Car Starting Problems

The head is aluminum and is possibly warped. you need to do a compression and cly leak down test.

Could be a dead battery from a failed alternator.

Ive got the same problem on the same year

A bad fuel pump will cause your vehicle to not start or sputter and then stall. A dirty air filter can have the same symptoms.

Does your underhood light come on when you open the hood ? If not , it sounds like a dead battery or poor cable connection to the battery

Check the alternator. If the alternator is not generating enough electrical energy to run the car AND recharge the battery you'll always have a low battery.

If that's not it try to find something that is being left on that's draining the battery.

If wiiggling some cables or wires helps to start the car, look for a loose connection or corrosion where the cables/wires connect to.

The Battery?

No, not typically the battery.

That means that the alternator is not charging the battery and IF the engine is running, it's getting all of it's electrical energy from the battery. It means that once the battery charge is depleted, the engine won't run again until you recharge the battery.

If an alarm system will not allow a vehicle to start the kill-switch is engaging. The brain of the alarm will need to be disarmed in order for the vehicle to start.

My 89 LXI did the same thing for a while until one day it woudn't start at all. After testing found a faulty rotor. After replacing rotor, it hasn't happened again.

I'm no expert but i have noticed when it wont start i just open the gas cap to release the pressure then it starts, when warm.

You may smell a strong odor of gas from inside the car. You may have problems starting the car, the car may sputter, the car will lose gas mileage that you cant account for. Go get a diagnostics test done. Discount auto and some other smaller repair shops do them for free, the larger ones charge $75.00 for which is crap because it takes less then 5 minutes to hook up and read. Good luck.

There are a lot of old engine sensors that may have changed values slightly with 200k miles of use. The cylinder compression may be lower at start up due to piston ring and cylinder wall wear. The fuel pump may have less pressure than when new. Also try waiting 5 secomds after cutting on the ignition, for the fuel pump to pressurize the lines, then see if it cranks right up.

Best guess would be your timing is off.

Might want to start by pulling the #1 plug and checking to see if the rotor is pointed at the #1 tower on the cap when the balancer shows on or about TDC.

If it's close you should be able to use a timing light to bring it in to spec. Double check your firing order.

If that doesn't work, you might want to think about checking to see if the cam is aligned properly and the valves are properly adjusted.

Not necessarily. Just make sure to add distilled water and not tap water. I may last months or years longer.

first of all if you have a good battery and im not saying you do but it could be fuel or air intake, your starter, or loss of compression..

but to test a battery you have to check it before you start your car then get someone to crank it and test it again because all battery will keep a surface charge but they loose that once a load is applied

Replace the coolant temp sensor.

Automatic choke stuck open

check the tubing :)

There is a fuel line access port that should be right behind the throttle body. Borrow, rent or buy a fuel pressure gauge and check the pressure at the access port while you're trying to start the engine.

Any engine that has normal compression, fuel delivered properly and a spark that is strong and delivered at the right time HAS to run when the starter is engaged. If it's not starting it can ONLY be one of the three.

It may be that the engine coolant temprature sensor has gone faulty. It may well be sending the wrong signal to the ECM causing the ECM to think the engine is hot when in fact the engine is cold.

I ran into a similar problem with my '96 sebring. There is no kill switch, but there are two methods that can stop the alarm. First, (and easiest) is that the alarm is keyed to the door locks, not the ignition. By using the key to unlock the driver's side door (even if it is already unlocked, lock and then unlock), the alarm should shut off.

The second method is less smooth, but effective if you have a short and unlocking won't help. The fuse box is located in the engine compartment. Pop the hood, open the fuse box and pull the appropriate fuse and the alarm will stop. The fuse (at least on my '96) was on a non-critical system (I believe with the break lights) and I was able to drive it to the shop to get the short fixed.

Can you please provide more information ?

such as: any noise when you turn the key?

does it try to start but just wont turn over?

what kind of a vehicle?

the belts need to be tighten at the certain point. Therefore,you need to find the belt tensioner to a adjust the loose belt. The reason is when the belt slips on the pulley, it will makes the sqeaky sound. Goodluck to locate the belt tensioner to adjust it.

The starter relay or the internal starter relay solenoid contact is closed either by 12 volts still applied to the relay or starter or the contacts have welded themselves together. Welded together sounds good if the starter is shorted and that would cause the cables to overheat also.

This almost sounds like two problems or something that is causing both problems. It sounds like you have a nuetral safety switch that prevents the car from starting in gear unless the clutch is depressed. The other problem sounds like a throw out bearing problem not allowing you to shift into gear. I would check first to make sure that the clutch is being engaged when you push the pedal down. Probably the easiest way is to put the car in gear, engine off and parking brake off. Depress the pedal and see if the truck will roll. If it won't roll the clutch is not properly engaging. You will then need to figure out why. Has it become disconnected at the pedal? Is the throw out arm broken or bent? Hope this helps.