward by centrifugal force and short out against the field winding magnets in the fixed case of the starter.
You really need to be quick to back off if this happens again, and fix the problem or get it fixed. There are many prior references to this problem on this bulletin board; try various words and phrases in the search box at top right of this screen. It could actually be gum, or candy, or spilled soda or slurpies or thick shakes, or coffee with cream and sugar, mixed with sand and cigarette ashes etc. The ignition key is in a position that's incredibly vulnerable to contaminants entering from above.
It could also be just old lubricant that has hardened into gluelike consistency.
Try anything, WD-40, rubbing alcohol, window wash, hot water, while working the key in and out and back and forth, to try to free things up. People who worry about water down there don't seem to realize that the electrical switch is forward of and above the key cylinder, with its shaft pointing straight down, so none of this is going into it, rather out the back of the lock cylinder and down into thin air and onto a sound-absorbing diaper pad that's below the console and above the body. You can splash away liberally.
Problem could also be from a worn or badly-copied key and you should get a dealer-punched one, from the original code if you have it or they can eyeball a key and judge which of the pin-height choices is needed for which of the points along the key and still punch it to code even without the code.
Or you could buy a replacement cylinder and key combo but it would be nice to get it made to order to your present key code so you don't need separate keys for doors and trunk. Need to remove the driver's seat and the console itself and drill out a blank spot on the casting to push in a little pin to replace the cylinder.
The trouble could also be the ignition switch itself, according to some posts. It's linked to the lock cylinder by a couple meshing gear segments which seem to me too robust, open and straightforward to go wrong themselves but some say they have.
The lockout that won't let the key come out unless you're in reverse is also mixed up with the whole linkage and could be the root reason for your trouble - - Saab novices and parking lot attendants and garage men have a habit of forcing things. I haven't been in to deal with mine, which has been disabled or broken, so I can't advise here. Others may.
posted by 70.16.6...
, Fri, 4 Feb 2005 15:34:47
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