When the car won’t start, it could be due to a number of things. The first thing you should do is start to
narrow down where your problem may lie.
It doesn’t necessarily take an auto repair professional to get your
issue diagnosed or taken care of.
The Basics
Before you head off to an auto repair shop, you should first understand
as much as you can about your problem. In
the most basic description, your car starts because the key turns, creating
voltage flow from the battery through the ignition switch, a safety switch, and
then to the solenoid or starter relay.
The solenoid or starter relay then routes more power from the battery to
the starter, which in turn cranks the engine.
At this point the starter motor spins and pushes the starter drive gear,
engaging the flywheel and cranking the engine.
NO-CRANK, NO-START – What is
going on?
When the car responds with no
crank and no start, there are many common culprits that you will want to
check. To start, a low battery charge or bad battery
cables or connections could be
to blame. You should check the battery’s
voltage and recharge it or jumpstart the car if the voltage is too low. You should also inspect the battery cables
and connections on both ends. If there
is excessive corrosion on the battery terminals you should clean it off and
re-attach the connections securely.
The next thing to check is the starter relay and solenoid. Check the voltage,
inspect the connections and tighten any necessary wiring issues. If a relay shows a charge but fails to “click”
when you turn the key, you should replace the starter relay.
If none of these are at fault,
the starter itself may have gone
bad. Most auto parts retailers will test
the starter, but you will have to remove it first. If you are mechanically inclined, you may opt
to jump the battery voltage directly to the starter to determine if it will
spin.
Another issue you may be dealing
with is damaged or broken teeth on the flywheel
or a bad starter drive. To check on this one, you will have to have
the starter out of the car. Inspect the
drive gear for damages, as well as the flywheel teeth.
Yet another thing you may need
to check is the ignition switch. If voltage is not reaching the solenoid or
starter relay when the key is turned, look for an open P/N switch, brake switch
or clutch pedal switch. This can help in
determining if the ignition switch needs to be replaced. If you have an open P/N switch, Brake Pedal
switch, or clutch pedal switch,
you will need to bypass the switch with a jumper wire to check if the engine
will crank. You could also use a test
light or voltmeter to determine if there is voltage passing through the switch
when the key is turned on.
If you still haven’t found your
problem, check that the engine has not seized
entirely. An engine can be checked using
a socket and long handle; see if the engine is able to be turned by hand. If it cannot, your engine is locked and you
have a much larger issue on your hands.
Internal engine damage or bearing failure could be to blame in this
case. If the engine has not seized, you
may still suffer from engine hydrolock.
This is caused by a leaking
head gasket that allows coolant
to seep out. Remove your spark plugs to
check for leaked coolant. If the engine
will not crank with the spark plugs out, you may have a closer look at the
possibility that the engine is hydrolocked.
While a vast number of auto
problems can be to blame for a car that won’t start, this should help you in
determining some of the most frequent issues auto owners face. As an auto
repair professional, I know that getting necessary repairs can be a big
unexpected expense. We hope this
information will help you in finding your trouble and avoiding any unnecessary
auto repair bills.
No comments:
Post a Comment