06 ion... Starts but sounds like starter is stuck on

[MoBIGGA1]

My wife's 06 ion 2 started acting up yesterday, we were in both our cars and when we went to the Gas Station, she came to a stop at the pump and as soon as she put in park it acted like it was starting again and just sounded bad. I work on cars myself and have worked on a lot of Saturn's but I'm not a shop anymore and have never had this problem ever lol. I noticed that u can start it and when u put it in drive it will stall sometimes, but if it stays on its fine and drive fine. It only seems to do it in park or natural. And dose anyone know if when u go and start the car when u turn it on and let go it keeps going tell it starts? Mine is if I barely turn it, it starts turning over.

[fdryer]

You may be describing something very wrong but let's get descriptions as accurate as possible. We're all familiar with starting sounds and some are more familiar with letting the starter stay running after the engine's running. And then there are those forgetting their engine's running, leave the car for something, get back into the car and startup only too hear the starter sounding wrong - the starter runs but the engine's already running. No harm and sometimes done with loud background noise or inattention. With your engine already running when you stop and park, leaving the engine idling, you hear the starter engage? Does it disengage on its own?

[MoBIGGA1]

Yes she came to a stop and put it in park and it just acted like she was trying to start it, even when we turn it off it still try to run but half ass and Jus sounds like ****. When it happened it threw the codes p0412-p0449 and p0455, the 455 I've been having because she had a crack in one of the fuel lines to the tank so I changed the fuel pump with new lines and yea. The noise is hard to describe. OK when u put it in drive the noise goes away and the car dies, when u put it back it park it starts cranking again.

[fdryer]

When you say it starts cranking again, do you mean the starter turns on by itself?

[MoBIGGA1]

Yes as soon as u put it back in park it's starts to crank again and in natural it's Jus sounds like the starter. When u take the key out it still kind of sounds like its trying to start but half ass

[fdryer]

Do you have an aftermarket remote start system? With unusual starter operation interfering with engine running and possibly ruining the starter, you may have to bring this car to GM. Ions use electronic starting and may make it more difficult to troubleshoot if its not an ignition switch failure.

[MoBIGGA1]

No it's stock... I'm wondering if maybe the natural safety switch could be going out. I'm like I the middle of nowhere so a GM dealership is like a 100 miles away. I tried to upload a video but it's not letting me

[MoBIGGA1]

Can I get your email so I can try and send a video that would really help me explain what's going on

[fdryer]

Pm me or post your video on YouTube and type in the link in plain text here. New members are prevented from providing links until surpassing 15 posts (spammers). However, anyone can type the link address as plain text so anyone can copy and Google it to connect to YouTube. It's a recognized work around and perfectly acceptable here. (just don't tell on me otherwise Charlie the Admin might take away my green litter boxes......)

[fdryer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX9z...ature=youtu.be When you moved around with the go pro or ither video cam, its difficult to hear whether or not the starter operated on its own. You may be able to hear it but I cannot as the sounds picked up by the video cam is only as good as where the mike is aimed and nowhere as good as human hearing. I couldn't hear the starter. If you had someone sit in the car to shift while standing still outside, videoing the engine, the starter has a better chance of being picked up by the mike so anyone can see and hear it better.

I do not have '06 Ion info but if I can presume '05 Ion wiring is similar, here's the starting circuit for '05's. If its the same for '06, you may see several areas to consider and won't be easy to troubleshoot on public forums. Presuming '06 shares the same as '05 wiring, the starting circuit is software controlled and not conventional with 12v used from the ignition switch to power the starter. With software controlling the starting circuit, your problem may be anywhere and requires advanced electrical skills to follow wiring diagrams and suggestions to troubleshoot this problem. Familiarity of multimeters is a must.

[hudypete1]

Here are some things that I would try (and yes, the 05 and 06-07 schematics are the same):

Q1. is the problem in the Starter Relay #31? TEST: Swap with another identical relay from the underhood fuse box. REASON: Relay coil could be stuck (fused) into a closed position which would let power always flow to starter.

Q2. Does the starter work normally otherwise? TEST: run a live wire from battery to where the PURPLE wire (all by itself) runs into the starter. This bypasses the starter relay #31 and feeds power to the starter. The car can even be OFF (no key in ignition, I believe) for this test. The way that I have done it is to connect a wire to the starter where the PURPLE wire goes in, snake that up to the top of the engine, and then STANDING OUT OF THE PATH OF THE CAR, briefly touch that jumper wire to the POSITIVE + battery terminal by the fuse box. REASON: ummmm. still thinking through all the ramifications of this but, when we jumper to the starter we can check and see if the starter soleniod (the little thing on the starter) is working correctly.

Q3. How does the starter look outside of the car? TEST: unbolt starter from the car (2 bolts, pretty easy, dont' forget the 2 electrical connection too, you don't even need to jack the car to get to it). Disassemble. Clean carbon junk off the commutator (the coppery parts where the brushes run). Reassemble. Reinstall. REASON: if there is too much dust/junk/dirt/carbon inside the starter some parts (bendix) might not move easily. Cleaning it out can do quite a bit. You might be surprised at how dirty it is inside. Of course, buying a new one for $150 also would do the same thing, or buying a junker from the junk yard ($25) gives you one to play with.

Yeah, I am leaning toward this all being starter problem and the starter not disengaging ever. That explains most things in my mind:

1. Forward, the starter freewheels when the engine is going faster than the starter would be. Therefore, no sound.
2. Neutral? The starter is trying to spin faster than the engine and so the noise.
3. The reverse thing? The starter is still spinning forward and doesn't let the transmission mesh/unmesh cleanly.

I don't think that it is the Park/Neutral safety switch because, well, you were in park. BUT, if you want to test that, with the car off, move the transmission into DRIVE, then insert the key and move to the ON/RUN position. I bet it won't start. Why? The PARK/NEUTRAL switch is doing its job (which leans a lot more to the problem being either the relay or the starter itself).

I suppose it could be an IGNITION problem, but I think test 2 above will help give some insight into that.

[MoBIGGA1]

Thank you I have done all that already and starter works fine I'm thinking maybe ignition.... Maybe? Because when I turn the car off it continues to crank a little bit

[fdryer]

Was the ignition switch replaced per recall?