Check corrosion on both positive and negative poles. If you see alot of white crusty junk on your connections, then pour some Coca-Cola on it. It'll clean that up. Can the car be jump-started? Check your wires that connect to the battery.
My Honda won't start!!
by Pandoras cat11 23 Replies latest jw friends
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Elsewhere
> Probably the starter
I agree.
As also suggested, try starting the car with jumper cables. Remember to hook up the Black cable on both cars first, then the Red. Also, do not connect the black cables to the battery. Instead connect the Black cables to the engine mount or some other metal part. The Red cable is then connected to the red terminal on the batteries
You can get a rebuilt starter for a reasonable price from your local car parts store (such as AutoZone).
As Burns said… start with the cheap stuff first and work your way up.
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kurtbethel
Don't forget the solenoid, if it is separate from the starter. I have known them to stick and not do their thing properly.
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JeffT
Wow, nobody suggested getting out in field service more. Have you been skipping meetings?
Sorry, I agree with the checking the starter. I'm assuming its an automatic. If it's a stick, you might try pushing it to start it.
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jamiebowers
My advice in economical order:
Check for corrosion on the battery cables. Clean if necessary.
Jump the battery.
Tap the starter. If the car starts, you probably need a new starter.
Check the starter and celenoid.
Question to all of the other posters: Don't auto parts stores have a hand held computer to test the alternator, celenoid and starter?
Pandora, if none of those suggestions work, post again, and I'll ask my husband. He's been fixing cars for DECADES.
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Nathan Natas
Let's talk about how a car works.
When you turn the ignition key, it closes an electrical circuit that allows electricity to flow to the starter "solenoid."
The solenoid is a relay. Relays are used to allow small electrical currents to control large electrical currents.
If the solenoid wasn't there, your ignition switch and the wires going to it would have to be much heavier-duty because the starter motor draws a lot of electrical current from the battery. If the switch and wires weren't heavy-duty, they would literally MELT. So the solenoid is a necessary part of the plan.
Once the solenoid goes "click" it closes heavy duty contacts that allow current to flow to the starter motor.
The purpose of the starter motor is to cause the entire engine of the car and all the parts in it to move - just the same way that old-fashioned cars had to be hand-cranked. That was back before someone thought of inventing the starter motor.
With all the parts of the motor turning, valves are opening and closing to bring gas/air mixture into the cylinders and the distributor is sending pulses of electricity to the ignition coil to produce a perfectly-timed spark. Once all those conditions come together, VROOM! the engine catches and becomes a self-sustaining system. One of the things the engine does is spin the alternator, which produces an electrical current to replace the electricity taken from the battery when the starter began turning things over. A small amount of the electricity produced by the alternator is also used to keep the distributor working and run the other accessories in the car.
Understanding this THEORY OF OPERATION allows us to diagnose why the car won't start.
We hear a "click," so we know the solenoid is pulling in.
We do not hear the motor turn over - "Wrrr, Wrrr, Wrr, Wrr" - so we know that either there isn't enough electrical energy available in the battery OR the electrical connection between the solenoid and the starter is defective.
If we can get the car to start using a boost from another car, we know that our solenoid-to-starter wires are OK, because they have not been changed. We can assume that *something* about the battery is not OK. Either the battery is dead or incapable of holding a charge, or the battery isn't being recharged by the alternator. Take a look at the battery gauge on your dashboard. Once the car is started, does it show that the alternator is putting out about 14 volts? If the alternator is not putting out about 14 volts, it may be bad, or maybe the alternator belt is loose and the alternator is not being turned by the car's engine.
I think that will give you enough information to make an informed hypothesis about where your problem lies.
A good mechanic will not just throw parts at a problem without first determining if the part is defective.
You could replace the wheels and the tailpipe, but that won't help your car start.
Good luck.
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Nathan Natas
...of course there's always PRAYER.
Some people thinks that works.
Try a prayer to each of the 10,000 gods man has worshipped through time.
Then work your way back through the dinosaur gods, then the trilobite gods.
One of those ought to do the trick.
Or maybe that's why dinosaurs and trilobites didn't drive!
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HintOfLime
Might try a quick look in the main fusebox, it's usually easy to check yourself. Many cars have two boxes, one in the interior of the car for accessories, and another box under the hood for the engine circuts, which is where you'll want to look.
I just had the starter fuse go out on me last month on one of my cars. Somewhat mysterious, but I don't drive the care often and it has been raining a lot lately.
- Lime
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restrangled
If you're hearing a click, click, click. It s probably the battery...We have owned 2 hondas. They both got 250K ....just brakes, oil changes, batteries and tires.
Check the battery first before anything else. In otherwords try getting a jump start.
r.
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oompa
i had this same thing happen.......in the main fuse block under the hood just try shoving it or wedging it with something......mine was a short there........we could crank it if we were pushing on the fuse block (black plastic box over the front left wheel well).......we pushed it toward the engine and it would start......finally were wedging a piece of rag or wood against it to keep it running........those were the days......good luck.....oomps
wow...that was a blast from the past.....what color?.....my was taupe kinda.........no pewter........number one best seller