I have a 98 saturn sl and starting problems

needs crank sensor replaced

Sounds exactly like my 1999 SL2 which had "burning and arching" in the fuse box. Car one day be fine the next I'd take it to the store, come back in 10 minutes and wouldn't start, no radio, no power windows, no keyless entry remote, no rear defrost and even locking doors from inside power buttons it sounded odd. This fixed the problem by replacing the fuse box.

yea it sounds like someone like most wanna be mechanics take a torques screwdriver and run the idle screw up on the throttle body instead of fixzing the real problem also you may want to concider testing and changeing the TPS

1997 Saturn SL 1.9L MFI SOHC 4cyl

1991-98 Starting, Charging, Fuel Pump, Cooling Fan, and Headlight Schematics





1995-98 Stop Lamp and Turn Lamp Schematics




1991-98 Marker Light Schematics



1991-98 Back-up Light and Daytime Running Light Schematics



I hope help you with this. Good luck.

Do not let this car over heat a blown head gasket will ensue. Locate and replace the fan relay, if that doesn't fix the problem unplug fan and use jumper wires to ground the plug then feed power to the positive side of plug to check fan, if that doesn't work replace the coolant temperature sensor located somewhere near the intake manifold or thermostat housing area.

sound like its flooding .you got fuel injectors leaking.

you may have a air bubble stuck in the system next to the system, or your sensor it bad, I think it maybe under the big coolant bottle

check the coolant temp. sensor

check the positive battery cable for corrosion. also make sure the cables are tight

no this is not an expensive problem. you just need the wiper relay switch.