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Car Starting Problems

Some of the common car starting problems stem from a discharged battery, a bad fuel pump (or no fuel), a weakened starter motor, or a broken electrical connection. Checking each part will help troubleshoot why the car won’t start.

5,524 Questions

Why when you turn the ignition key nothing happens?

It could be a bad battery, or connection. A bad starter and or solenoid could be the problem, along with an ignition switch to name a few.

Your 1984 Nissan 300zx turbo has been sitting for about a month and now it won't start why?

I had this problem. From what I can tell, the problem stems from two problems. One is moisture gets into the alternator and fries the core, and the other is actually with the spark plugs. If you are not running the engine long enough for it to get really hot, the fuel leaves deposits on the plug tips. Try cleaning the spark plugs and retry to start the car if it doesn't work still it is the Alternator. Also if you let it sit over a month, you might want to verify your liquid seals and fluid levels are still good. Okay, if it has sat for a month without any charge going to the battery, it is most likely the battery. Over time, batteries can lose their charge if not in use. Just get a jumpstart from a friendly neighbor or a buddy. I work in an auto parts store, so i tell people the better way to jumpstart their battery all the time, so it will survive for the next time you need to start it. whether it be jumper cables or a small jumper pack, allow the juice to flow into the dead car for about 2-5 minutes. then you can attempt to start it. if it wont start quite yet, let it go some more. when it starts, disconnect the donating juice and allow the vehicle to run at least a good 15 minutes to let the battery get some decent charge from the alternator. if you dont let it run before immediately driving somewhere, it may not get the proper charge it needs to be able to start it again. just a little car battery FYI: 1. A true dead battery wont hold a charge past an hour. 2. Keeping your terminals and posts clean from corrosion can help your battery last another year or two. 3. A simple multi-meter can tell you if your alternator is doing its job. 13-14Volts and up means it is ok, any lower and it needs to be replaced. just set your tester to DC 12 voltage. 4. If your battery appears to have bulging sides, it could mean it is being overcharged by the alternator. have the alternator an/or voltage regulator checked

Why does my car start but not stay running when ignition is turned to 'on' position it appears to be a loose connection or something as slamming the hood is the only consistent way to fix it?

Slamming the hood may be what loosened the wire in the first place. Look for a loose wire at the starter relay or solenoid (will be a thin wire routed from the ignition switch) and don't slam the hood anymore. Lower it until it is down and then push firmly down on it until it latches.

Connected the battery in car backwards now car won't start?

Ouch...

Unfortunately there are quite a few components that are transistorized, and any one of them could have blown transistors when the battery was connected backward. You can pretty much count on the alternator being fried since there is a diode plate that will not have tolerated reverse polarity, as to the computer and ignition system, it's anybody's guess. It all depends on whether the manufacturer anticipated that kind of mistake.

Check the fuseable link.

What will happen if the two small wires were reversed on a starter relay?

nothing, the starter will not engage, and the voltage bypass to the coil will not be energized.

1996 Nissan Pickup Why does the engine control fuse keep blowing and the engine floods and won't start?

I would look for a short somewhere in the wiring Harness.Pick up a book with the wiring diagram and test between that fuse and the end of the like where the wires meet the engine to make sure a wire is not broken or possibly ground out,or bare and touching another wire.

my 97 Nissan was doing the same thing, i found on alot of 97 Nissan trucks the same thing is happing, look at the second valve cover bolt from the fire wall it will be under the wires running beside the valve cover on the left side and it rubs a hole thru the insulation in to the wiring and causes a ground all i did was re wrap the wires with extra electrical tape so it could not rub thru as easy worked great

What is wrong with a 22 caliber JC Higgins Model 31 if it starts jamming after firing about 10 rounds?

without personally shooting it and examining it .I cant tell you for sure , but here are some suggestions .Completely clean your rifle especially the breech block receiver and trigger group and magazine tube lifter and fallower 22 semi auto rifles are dirty shooters and fouling in the action can cause problems such as jamming .Sears recomends in their Mod 31 manual to compleatly clean Entire rifle every 250 rounds. also some 22 semi autos are very fussy about the type and brand of ammunition always use high velocity ammo I have good luck with federal high speed 22 LR the cheap stuff you buy at Walmart comes in 550 round boxes You rifle is fairly old it was made by High Standard for Sears in 1952 ITs 55 years old . High Standard guns are known for their High quality Your gun will also fire 22 shorts once again high speed only I own several of these guns .They are not known to jam very much unless they are really dirty I hope this helps let me know how you make out

When you turn the key everything works but car won't even try to start What is wrong?

If the engine does not even crank, it is battery or starter related. Check all connections and the charge of the battery itself.

If it does crank, it can be 25 additional reasons why engine does not start.

Why would you see smoke when you try to jump start a battery?

Once the smoke escapes you cannot put it back!

Seriously, though, Make sure that the Ground is connected to the chassis/solid grounding point and not the battery, make sure the donor car runs for a minute or two while connected before attempting to start the dead car.

Also helps to increase the RPM of the donor car while cranking the other.

How do you know if your starter is bad or your ignition switch is going bad when your car turns over but won't start until about the third try?

if you hear a clicking sound when you start it its your starter..check the battery to see if that's good...if its your ignition switch you might smell burnt smoke around the steering column, and to replace ignition switch is like 300 bucks.

If the car will turn over every time, or at least try, the switch should be good (it's working to make it turn over!). It sounds like a starter going out. Good Luck!

What tools needed to change a starter?

Most starters have two or three bolts holding them in and one bolt holding the wire from the battery on. And you usually have to get under the car to get to it.

So...you need a floor jack, jackstands and wrenches in sizes to fit the bolts.

As for the procedure:

unhook the battery, jack up the car and put it on jackstands.

crawl under and find the starter

pull off the push-on wire that goes to the ignition switch. Unbolt the wire to the battery. Remove the two bolts holding the starter in place and remove the starter from the car without dropping it on your head.

Crawl out with it, take it to the auto parts store and trade it in on a rebuilt one.

Installation is the reverse of removal.

Where is the starter solenoid on a 92 mercury?

WHat model Merc is it? Most are on the starter itself. Look at the starter, if it has a large wire and one or two small wires the sel is on the starter, if the starter has only one large wire and nothing else the sel is somewhere else, follow the large wire and you will find it.

-- Model would be helpful to determine this for sure. But here is the best way to find it on most cars. Find the positive battery terminal (+) on the battery. Follow the thick cable coming off that. It will either go to something bolted to the fenderwell (which should have some smaller wires & one other thick wire attached to it), or all the way down to a smaller cylinder mounted o nthe larger cylinder of the starter.

Either of those is the solenoid. Ford/Lincoln/Mercury often used the fenderwell mounted solenoids on their cars.

Another option for helping find parts is to go to the auto parts store (or their website, and look up the part, then look at what the new one looks like, and try to match that to something under the hood.

How do you trip the cylinoid in the starter on a 1988 vw cabriolet Once the car has been driven half hour then turned off the starter will not do anything Turn the key and nothing Help please?

you dont ... you get a new starter motor because your cylinoid is busted ..... == A better answer is you let it sit for half an hour or more while the starter cools down. It will start again when the engine cools down. The starter heats up from starting, the engine conducting heat, and from being next to the exhaust manifold. Cheap starter rebuilders do not leave enough room for thermal expansion. You have a rebuilt starter. ALWAYS insist on a BOSCH starter! You do need a new starter. I went through 2 starters before I found this out. Automatic transmission starters suffer from heat-soak, especially as they age. VW knew about this, issued a technical bulletin about it and installed hot-start relay kits on affected cars. You can easily do it yourself: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2593146 ; be sure the heat-shield is in-place as well.

Why wont your 1991 Toyota celice gt not turn over?

start at your battery check to make sure its still got some life then check the battery cables and after that go to the alternator

if it isn't any of that then check the wires.

94 Chevy corsica V6 3.1 SFI won't start engine turns but wont' turn over what could it be?

MY CORSICA, 1993 3.1 L IS FAMOUS FOR GOING THRU COIL PACKS, I KNOW IT'S BACKWARDS BUT I START WITH THE COIL PACKS AND WORK MY THRU THE TROUBLE SHOOTING STEPS, 9 TIMES OUT OF TEN I HAVE REPLACED THE COIL PACKS. CHEVY LOCATED THEM IN A POOR PLACE. TIM

If no spark is happening does that mean it could be the coil?

I would suspect you are talking about a gasoline engine and if so than yes if the coil is bad you will not get a spark. But that is not the only reason why you may not have spark. Pull the coil wire off and pull the insulation back on the end of the wire, stick a screwdriver into the coil where the wire should go, then hold the wire about an 1/8 away from the metal part of the screwdriver and have someone try to start the engine if the coil is good it should arc between the screwdriver and the wire. Be careful to only hold the insulation on the wire and the nonmetalic handle on the screwdriver, a coil can give off up 100,000 volts, it won't kill you but it hurts like hell.

Dodge neon won't start?

Anytime a vehicle won't start first check the battery then the gas. If neither appeared to be the issue call a mechanic.

What causes white smoke to come from an diesel mondeo exhaust during the first start of the day?

If it is only at the start of the day and disappears shortly after startup, it is just condensation in the exhaust that is burning off. Pretty normal, especially in cold or rainy weather.

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