Expert advice needed!

Today is the luckiest day ever! . . . not. I need your guys expert help here again. My Saab wont start anymore...

Here is some background to my situation: I was spraying the engine bay with heavy duty degreaser (Simple Green) and ive done it before so I didnt think it was a huge issue or whatever. I spray the various dirty components and wipe them down with a cloth towel and go about my business as usual. It began to snow halfway through the "toweling" process so I quickly put everything away, closed the hood and opened the garage door so I could scoot it in. I jump into the drivers seat, close the door and turn the key in the ignition... there was a low hum or buzz and thats about it. No attempt to even turn over and no glimpse of the starter even trying to work. The radio, and all electronics work no problem so I know its not a battery issue.

My question is, WHAT DID I DO WRONG?!

Thanks and sorry for the caps :P

I wouldnt really call myself an expert but I fixed it!

All I did was put it in neutral, push it backwards about 30 feet then fowards back into place and it started up just fine.

That's cause you have a NSS going bad ;) Start looking for one cause it's going to leave you stranded somewhere soon. NSS = Nuetral Safety Switch - also known as the Transmission Range Switch. Do not bypass it via online information - you can, but ONLY in an emergency to get yourself home or until a part arrives to fix it correctly.

New they are like $350+
You can attempt to rebuild yours - I did this once but it only worked for a few more months. A new one is the sure fix.

uhhhhhh is it possible that its not going bad and it was just a one time thing? :)

The last thing I need is to buy such an expensive part when I have so many other things going on with the car.

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Originally Posted by svecchi

All I did was put it in neutral, push it backwards about 30 feet then fowards back into place and it started up just fine.

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Glad that it worked, but what made you try that?

My assumption was that there were some faulty teeth on the flywheel, and moving the car would turn the wheel. I was also trying to move the car into the garage and so I was killing two birds with one stone. I was really just blindly trying different things, at one point I was in the snow with a hair dryer trying to evaporate some of the (probably imaginary) moisture that was left from the Simple Green.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Burnsside42

Do not bypass it via online information - you can, but ONLY in an emergency to get yourself home or until a part arrives to fix it correctly.

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My old service manager did this to a '99 9-5 and ended up accidentally starting the car in gear, and pinning him between the car and his tool box...

oh god! thats terrible! For some reason I always start my car with my foot on the brake (I recently noticed) but if push comes to shove I will just have to rebuild it myself.