Car Starting Problems

I was trying to do it but it does not work...

Sometimes the key will not turn when the steering wheel is turned too far. Try turning the steering wheel and key at the same time. Good luck.

HEY HEY It might be a good idea to check at your local piblic library for a repair manual for your car. You will get all your answers there (firing order, direction of distributor rotation, how to find TDC, etc.). For future wire replacement, do one at a time, or mark each wire as you go - including marking the distributor for loacation of number one wire.

Not if the proximate cause is replacement of the coil wire. Are you sure you have the wire securely snapped on at each end?

Frequently the selenoid and motor will be assembled in the same case, or the selenoid will mount directly to the motor case. Typically there are only two required wires for the starter motor assembly to work: the one from the starter circuit (closed by the igintion key) and the "always hot" huge wire from the battery. The circuits are completed to ground - often just through/via the motor body. Somtimes additional wires are present to supply power to other systems. Also, sometimes there will be a redundant/precautionary grounding strap.

The 1998 Neon could have several things malfunctioning if it is not getting fuel. The EFI (Electronic Fuel Injector) could be to blame. It is what replaced the carburetor. The fuel filter could also be to blame.

One of a few things depending on the click. If it makes consecutive clicks when you turn the key (click,click,click,click) then the odds are the battery is dead or in need of charging and there just isn't enough charge to fully engage the starter and turn over the engine. If it clicks just once, the selenoid is usually bad, or the starter is "locked" and will need to be replaced.

This happen to my cousin's vehicle one cold winter and what happened was that since it was so cold the fuel lines frosted due to gasoline has water in it. What I ended doing was pouring in his gas tank a bottle of gas dry. An hour later the vehicle started up. It unfrosted the fuel line and ever since he poor a bottle of gas dry every time the temperatures goes below freezing. No more problems. Try it…

You did not say what year and engine size it was, so I can't tell you the fuel pressure spec's. But I would first check and replace the fuel filter. If that don't make it run then you need to check the fuel pump pressure. YOU probley have low fuel pressure and it has to be a sertine pounds of pressure

I assume you had the battery properly tested under load. Its starts and runs when jump started so that tells me assuming the battery is in fact good that the battery cable connections to the battery are bad and need cleaning.

There are many reasons why a car's engine won't turn over using the starter. Here is a short list of only a few of the reasons:

* the car's battery needs charging up because it cannot supply sufficient current to power the starter; * the car's battery is too old to hold its charge or is faulty so that it needs to be replaced; * the car's starter motor has a fault and may need to be repaired or replaced; * the car's starter circuit is faulty - maybe a fuse has blown because something like the starter's solenoid is taking too much current; * the engine has seized up because it has been neglected for a long time.

If you don't know how to find out the actual reason why your car's engine won't turn over you will have to ask a friend who does know about cars to help you. If you cannot do that, the best general advice anyone can give you is to call a car rescue service or an auto repairer to advise you what has gone wrong.

have same trouble i would like to know myself

everyone should have a manual for their vehicle, and the library should have a professional shop manual available in the REFERENCE section...make copies of the right sections...good luck :)

I don't know for sure, because I never had this happen with one of the 4 samurai's I've had over the years. But my guess is you have a weak electrical system* so that by the time the battery is putting out all those amps to turn over the starter you don't have enough 'ummmph' left over to create an adequate spark. Normally when starting the battery has to put out major amps to turn over the engine, and then more juice through your coil and distributer to make the spark plugs spark. When you are push starting the car all the battery energy is going to the spark plugs (with help from the alternator too), so if it's starting ok that way it probably IS a weak electrical system. NOTE I am assuming the engine would really "turn over"...and not just go click-click-click (another problem, VERY common, caused by not enough juice through the ignition key circuit to activate the starter relay. If it IS a 'click-click-click' trouble write to me and I'll let you know how to work around that.) How to tell if you just have a weak electrical system, and what to do about it? Well, one way is to see if you are getting a decent spark. At night disconnect one of the sparkplug wires (pull it gently off the sparkplug by the rubber boot) and then hold it near some bare grounded metal while someone else cranks the engine. Do you see a spark? Does it look really small and weak, yellow and flickering, or bluish with a nice 'snap' to it? (Humm...if you haven't looked at a spark of a strong running engine this could be hard to tell.) Doing it at night makes it much easier to see the spark. If you aren't getting a good spark you probably have a weak electrical system. Oh yeah, even a WEAK system has enough juice to make you jump if you allow it to ground through you...be sure to hold the open sparkplug wire and boot back from the opening and near bare metal (like the alumimum block) so the spark goes to it and not through you. Won't kill you, but you won't do it twice! In fact, once the engine is running at night, if your spark plug wires are really in bad shape sometimes you can even see sparks from one to another or from the wire to the engine even while everything is plugged in! If you see sparks from wire to wire or wire to block while the engine is running you absolutely need new spark plug wires. OK, lets say you think >maybe< it's a weak system. What else do you do? First check that the cables on the battery are clamped tightly (BOTH the battery and the engine-ends) and that there isn't a lot of corrosion. If it looks like a bunch of green cheese take a wire brush and clean them off. Rinse with a lot of fresh water, and don't get it on you as it will be acidic. Baking soda helps neutralize the acid. (If not used to working around a vehicle wear gloves and eye protection...not bad advice even if you do this stuff a lot.) After you clean up and reattach the cables put a little petroleum jelly over the battery posts and cables, it will help slow down more corrosion in the future. Auto parts stores sell a nice little tool that has an external wire brush to clean the inside of the battery clamp, and in internal wire brush that will clean off your battery posts so they are nice and shiny-fresh. If all that didn't do it for you, think about getting a fresh distributer rotor, distributer cap, (NOT a full disbributer: Just a new cap and rotor), new spark plug wires, and new spark plugs: They are all routine maintenance type items...and if they haven't been changed in 3 or 4 years (or ever!) I'd start there. Get a semi-decent generic set of spark plug wires from Kragen, Autozone, Napa, whatever. Probably around $40. You don't have to buy super duper double platinum spark plugs...get the ones that cost no more than 3 or 4 bucks each. And you don't need "Suzuki Dealer Brand" distributor cap and rotor either. All of this stuff should be had for < $80, and even if it isn't the root cause sometimes these things can be cumulative and it's time to change them out anyway. How old is your battery? Most of the auto parts places I mentioned before will do a free test of how well your battery and charging systems are working. An old battery doesn't have as many cranking amps as a fresh one. I found maybe I'd get around 4 years out of a battery. Likewise a weak alternator won't give the battery a full charge...that's why you have the shop test to tell you if the battery is weak, the alternator is, whatever. It is not a very difficult job to change the alternator out, some bolts up from the top, and remove the splash shield under the engine (if it's still there) and then you can get to the lower bolts. Last time I did this I was 95 miles outside Vegas in the Mojave Desert when my alternator gave out...took me a half hour to pull the old one, a buddy drove me to Vegas to the nearest auto parts store (that's why I know it was 90 miles each way), we also had a nice cheap dinner in a casino, and 9:30 that night I put the new alternator in by flashlight. 4-wheeling is fun isn't it? (ALWAYS go with at least TWO vehicles!) Hope this rambling helps! Paul, prhkgh@comcast.net

Distributor cap has 4 wires on the passenger side and 3 wires on the drivers side. Drivers side from front to back should be 3,1,5. Passenger side is 2,4,6, and then the coil wire is at the back closest to the firewall.

The Fuel Pump Relay is at position 3 in the engine bay relay plate

check alarm if you have old one

A variety of things could cause a no spark condition. The distributor, the coil, the computer, etc. If you can get someone with a code reader out to read the computer codes that would narrow down your search.

Does the starter work? if yes is there spark ?if yes is there fuel?

Take it to a garage they might tell you that its the engine it may have been damaged

If you like feel free to give me a call. I have one and although I am not a mechanic I have experience with these cars for many years and may be able to help you personally or send you in the right direction. Go thru my email at stormwindalpacas@comcast.net. Dave

Your alternator could be bad have it checked this could also be that the car is getting the wrong amount of volts from the battery, either too much or too less

Hi there. I have a 145 2lt ts. Its happened to me and I had to replace the engine at a small fortune. your car has most likely run a bearing on the big eng of the crank. you can get it fixed but personally I would get the new engine as labour would cost a fortune to fix. I was probably caused from the car running out or really low on oil.