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#1
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Crappy undersized wire in overpriced Saturn block heater
My pet peeve is the crappy undersized wire that Saturn uses on the genuine??
Saturn brand block heater for the S series. The idiot junior engineer that spec'd the wire obviously had no experience with winter. They must have saved a fraction of a penny on the material cost which they then wasted on the fancy plastic flex wrap and plug boot that is also unusable in the cold. It is by far the most expensive ($125. ?) block heater that I have ever purchased and is only available from Saturn. I was unable to find an aftermarket heater for this engine or an immersion type heater which I believe would be far superior. I do not know why an emersion heater was not designed for this engine and can only speculate that there was no thought of heating designed into the block casting and that there is not enough room for an internal element. Florida engineering. If anyone knows of an aftermarket immersion type heater please post The copper conductor is so thin that it breaks inside the insulation next to the molded plug. I think this is due to flexing when the plastic insulation is cold and hard. I have always discovered that the wire was broken after dark and at 30 below when I plugged in for a morning start. This has happened to me several times on two different cars. YMMV Happy trails |
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#2
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In article <MxrQd.398648$8l.92283@pd7tw1no>,
"private" > wrote: > Florida engineering. California. The whole cars must be designed by Californians, or at least my '93 SC2 was: * No power at highway speed at all. It can't maintain normal speeds on hills with a passenger without downshifting. * Crap snow performance. Worst car in the snow I've ever driven. It simply can NOT deal with it. * Poor cold weather performance. It doesn't like starting, staying started, or running in the cold. * Minimalistic A/C. The only two motels I was in in my life that didn't have A/C were in California. Even in freaking Maine they've got it. Do Californians hate cold weather or something? * Tiny with huge crumple zones. Perfect for Cali highways and their 'drivers' * Gutless 4 cylinder buzzbomb. And this was the 'Sport' model. Seriously, were the early Saturns intended as trainning models for when we all got electric cars rammed down our thoats?? (Another Californian thing...) Or is it just the design staff never left LA or LA traffic? * Automatic seatbelts freeze up in bad weather. They actually get stuck mid travel. * Hopeless defroster. * Leaks in the rain. If it were designed in Florida, it'd be watertight... * Windows freeze. No kidding, try opening one if it's below 0 and humid outside. * Nowhere near enough hot air to the feet when requested. There are two ports about 1 inch by 1 inch somewhere down there, that's it. * The *only* FM raido I've ever owned that has static. Not a Cali thing but pretty annoying anyway. * Designed for midgets. I won't go there... |
#3
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I have a '99 SC2 in Indiana; they improved the performance (until the rings
stick) and the snow handling isn't too horrendous with some good tires. As for the rest of you complaints, they still hold true. "Philip Nasadowski" > wrote in message ... > In article <MxrQd.398648$8l.92283@pd7tw1no>, > "private" > wrote: > > Florida engineering. > > California. The whole cars must be designed by Californians, or at > least my '93 SC2 was: > > * No power at highway speed at all. It can't maintain normal speeds on > hills with a passenger without downshifting. > > * Crap snow performance. Worst car in the snow I've ever driven. It > simply can NOT deal with it. > > * Poor cold weather performance. It doesn't like starting, staying > started, or running in the cold. > > * Minimalistic A/C. The only two motels I was in in my life that didn't > have A/C were in California. Even in freaking Maine they've got it. Do > Californians hate cold weather or something? > > * Tiny with huge crumple zones. Perfect for Cali highways and their > 'drivers' > > * Gutless 4 cylinder buzzbomb. And this was the 'Sport' model. > Seriously, were the early Saturns intended as trainning models for when > we all got electric cars rammed down our thoats?? (Another Californian > thing...) Or is it just the design staff never left LA or LA traffic? > > * Automatic seatbelts freeze up in bad weather. They actually get stuck > mid travel. > > * Hopeless defroster. > > * Leaks in the rain. If it were designed in Florida, it'd be > watertight... > > * Windows freeze. No kidding, try opening one if it's below 0 and humid > outside. > > * Nowhere near enough hot air to the feet when requested. There are two > ports about 1 inch by 1 inch somewhere down there, that's it. > > * The *only* FM raido I've ever owned that has static. Not a Cali thing > but pretty annoying anyway. > > * Designed for midgets. I won't go there... |
#4
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"Philip Nasadowski" > wrote in message ... > In article <MxrQd.398648$8l.92283@pd7tw1no>, > "private" > wrote: > > Florida engineering. > > California. The whole cars must be designed by Californians, or at > least my '93 SC2 was: > > * No power at highway speed at all. It can't maintain normal speeds on > hills with a passenger without downshifting. 98 SL2. I was cruising at 150kph last weekend between cities with 3 other passengers. Car was sluggish, but held up fine. > * Crap snow performance. Worst car in the snow I've ever driven. It > simply can NOT deal with it. Sorry, you simply have no idea how to drive in snow, I'm in montreal (you know, real winters...) and I've never used winter tyres, no extra weight in the back, and I park on the street. Apart from getting stuck in a snowbank a few times, the car handles great. > * Poor cold weather performance. It doesn't like starting, staying > started, or running in the cold. Car started great at -30 since i bought it in 2001, died on me once this winter, replaced the battery, good as new. > * Minimalistic A/C. The only two motels I was in in my life that didn't > have A/C were in California. Even in freaking Maine they've got it. Do > Californians hate cold weather or something? no comment really, I have AC, happy with it, works great when i need it. > * Tiny with huge crumple zones. Perfect for Cali highways and their > 'drivers' I walked away from a fairly serious accident which took out half the front of my car without a scratch on me. No problems there whatsoever, sounds like your praising it actually. > * Gutless 4 cylinder buzzbomb. And this was the 'Sport' model. > Seriously, were the early Saturns intended as trainning models for when > we all got electric cars rammed down our thoats?? (Another Californian > thing...) Or is it just the design staff never left LA or LA traffic? were the older ones weaker?. > * Automatic seatbelts freeze up in bad weather. They actually get stuck > mid travel. now you're just complaining for no reason > * Hopeless defroster. see above > * Leaks in the rain. If it were designed in Florida, it'd be > watertight... This is true > * Windows freeze. No kidding, try opening one if it's below 0 and humid > outside. unless the windows are frozen over, no problems at -30, complaining again without reason are we? > * Nowhere near enough hot air to the feet when requested. There are two > ports about 1 inch by 1 inch somewhere down there, that's it. this I'll agree with, but its not a big deal, its no worse or better than most other *value priced* cars > * The *only* FM raido I've ever owned that has static. Not a Cali thing > but pretty annoying anyway. now you're really grasping at straws.... > * Designed for midgets. I won't go there... bah, I'm a big enough dude, fit fine, back seat is small but didn't you check that when you bought it?, why buy it if it didnt fit your needs?, doesnt that sound like a stupid thing to do? got anymore fabricated complaints? |
#5
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The OP was about a 1993 SC2. Your replying with info on a 1998 SL2. I'm
not sure how you are qualified to respond on that vehicle. We too have had excellent service from a 1996 SL series vehicle and it always starts no matter how cold and handles well with a good set of all season tires, even in heavy snow. But, this is not relevant to the vehicle he posted his complaints about. Bob "Wurm" > wrote in message ... > > "Philip Nasadowski" > wrote in message > ... > > In article <MxrQd.398648$8l.92283@pd7tw1no>, > > "private" > wrote: > > California. The whole cars must be designed by Californians, or at > > least my '93 SC2 was: > > > > * No power at highway speed at all. It can't maintain normal speeds on > > hills with a passenger without downshifting. > > 98 SL2. I was cruising at 150kph last weekend between cities with 3 other > passengers. Car was sluggish, but held up fine. Rest deleted |
#6
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"Bob Shuman" > wrote in message ... > The OP was about a 1993 SC2. Your replying with info on a 1998 SL2. I'm > not sure how you are qualified to respond on that vehicle. We too have had > excellent service from a 1996 SL series vehicle and it always starts no > matter how cold and handles well with a good set of all season tires, even > in heavy snow. But, this is not relevant to the vehicle he posted his > complaints about. > > Bob > > well crap..... |
#7
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"Wurm" > wrote in message ... > > "Bob Shuman" > wrote in message > ... >> The OP was about a 1993 SC2. Your replying with info on a 1998 SL2. I'm >> not sure how you are qualified to respond on that vehicle. We too have > had >> excellent service from a 1996 SL series vehicle and it always starts no >> matter how cold and handles well with a good set of all season tires, >> even >> in heavy snow. But, this is not relevant to the vehicle he posted his >> complaints about. >> >> Bob >> >> > > well crap..... > > Note: 93 SC1 had an 85 HP motor, 95 and newer 100 HP |
#8
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We purchased a good quality block heater cord from Part Source, which is
Canadian Tire, for less than half the Saturn dealer's price. Has worked good for two winters in Saskatchewan, where it is -40! The trick to preventing the wire from breaking at the plug is to not over flex it when disconnecting it. A little care can save some frozen fingers. David "private" > wrote in message news:MxrQd.398648$8l.92283@pd7tw1no... > My pet peeve is the crappy undersized wire that Saturn uses on the genuine?? > Saturn brand block heater for the S series. The idiot junior engineer that > spec'd the wire obviously had no experience with winter. They must have > saved a fraction of a penny on the material cost which they then wasted on > the fancy plastic flex wrap and plug boot that is also unusable in the cold. > > It is by far the most expensive ($125. ?) block heater that I have ever > purchased and is only available from Saturn. I was unable to find an > aftermarket heater for this engine or an immersion type heater which I > believe would be far superior. I do not know why an emersion heater was not > designed for this engine and can only speculate that there was no thought of > heating designed into the block casting and that there is not enough room > for an internal element. Florida engineering. If anyone knows of an > aftermarket immersion type heater please post > > The copper conductor is so thin that it breaks inside the insulation next to > the molded plug. I think this is due to flexing when the plastic insulation > is cold and hard. I have always discovered that the wire was broken after > dark and at 30 below when I plugged in for a morning start. This has > happened to me several times on two different cars. YMMV > > Happy trails > > > |
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