Car Starting Problems

Check the fuel rail valve to see if you have fuel going to the fuel rail. If you don't, there is a safety fuel shut-off switch located in the trunk around the left trunk hinge. Press the button and try to start the car again. (or you could save yourself some trouble and push the damned button first - LOL) I would say, push the black alarm reset button on or near the steering column. If you press the red button when the car is not running, it will go into valet mode and the red button will blink twice, repeatedly. The lights , going on and off are for the alarm. Telling you there has been an intrusion. Does your horn work? My car had the same problem and the previous owner took out the 25 amp fuse for the horn because the alarm kept going off.

Start with double checking both ends of both battery cables. Be sure the connections are clean and tight. Have the battery tested at your local auto parts store. You may think it is charged but it may be expired. If all that checks okay you may have a bad starter/solenoid assembly. The clicking you hear is normal, that would be relays doing their thing.

What have you welded ?

fuse box will be in or under the glove box and the fuse will be blow stopping dash lights from coming on .

You should be able to get in the Explorer , lock the doors if you wish , and then start the vehicle . That's what I do on my 1995 Explorer XLT

Todays car warms up faster if you drive it. Just drive easy

Is the key correct? Lock smith might be your best course.

Dead battery? Loose or corroded battery cables? Bad starter? Neutral switch? You haven't given enough information, but it could be a dead battery, or any number of other things.

turn down your idle. theres a screw with a spring. right dab in the middle of the manifold with the injectors below the top part of intake. turn it to the left to turn it down. and so on

it doesnt start when its foggy out because all the wetness in the air

sounds like you have a problem with the ignition if if has coil packs it will do that or it could be the wires but problay the ignition is wore out . it might not look bad but the inside is gone once you put any kind of stress on it

It would help to know what year and model you have but if it is fuel injected try replacing the engine coolant sensor.

you ether have a broke wire in the steering coloumn or your key switch is no good, or you just may have a dirty wire at the battery or on your starter

It probably needs shims added or subtracted to it. the wrong amount of shims will make it start hard

We had the same problem in our '97. Check that your battery is fully charged and working properly, also check that the alt is working. If both of these are in working order it could be a faulty ground wire or the starter wire. Then, if those check out fine, I would start checking into your ignition switch and modular. I traced our issue backwards. If you know that the starter and the alt is good then it has to be in the electrical part of the car. Wiring or ignition. Hope this helps. If by chance it's something else please let me know. We finally found our problem in the ignition wiring. We had a bad wire going into the module. We have to push up on the wiring to get the starter to jump. Still a reliable car.

You say you changed the parts, Did you change as in KEEP the ones that were in the truck orriginally? Or, use the ones that came with the motor? or, Replace with new units? I would say that you probably have A part or some parts that are on A different frequency than the ECM. Contact me in my message board and I will try and help. I need more info.

Yes, there is an engine wiring schematic for a 1981 Volvo 242 DL. You can find this schematic online at places like Volvo Tips and E Euro Parts.

new engen, more gas, new battery, jump shot, or well it could be anything to be honist

crank sensor

Pull the battery cables to keep the battery from draining then replace the tumbler in your ignition. Depending on the year it's not too hard, but you will have to remove the steering wheel and turn signal switching inside the column. Autozone has new keyed tumbler asssemblies for about $15, and you can rent a steering wheel puller from them. The first time mine failed I had a shop do it and the $75/hour labor cost was around $200. I just replaced the tumbler assembly myself in Dec. for the cost of the tumbler assembly. You will have to be careful with the plastic parts in the coumn as they will be brittle in an older truck, and the bottom piece in the turn signal switch sucks to replace. (Go ahead and buy a new top piece (that doesn't have the wires on it) and replace it while the steering wheel is off.) Look for a Chilton's or Haynes manual for your year model and look up how to replace the ignition lock before committing to tear your truck apart to make sure you want to do it yourself. Most auto parts stores and bookstores that carry the manuals will have them out where you can read them, especially used book stores. If you decide to work on it yourself, have another vehicle or a friend with a vehicle handy to run for parts.

If it cranks but doesn't catch it's probably not the starter. You can pull the coil and the igniter and have them tested at most auto parts retailers, but in general, it's a process of elimination. When you find a part that works, you go on to the next possibility. If it is cranking and not starting, pull 1 spark plug wire and connect it to a spare sparkplug. Lay the sparkplug on a metal part of the engine and crank the engine to see if you are getting a good, strong spark. If you're getting a spark, check the fuel pressure. Don't just assume that if it's not starting that there's something wrong with the ignition.

If its causing you the trouble its giving me my suggestion would be to roll it into the middle of the road scrap it or burn the bloody thing.

It may be possessed by a demon! OR... Does it have a remote car starter installed? It may be faulty.

The ignition switch may be bad. The key goes into the ignition lock. There is usually a rod that goes down to the electrical switch on the steering column. check the electrical switch.

Had that same problem on a 96 Mazda Millenia, after checking alot of wiring for shorts, I went to the fuse box under the hood and pulled it apart checking the wiring underneath. Found problem with the BTN fuse wiring. So I pulled the BTN fuse and problem solved. Been trying to find out what exactly the BTN fuse is for but haven't had any luck.

Hope this will help--Good Luck!

Needs a battery, most likely. Have the alternator checked after replacing the battery. Additional Info: It could also be a loose battery connection - check the battery cable clamps. Also, if the battery needs to be replaced, lock and unlock your doors with the key as the alarm system activates itself when a battery is removed, disconnected or replaced. Cycling the door lock cylinders resets the alarm.