Car Starting Problems

It makes a horrible grinding noise as the starter motor turns over, but doesn't do any damage (well I hope it doesn't).

Sure, connect it to the car with jumper cables.

not that i know of. AFAIK it sets the MIL (malfunction indicator lamp), but evaporative emissions faults don't prevent start-up or even put the engine into "limp home mode" because it doesn't affect engine control. perhaps you've misidentified the fault code or there is an additional fault code stored.

there are three wires that come off the ignition switch cylinder the must clip tightly to the wires that run down to the ignition switch. on my car i replaced the ignition switch cylinder forgot about the wires and the same thing happend it kept dieinguntill the wires were securly/tightly connected. I don' think I would just start hacking at wires. A wiring diagram if available would do little good. I really doubt you have a wiring problem, it is more than likely a problem with the Passlock Security System (factory anti-theft system). I have done a lot of looking into this system in the past week, it is really quite simple, yet sophisticated. Have you changed keys or had new keys made lately? If you have, you may need to go back to using the previous key or do a reprogram of the system to teach it the resistance value for the key you are using. If that does not work, more than likely it is the device in the ignition cylinder lock is bad. The device in the lock reads the resistance value from the key and tells the computer that the correct key is being used to start the vehicle. Try this process: For the Passlock 2 system, put the key in the ignition and turn the engine over (the car should not start, if it did you are done), turn the key to the ON position, let it set for 10 min. The security light should be flashing. After 10 min. the security light should stop flashing the car is ready to learn the new key value. Turn the key off, wait 5 seconds, and then try to start the car.

999999 dont hit anything but these couple of 9's.

Depends on the car....what is it???

Hi, I have a 1988 Mercedes 260e. If the car has been sitting untouched for a few days, it will start first time and run without a problem. However, once the engine has been turned off and I try to start it again, the engine turns over but will not start. I've played about with it and discovered that the metal dish under the air filter (I don't know the correct names) seems to be getting stuck. As soon as someone pushes the dish down slightly whilst trying to start the engine, the car starts. Thanks to anyone who can help me get my baby back on the road. After replacing the fuel pump, fuel filter, and fuel relay on my 1988 190E and still having starting issues, we determined that the relay was not connecting well in its sockets. When jiggled the car would start. I'll be looking to improve this connection.

If by PCM you mean the body computer or main computer, then yes it does. Depending on the exact engine and emissions regulations, 49 state vs california emissions there are two types of setups, wet sump which uses only two injector wires, each hooked to 3 or 4 injectors that all fire at once regardless of piston postion, or the California type that has a seperate wire for each injector and they all fire only when needed and is a far superior design. But 95% of t-birds use the wet sump setup.

There is a product that looks like flat washers made of felt that you can fit over the battery posts that will prevent corrosion (don't remember what it's called, but available at your local auto aprts store or Walmart). You can also try putting a dab of grease on the battery posts and terminals after cleaning.

The grease will work best for you to help eliminate corrosion's. The point of putting grease on the terminals is to keep oxygen from coming in contact with the terminals and also help with keeping acid off the posts. When you clean the terminals use baking soda and water to neutralize the acid which will help for future corrosion

IT DEPENDS ON WETHER IT IS A GAS MOTOR OR A DIESEL , OR IF YOU WANT STOCK OR AFTER MARKET.

Go back to the basics you learned in science class; science teachers are ALL supposed to teach "scientific method" which consists of:

(a) Statement of a hypothesis; (b) Testing of hypothesis; (c) Synthesis of hypothesis and test into a new hypothesis.

So you start out with a statement of hypothesis:

"Maybe it's a bad battery."

"I'll test the battery to see if it's good."

(test)

"The battery is good, so it must be something else. What have I learned? Ah, yes, the car still doesn't start but I've verified that the battery is good, so what other possibilities could cause the engine to not start?"

"Maybe it's a bad neutral safety lockout switch. (back to hypothesis)

Answer: If your vehicle is not starting/turning/no sound but your interior light or your dashboard light is working means that you have a bad solenoid.

answer

all you have to do is spend money,battery is good you dont see any flour deposits its not 5 years old then if its buy a good brand battery if it clicks starter change. starter

Check the wiring at the battery, and the starter. Many vehicles have a second wire that powers the vehicle from the starter wire. It sounds like a break in this second wiring system.

try the engine fuse that's what is was for me try the engine fuse that's what is was for me

1989 ford F250 Fuel Problems, It cranks but wont start

dirt or lent in steering colum or a mechanical binding problem, some cars have a recall or techincal service bullenten about this problem. you can go to your dealer or local repair shop to have this fixed.

Something's hot! lol What does it mean when anything smokes? You could have a leak and it's hittin your headers or anything else hot. you could be burning oil. Plenty of things could be wrong.

Flat battery or no fuel

It may not have actually been out of gas. If your fuel pump fails, gas will not get from the tank to the engine, no matter how much is in the tank. Have a mechanic check it out.

ud be looking at a broking t belt plus water pump

I can guarantee that it's electrical or mechanical.

Sorry to sound flippant, but the reality is, there are quite a few problems that can cause what you describe; without additional information there is just no way to know for certain.

To help isolate the problem:

try using a little starting fluid, see if you can start the engine briefly with that. If the engine isn't getting fuel the starting fluid will let it run briefly, and it will verify that everything else is working properly. Once you do that you have eliminated a whole list of other potential problems.

If the starting fluid is used properly and the engine doesn't start, check for spark. Pull a plug wire and connect it to a spare sparkplug. (hint: it doesn't even need to be a sparkplug that fits your car) Have a friend try to start the car and watch the sparkplug to verify that you're getting a good, strong spark. If not, you can go from there.

If you have spark AND starting fluid didn't tell you anything, run a compression test. Poor compression indicates something SERIOUS inside the engine.

The point is, you need to isolate the problem.

Simply making the statement: "My car won't start. What's wrong?" will not result in many people wanting to give you any help.

I can tell you what happened with my Buick. The crank sensor was bad. The engine would start when it was cold but not when the engine was hot. Warner athey The engine computer needs the crank sensor reading to start. Period. Why three periods? Question mark? If the crank sensor is bad that does not mean that it will not function at all. That means that it will not function properly. Even a broken watch will tell you time. It may even be the correct time.

I think that maybe it could be the teeth on the starter or which I hope it's not the teeth on the flywheel of the engine. I guess it could just be the starter which is a cheap fix compared to the flywheel and alot easier to fix !!!!

You battery could be dead or low on power if the van will not start and the gauges are going crazy.

Jiggle the shifer knob, sounds like the neutral safety switch is not engaged or has gone band, or you have a blown fuse, or you may have a bad starter solenoid/starter. Usually it is one of the three.