Electrical?

JAKINFL

MEMBER
2003 SATURN ION
4 CYL
MANUAL
79,200 MILES

The cigarette lighter/power outlet stopped working, then the stereo speakers in the front stopped working, and now the automatic light sensor is not working. The headlights/interior lights/dashboard lights all work fine; back speakers work fine and front passenger side speakers have some sound. Could this all be caused by fuses no longer working? Does it sound like I can wait a couple of weeks to have it checked out or does it sound like I need to get my car to a repair shop immediately? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks! Oh, just remembered this. The bell for low fuel/seatbelt/etc. Stopped working a couple of years ago.

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

This does sound like a possible electrical issue like a ground issue. However, we need to start with checking for codes. Here is a guide that will help with this:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

The next thing we need to do is check and make sure the battery is properly charged. A weak battery will cause all sorts of issues like this that don't seem to be related.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

Once we know this is all okay, we can check the next thing which would be to pick one of these items and figure out the issue.

Once we know what that is and fix it, we can see if the other items are repaired as well. If not, then we move onto the next.

I would start with the outlet. This is powered by a specific fuse in the BCM. So, let's check this and go from there.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-fuse

If the fuse is okay, then the BCM is the likely issue and that would explain all these issues.

Please let us know what you find with this, and we can go from there. Thanks

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