Car Starting Problems

Yes, even some new cars have this problem. Most cases its from a worn belt or the belt tensioner

Could be a few problems, but start with squirting some WD40 in with one of those thin red tubes.

No noise when you try to start the vehicle usually indicates a dead battery, or a loose or disconnected cable/wire at the starter, solenoid (starter relay switch), or ignition switch.

I THINK YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR PASSKEY SYSTEM The charging system or the starter is mostly likely your problem. I just went through this with my Cadi. What ended up being the problem was that the factory alarm within the car was starting to fault. The alarm had to be replaced and a new ignition cylinder, and new pass key. Answer Other posters are correct, the pass key system is malfunctioning intermittently. Over time the black plastic insert in the key wears out causing it to read improperly when inserted into the car. The pass key system then kicks in and shuts off the starter and fuel pump as a security precaution which leads to no starting. My Deville had the same problem so I took it to be tested at a GM dealership (has to be GM, others don't have the equipment) and they will make you an exact copy of the key for between $25 and $60 depending on the place you go to. The key should be replaced as soon as possible or the car may not start at all when the sensor cannot read the key code anymore.

If all electrical power is lost as soon as you turn the key to crank, you likely have a main power supply problem. You can verify this condition by turning on the headlights. If lights go out when key is turned you have a main power supply problem. Check battery terminals first for corrosion and fitment. Also, make sure your battery is fully charged and in good health. Next, check cable connections to starter for corrosion and fitment. Finally, check main ground cable and connections. Don't bother with smaller gauge wires since you are experiencing a problem with the main circuit. If all is clean and tight you will need an ohm meter to measure the resistance of these cables. If any are found to be higher than 5 ohms, replace it. It's common to have this problem as a result of worn out battery and poor terminal connections.

Yes, it is a fuel pump relay.

After sitting so long, you could have a bad battery, bad plugs, a bad fuse, bad gas, sludge in the carburetor if there is one, clogged injectors. These places are a where to start.

if its turning over but not firing make sure you have the right firing order, i had that happen to me onve, i replaced everything and then turned out i had two cylinders backwards

I'd check two things:

I don't remember what year Ford changed over, but if yours still has the starter solenoid on the fender, make sure you haven't crossed the small wires.

If the solenoid is on the starter, are you certain that you've wired the starter right? There are a couple small wires that connect to the starter,if you connect them wrong it could the cause problems you describe.

If you're CERTAIN that the starter and/or solenoid are connected properly, start looking seriously at the ignition switch.

Typically, a Click-click-click noise when attempting to start a vehicle is the sure sign of either a dead battery or a loose battery connection. Try tightening the battery terminal connections. If this doesn't help, you may need a new battery. A jump start will avoid a towing expense.

If your husband passed on leaving a Will and everything goes to you, then car is yours. The best thing to do is give a copy of the Will to your police department and they will escort you to be sure you get the keys to the car from your father-in-law. Good luck Marcy

is it a factory or a aftermarket security system. if it is a factory system either by hitting the unlock button on the keyfob or if its a Chrysler product such as a jeep you can disarm it simply by just putting the key into the driver side door and turning it to unlock. if its a after market unit and it wont disarm with the remote or the remote is lost and will not allow you to start it with a key you need to get into the dash underneath the streering wheel and find the brain to the security unit and pull either pull the fuse which is usually there are two or three of them typacillay heavy guage and red with heavy guage orange, pink, pink white, green, purple, you need to unhook the red wire that is the main power supply to the system. those color codes for remote start systems also if non of that works in needs to go to the dealership hope that helps

I say: Just don't light a match under there!! Screw the car man, it's no good anymore! Sell it to me.

You should locate and test the solenoid. Most have three connections. There is a large cable from the battery to the solenoid, from the solenoid to the starter and from the start switch to the solenoid. The power terminals to the battery and the starter are large and have large cables. The starter switch connection is much smaller.

Turning the key to 'start' provides a low current voltage to the solenoid causing the solenoid relay to close and power from the battery cable to connect through to the starter. If that voltage is present then the solenoid or the wiring between the solenoid and battery or solenoid and starter is suspect.

If that voltage is missing then the starter switch or solenoid feed line may have failed.

there are 2 wires that run to the starter , a big one and a littel one , and maybe a ground bolted to one of the starter bolts , check to see if the big one has power with a volt meter , it should all the time , if it doesn't follow it and check for damaged or fusable link , next check the small one with the key in the start positon it should only have power while you are trying to start the car , if it doesn't and you have checked the start relay ( if you have lost the cover to the underhood power center you need to fine one in a junkyard you will save yourself alot of heartache in the long run ) by applying power to the relay coil and checking contunity across the contact leads and its good you need an igniton switch , you can confirm this by checking for power at the relay socket , the relay coil connectors should have power when you try to start the car , good luck,P.S. you can check almost any vehical starting system with this process

Always go back to the basics, spark, fuel and compression. If you have all three, it will run. After putting in a cam position sensor you might want to verify that it's all set up properly and everything is connected. Often it's just something little that was missed, such as putting something in backward or not having the proper clearance set-up. What does the computer diagnostic code say? That will give you more information than can be provided like this.

Injected vehicles do not spray extra fuel when you pump them so that won't help. With the assistance of a friend, one person should attempt to start the engine while the other sprays a little starter fluid into the intake. You might have to remove the cover from the air filter to do this. If the engine attempts to start while you are spraying starter fluid, but stops when you quit, you probably have a fuel delivery problem. It might be fuel pump, fuel filter, injector (if you have a single injector in the throttle body) or something else associated with the fuel system. Any time an engine won't start, always return to the basics: fuel, spark and compression. If it starts when you spray starter fluid but shuts down when you stop,it's a fuel delivery problem. If you check for a spark and there isn't one, you need to find out what's wrong with the ignition. If both of the above check out ok, check the compression. It doesn't matter if the vehicle is injected or carburated, the above ALWAYS holds true.

tdc mark is the longest mark,there should be shorter ones on either side as timing is set a few degrees off tdc, but you need tdc to start the timing process If you have a concern about TDC, and don't know of any other way to find it, try this: Pull the #1 sparkplug, put a long, narrow screwdriver or other clean, narrow device into the hole, then turn the engine BY HAND (don't use the starter) until you see the screwdriver at the top. You should be able to turn the engine back a little to seek the top. At that point there should be a mark and a reference point somewhere on the harmonic balancer. If you can't find a mark, make your own. It's possible that over the history of the engine someone may have removed the reference marker so you may need to do something yourself. Good luck. ** More ** The piston will raise twice, once on the exhaust stroke and again on the compression stroke, TDC is based on the compression stroke so following the above advice, when the narrow device starts to come up, remove it and insert your fingertip to feel pressure building up, when you feel pressure building up, the piston is on compression stroke, remove your finger and continue with narrow device as described.

=== Look under the steering column and see if there is a little rectangular shaped piece. If so, pop the piece out by inserting something into the small space provided. Feel inside this compartment--you should feel and see a black piece that you can push downward if you place your finger inside. While pushing this downward, try removing the keys at the same time even turning the cylinder lock as it should turn. Release when the keys come out. Now you can leave it this way if the car will run and that is the only way the keys will come out!!
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It could be a number of problems. It could be the sensor is bad, it could indicate a fault with the alternator, faulty leads, faulty wiring... it depends on the situation.

BAD FUEL PUMP. Need to check fuel pressure with a gauge first.

You did not say what year it was or engine size, this would help with the answer.

Low compression, weak spark or poor fuel delivery can make a vehicle more difficult to start in the cold.

Cut wires under the dash or hood or missing fuses and relays?

Depending on what part of the ecu is bad, yes.

The three things you need for combustion are 1- A SPARK, 2- A fuel/air mixture, compression of the mixture, 4- And exhaust