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9-3 2005 automatic key won't budge after jump start

63K views 71 replies 17 participants last post by  NahumCC 
#1 ·
attempted to jump start after low battery, was unsuccessful, key wouldn't budge to turn, neighbor jiggled something and key turned, but didn't jump start...then it happened again, again now key won't budge...i have wiggled and jiggled steering wheel, no "click" when you put the fob key in ignition, checked 1 & 2 fuse next to drivers door, and also one in engine #2, all fine...car is parked nose in, so towing isn't going to help, bought new battery, installed and still nothing, remote on key works to unlock, won't lock with remote lock, interior lights work when you take key out, have pulled negative off terminal, waited, placed key in without turning hoping to reset, taken key out and re-inputted in several times, turned wheels both ways, my steering column is unlocked, cant budge the gear shifter, cleaned ignition with alcohol, .....next to the positive terminal, i don't have a "relay" i only have coming from the positive terminal, two posts, other than the connector to the positive terminal, one of those posts have nothing and the other gets connected to the fusebox thats right next to the battery, all connections are crystal clean, i have a round black button, which i think is a "reset" button, and have pushed that and pulled that till i'm blue in the face, still nothing.....any suggestions?....i'm a single mom, and can't afford to have it towed, and a saab dealer is about 100+miles away....i can't afford to have it towed to a local shop only to have them guess and replace stuff that doesn't need to be fixed....can anyone help? i'm gonna try jumping it again with the new battery right now, so if anyone is online and out there with any suggestions, i'm all ears...thanks a million :)
:angry:
 
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#2 ·
was the alarm disabled/disarmed when you swapped the battery? because if it wasnt you may have tripped the immobilizer making the car impossible to start without proper resetting of alarm.

thats the only thing i can think of if all other electronics work just the car wont start.

also when trying to turn the key in these cars you sometimes have to push them down pretty firmly while turning.

as far as the gear shift lever. you should be able to turn the key to the "ON" position and then push on the brake pedal if its an automatic and move it. car doesnt need to run for this IIRC.
 
#4 ·
so the only things that work are the things that work even without the key?

if the key wont turn at all try pushing down on it as you turn it. IIRC my 2008 9-3 has the same key fob dealio yours does and i have had to push down pretty hard and then turn it. the odd thing is your steering wheel being unlocked. if the key is in the off position the steering wheel should be locked. something may be broken with the ignition lock.
 
#5 ·
i think the only thing that works is the unlock of remote, but when you take the key out of ignition, the interior lights turn on,....I don't know what IIRC is, and i have pushed hard on the key, i just don't want to bust anything,.....i think the steering is unlocked, because i can turn the steering wheel both ways,
i just can't get the key to turn....but like i said, my neighbor jiggled something(of course he's older and can't remember what it was that he jiggled) and it turned to on and start position).....
 
#71 ·
i just got a diagnosis on mine and it was towed back home, the tow truck let the window down to steer car into drive way. so when he left my window wouldn’t let up , i was waiting on tow truck to come back he still hasn’t arrived to come back to help me. i try to let it up myself and the key will fit into lock position but it won’t turn . the battery is gone. waiting on another tow to come help me let the window up it may rain here . But i was just wondering would the battery cause my key not to turn . I did not have this issue before my car left to go to the shop
 
#8 ·
Are you sure the steering wheel isn't locked? This is the same thing that happened with our '04 one time. I couldn't get the key to buge. Then I held the steering wheel to the right (I think) and put the key in and turned it.

It didn't happen after the battery died or anything like that. I've never had an issue with a dead battery connected to the key not turning. Is the battery in the key dead possibly? What it sounds like is that it's not reading the key correctly.

When you put the key fob in the ignition do you hear a clicking type noise from the steering column?
 
#9 ·
hi, sorry been at work...i can't find my spare key, but if the ignition isn't reading the key and the "key battery" was dead, so to speak wouldn't the lock and unlock feature not work on the fob key?...
and when i put the fob key in the ignition, i get no clicking type noise, from the steering column, whereas i usually do when put my key in.....i'm not sure about the steering column, all i know is that i can move my wheels both ways, almost the turning the steering wheel 3/4 of the way around...
i tried jumping, thinking perhaps they sold me a new battery that was low on "charge" but that didn't work....i'm looking for any solutions.....
 
#10 ·
I personally have no idea, but did see this elsewhere and it might be worth a shot - or at least give you something to do until someone who actually knows answers!

"take the key out of the switch..unhook the neg term off the battery for 5 mins..

reconnect batt,insert key in switch don't try to turn leave in about 10 secs allowing the key to resync to the car..remove key for about 5 secs,reinsert key it should now turn.. "

Good luck!
 
#13 ·
Battery in the key doesn't matter for starting the car. Mine starts without a battery in the fob at all.

If you can turn your wheel 3/4 of the way around, then your steering wheel lock isn't engaging. Stick your finger in the ignition hole. Does the spring loaded bottom pop up an down?
 
#14 ·
yup
still not budging
i've taken the top of the shifter off, so i can push the yellow button down, and then i can move the shift gear, and still nothing...i've even jumped up and rock the stupid thing....
but i just found a link...and hope i can study it and figure it out...everyone seems to have a "yellow button near the positive terminal" which is supposed to be a reset button, but i have black one, and it doesn't look like any of the images i've seen so far...i have an 2005 9-3 2.0t automatic 5speed...
so heres the link, i'm not tech savy so i just cut and copied the webaddress, and hopefully that gets people to the page i'm looking at ....let me know if you have the time to understand it :)
ps thanks for answering my post ....I SO appreciate it....i'm a single mom and a full time nursing student...and have borrowed a car for a couple of days from a friend that was sick....but had to return it today....so i'm without wheels...not a pretty picture...luckily, my new semester doesn't start till jan 27th

anyways heres the link: Bus and diagnostics communication - Saab 9-3 (2003-2006)
 
#21 ·
some of your posts are being deleted probably due to you not trying what people are saying and or posting the same thing/unrelated things multiple times in a couple of minutes.

i suggest putting everything back together first so you dont break more than is already broken.

then put the key into the ignition. if it doesnt turn that means something is keeping it locked in position. the key has grooves on it and sometimes if that spring loaded button in the ignition hole isnt being activated but pushing down the key and the magnet in the key it wont turn. fiddle with the key in that hole. if it doesnt work you need to have it looked at by a professional. get AAA and have it towed or have someone with a code reader check the diagnostic codes.

but stop taking things apart that arent related. your problem isnt that your gear lever wont move. it isnt that your battery is dead. your problem is that your key wont turn in the ignition and that when the key is out the steering wheel isnt locked. these cars do have a seering wheel lock and ignition key turning problem that is known to the dealers and saab mechanics. its a quick easy fix for them. call one and have them fix it before you cause more problems with your car.
 
#22 ·
Have you ever spilled anything that might have gone into the key hole?

Even if you haven't, the Ignition Switch Module (ISM) isn't a terribly complex piece of equipment, and can get dirty/corroded on the inside, contacts won't meet and when the key is inserted, nothing will happen.

If your key isn't being recognized as a key when it's inserted, and if the steering wheel lock isn't engaging when the key is removed, that might be your problem.

Have it taken to a dealer, they can hook it up and tell you for sure.

Or if you're feeling handy DIY (but there's no telling, without hooking the car up, that replacing the ISM alone will fix your problem): How To - Ignition Switch Module Removal - SaabCentral Forums
 
#24 ·
you guys ROCK:> I found out that my posts weren't actually deleted but really compiled together, so i apologize....i'm new to posting, and spent a little while this morning outside hoping it would "miraculously have my key turn"...no luck...i stopped after the wind blew my favorite coffee cup off the inside of the hood and fell and broke :< not happy.....so gave up for now....i looked over the schematic, and knew something isn't totally making sense...follow me for a few seconds...my key will lock and unlock the doors, the alarm does set, i set it off by being inside the car and opened the door, when i take the key out of the ignition even though it doesn't click when you put it, the interior lights go on before i open the door and get out...so obviously the key is recognized partially....which means the CIM works....just haven't figured out what exactly is broken....

BY THE WAY BOYS....give a girl SOME credit.....i'm not an idiot....just using logic, would i probably have broken something else??? YUP....i tried to get the "reset button" open and broke the casing off...so now i'll have to electric tape it, to where it originally was....oh well....at least it was the casing and not the button...today after my coffee cup kissed the pavement and went to my mechanic, and told him, about my problem....i asked if he took the "computer thing" could he narrow it down...his said the car has to be turned to the "on" position in order for it to diagnose.....he said he'd stop by tommorrow.....
see here's the deal....i was planning on getting a new (used 9-3) in a couple of weeks, so if this was going to cost more than a couple hundred than it wasn't worth it to me(for now)....only because i'd rather spend the money on my "new"(used) 9-3...and hold off and deal with this problem later on....my son turns 16 on Feb 16th, so my saab was going to go to him....my saab has 146k on it, bought it with 48k, between school/work, i put 100 miles a day....time for a new one...so WHY couldn't this happen in three weeks, till i find the 9-3 i'm looking for????

so guys....tell me...i'll order this part....and i've read the keys don't have to be re-keyed...tell me this is true...and since i have a little bit of a brain..and all i have to do is get the "torque wrench"(any idea what size wrench?)....hopefully this is as easy you say it will be....from your "mouth to the MAN upstairs ears"....thanks a MILLION...i'll let you know...how i make out.....
:)
 
#25 ·
so heres a quick synopsis,

the alarm turning on and off and the doors locking and unlocking are the remote part of the keyfob. this isnt related to the ignition "recognizing" the key. this is just like the old school remotes when they were seperate now its just built onto the key.

Im pretty sure the lights coming on when the key is removed is a product of the plastic piece in the ignition hole being pushed down when key is in and then coming back up when key is removed. again not tied to the key not turning or not being "recognized" or not locking/unlocking the steering column.

There is something broken somewhere either in the ignition switch or the steering column ("steering wheel lock" error being a known 9-3 Sport Sedan issue) that is preventing the key from turning.

Quite honestly i wouldnt try and fix it myself. this is something that due to the possible complexity of the issue i would bring to a saab mechanic to fix. anyone else will be guessing just like us. a true saab mechanic that works on these cars should know in a heart beat and be able to fix it.
 
#26 ·
^^^ Yes, exactly correct.

The ignition switch or the steering column lock being bad will both cause this.

Ignition switches are very common failure items, most decent Saab shops will have them on the shelf.

Neither are things you can really replace yourself. The column lock must be programmed to the car to integrate with the anti-theft system. The ignition switch doesn't need any programming, but it a pain in the ass to replace if you don't know what you're doing. Most of the center console must be disassembled.

The switch is only about $100 and anywhere from an hour to few hours of labor depending on how good the mechanic is. I used to be able to do them in about 40 minutes, but I have small hands and got the procedure down pretty well..

The column locks are more expensive but much quicker to replace.

Get the car to someone who knows how to check it.
 
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