Car Starting Problems

Here is some advice from contributors:

• Sometimes your car will just plain stop running if you have a faulty coil wire. I had this problem before where it didn't matter what time of day or the weather, it turned out to be a coil wire.

• I have an automatic '94 Nissan Sentra that would stop at the strangest of times (while it was being driven) at least once or twice a week. It would drive me crazy. I would take a turn at a light, and right in the middle of the turn, the *car's power would go out and stop. The only thing that would work was the brakes (thank God!). And then I had to quickly start it up again and pray that it would get me home. This was especially embarrassing when I had a date in the car. Does this sound familiar? Well, I found out it was an electrical problem, as well as a fuel pump that needed to be replaced. Cost me a good $300 to fix. That was about 2 years ago so I'm sure prices haven't changed much.

• My car used to just stop in the middle of the road, and then could restart no problems. It turned out to be that the alarm was old & faulty & the alarm was connected to an immobilizer which was a bit over-zealous - hence immobilizing in the middle of the road. The solution was simply to remove the alarm (the whole thing had to be removed though, it wasn't good enough just to turn it off).

• Because the gasket plate (insulator) is worn out, this happened to my 1984 Honda Accord. .

• I have a 96 dodge caravan and it would do some of the same things. Sometimes it would not start in the morning wait a few min. and then it would start, sometimes it would just cut out while driving. The solution after all the relays were changed was a new computer. It was covered under a Chrysler 8 year warranty. lucky me as it saved me $1000.

• I had my 92 Oldsmobile fixed it turned out to be torque converter needed to be replaced now the car works.

• if your alternator goes, no more power the engine will stop...

• This is a problem with a lot of vehicles that is overlooked for this reason: when a mechanic will hook up their computer and download the codes from the car's computer, the codes will generally tell you the problem the car or truck is having, if the car or truck kicked a code to the computer. Then the car or truck will run through a diagnostic system check and when the system check comes back fine and there are no problems then what?
• Sometimes the problem can not be found by the computer and the reason is that when the car or truck runs it's system check, everything checks out fine! How can this be when the vehicle just stops running and then starts running after you pull to the side of the road and shut it down for a couple of minutes?The answer is simple.The ignition relay acts like a breaker in a house; when you have a relay that is weak, you will get this problem. But the computer will test it as good because it still is good.It's just weak, making it trip.The reason it will start again is because the relay will automatically reset itself after the relay cools and you are off and running again.To explain the type of reaction your car or truck would experience if this were to happen is as follows:The car or truck will just plain die! no warning!IT WILL NOT spit and sputter like it is running out of gas. Now, a module for the distributor will act the same way, but the difference is that the car or truck will not continue to start after a period of time.My suggestion is a cheap way to fiqure this out: purchase a continuity tester at any local hardware store (they are only a couple of dollars) and check the leads coming from the distributer mod. If it is good, it will light up the continuity tester. If it is bad, it won't. This only works if the car will not run at all because the mod will check good if it is weak as well as the ignition relay.Another way to fiqure this out is to go to a local junk yard and pick up a distributer mod and a ignition relay and it will cost you maybe the better part of $10.00 and you may be worry free as long as you own the car with the used part.But if you feel uncomfortable putting used parts into the ingnition system, then replace one or the other but not both and see which one works and then buy new.

• Check your computer for trouble codes.Any problem will be stored in the computer,even if it is intermittent.

• Usually it is some type of fuel pick up problem, or fuel filter. It is possible the engine was slightly flooded, causing it to loose power. This all happened to me when i had an 1987 Corvette. One day i was driving, then it just stalled when i was on a local road. Thank god not on a freeway, cause when it stalled, the steering became locked up. But i did what the manual told me to do, if the engine has became flooded, push the accelerator to the floor and crank the engine. And that go me going again, and strait to the mechanics. It was all in fuel pick up and i need a new fuel filter.

• Just replace the distributor cap and roter. I had same problem in my Honda accord 98.

• My car stopped all of the sudden while driving. When I tried to start it, it started but within seconds the engine would turn off. So my car had to be towed. The problem happened to be the ignition switch which eventually had to be replaced with a new one. It cost me about $600.

• I had a 1990 Honda civic that would not start when the ambient temperature got high. I diagnose it and found that the base of the fuel pump relay situated just behind the dash had a poor solder connection.I re-soldered the connection and it was the end of my problem. Just thought you could possibly have the same problem.

• Most common problem I have found is the idle control value (aka. idle stepper motor). It sets the idle for the engine control computer. It bypasses the throttle plate. They get gummed up, I believe from PCV fumes.This has caused intermittent low idle/dying and start-up problems. The gum prevents it from responding fast enough. My Porsche had low cold idle. My Tahoe required tap on accelerator to start (usually flick of key). My Range Rover intermittent dying & inconsistent low idle. All idle control valve. FIX: Remove it and clean the spring/plunger with Carb cleaner. Also take cotton swab and clean seating area with cleaner. Sometimes replacement is necessary, mine have ranged from about $45 to $125 depending on vehicle and source.

• I had a Vauxhall Carlton 2.0i which would stop for no apparent reason. It was driving me mad. Just couldn't find the cause. In desperation, took it to the main dealer. He put in new plug leads, new distributor cap, new plugs, and 'tuned' it. It did exactly the same the next day. Back to the garage.In the end I found it myself. Locate your Fuel Injector Relay in your fuse and relay box. When your car stops, pull this relay out, and tap it sharply. Re-insert it, and if the car starts again, that's your problem. Apparently the inside circuit board breaks down, and a new relay is the only answer. Intermittent faults like this are a total pain. In fairness the dealer gave me a full refund for the work that they had done. someone else.

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Start with the basics, check your fuel filters first . Remove the fuel line from where it comes into the filter (It will be marked In and be located on the bottom of the filter) then have someone look and see when you crank the engine whether or not fuel is coming through the line. If there is no fuel it is a good sighn your pump is bad and needs replacement. However if you have fuel coming through the line replace your gas line on the INside of your filter and test the out going line on the top of the filter or OUT side. If the fuel is not coming out when you crank the engine or is but at a lower / slower rate replace your filter. If your filters are in good working order and your pump is delivering fuel to the lines yet still wont start it could be a senser problem. If it is, you should be getting a check engine light. If this is the case try to get it into a service station and hook into there computer to get the error code. Last thing, if your car was spudering or stalling prior to your starting problem and all of the above is in good order it may be that your pump though working is not delevering enough presure to the lines. I hope this helps a little good luck.

Michael.