Tempermental Starting (car)?
I have a CRX and my vehicle is having start-up issues. About a month ago it was running fine and it just died without any warning on the road. Ever since then, I find that it will sometimes start and run wonderfully but typically it just starts up and dies immediately. It seems as though it will run about once every five to ten hours or so and any time after that until it's been resting it just won't start properly. Do you have any idea of what could be causing this? I have a feeling that I might have screwed something up but I don't know what it was. My vehicle was working great but a week or two before it died I removed an alarm system that someone improperly installed and I don't know too much about wiring so it's possible I messed something up. I don't know if that would have anything to do with it but I thought I would mention it. Thanks in advance. :)
Can you really steal a car by hot wiring it (by touching the two starter wires from the ignition switch together)?
Your question was answered very well by the above people. However, I would like to add a few points regarding current auto theft trends. I am a former police officer and one of my passions was auto theft. I am still an active member of IAATI and have my own business that offers a product to specifically combat auto theft Recoveri | Tag What's YoursMoving along, auto thieves these days will not hot wire a car or even attempt it. In fact most of them don't even know how to do it at all because they have grown up through the technology age and learned easier methods that don't cause as much damage. The main trend we are seeing today is that cars are being chopped and/or shipped out of the country because they are worth far more in pieces as they ever will be as a whole car. Also, once your car is chopped, there are no identifying numbers on 98% of the parts. In fact the only way to prevent and combat this is the product I offer and I don't tell you that as a business owner, I tell you that as a former auto theft investigator seeing what works and what doesn't and what would very much ruin a car thief's day. One thing we are becoming more and more aware of is car hacking. Because almost everything in a car now is electronic, it is easier to hack. So they are using a laptop to interrogate the Onboard Computer either through an ODBII cable or a number of other interfaces such as onboard GPS, Navigation systems etc and once they get in, they can unlock your doors, roll down your windows, start your car etc. Even stepping back in time a bit, there are shaved keys, transponder key re programmers and other means to easily get into your car. I am not going to tell you about all of them here because the post would quickly turn from awareness to auto theft education and how to's ;) Just know that we are dealing with a very different group of auto thieves these days. It is no longer your common street drug addict, meth head, whatever you want to call them that are the majority. If a Meth head is stealing your car, there is even a chance that they are just pawns working for an organized group where they earn a couple hundred to a couple thousand to boost your car and drive it to a chop shop. If your car door lock is pulled out, window broken, steering column hacked apart or wires pulled out from under your dash, then you are most likely dealing with an amateur and probably even a teenager.
Why won't my car start with a jump?
Hi,Possibly you did it wrong or maybe the car has a fault that can't be cured by jumping it. Typical faults CAUSED by jump starting are blown fuses or worst case, blown ECU's. What jump starting CAN'T fix broken starter, broken I injection system etc.To jump start.1 pick a suitable candidate to jump from.Be sure the car actually needs a jumpMake sure jump leads are serviceableWhen connecting, connect earth to earth and pos to pos….. obvious I know but you'd be amazed how many people don't!DO NOT just connect leads and try to start….another reason things go wrong.With car that will provide the jump running connect the POS to POS and make sure it's a good connection.Connect the NEG again making sure a good connection. Reason NEG is connected second is to minimise shorts.A word on modern cars with battery monitoring . Some cars DO NOT respond well to connecting batteries direct. They might want neg connections made to specific points. Always check.Once cars are connected go have a brew. Tea for Brits, coffee for Americans. Leave the jumping car running a good 10 minutes before trying to start. The idea is that you're using battery power, not just the leads…this is another cause of failure.Try to start vehicle.If it turns over properly but won't catch then there may be a problem.If it doesn't even try to turn over then the problem may not be a flat battery.If it starts CAREFULLY remove jump leads pos first.Once running take car for a drive. DO NOT leave it running at idle to charge battery…. If batt is an AGM batt and it's flat the alternator will get very hot charging it. If you just leave it idling you may damage alternator. Drive it, that way you'll stress alternator less.Provided everything went all right, get the car checked for parasitic loads…. They are things that cause batts to discharge and require a jump. Typical offenders are boot light switches, glove box switches, ECU's etc.Simple rule. 3 things make a batt go flat: The batt is knackered so needs replacing. The alternator isn't charging. Something's been left ON. It will only ever be one of those three things as a rule. Hope this helps.Finally if car won't start after jump and you suspect jump caused it. Check fuses as some cars are sensitive. Fusible links (not the same thing) and dash lights in case an ecu has been damaged.
Why do I have to wiggle my battery cable for my car to start?
My car, a 1987 Volvo (i think 740?) decides on its own when it wants to start. If it doesn't want to start, it'll only crank but it won't turnover. One night while driving, my car just shut off! just like that, just shut off. i had enough momentum going to get to the side of the road. AAA said it was my fuel pump. My mechanic said it was the wiring harness. the wiring harness has been ghetto fixed and my car has been able to turn on. First day of having my car back, it wouldn't turnover again. Some guy helped me by wiggling around the battery cable and VIOLA!! it started. so i had my battery terminal replaced since it was loose and corroded. that seemed to help when i first tried turning my car on. BUT THEN, the second time around, my car wouldn't turnover again! only crank(making that "car's about to start noise, all it needs is that VROOOM" sound to start. So now, i gotta lift up the hood, wiggle around my battery cable maybe once, twice, three times before it decides to start. PLEASE HELP =(
Installed a cd player now car wont start?
Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Yellow/Green Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Orange/Black Car Radio Ground Wire: Black/Green Car Radio Illumination Wire: Orange/Black Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: N/A Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: N/A Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: N/A Car Stereo Amplifier Location: N/A Car Audio Front Speakers Size: N/A Car Audio Front Speakers Location: N/A Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): White/Black Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray/Black Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): White/Red Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray/Red Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: N/A Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: N/A Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): White/Green Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray/White Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): White Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray You may need a new boyfriend by the time you get your car running again. Well I will try and help, Check every fuse twice to make sure none are blown. You have a fuse box in the car and one under the hood. When he was cutting wires I bet he didn't have the Battery disconnected, also your lucky your airbags didn't deploy ripping the car to pieces. Question time: Dome light work? Head Lights Work? Windshield wipers work? You put the key in the ignition and turn it to the on possession do the dash lights light up (trouble lights)? When you turn the key to the start possession do you hear ANYTHING? Many newer cars (2000 on) have security systems built in the ignition and runs thru the radio you have to use a harness adapter to bypass the security features. Yes your boyfriend was right about it being much different.
How do I jump start a car without cables?
This question needs to be rephrased. How do you start a car with a dead battery without jumper cables?If the battery is dead from being discharged such as leaving lights on, then a simple solution is to use a charger to recharge the battery for a short period of time and then start the car and let the alternator fully recharge the battery. Of course, if you don’t have jumper cables you probably do not have a charger or the car may not be near a plug outlet. Try to borrow some jumper cables or a jump start kit mentioned by others from a friend or a good Samaritan who sees your plight.If you cannot charge it or jump it and no friends have equipment, remove the battery and take it to a retail store in another vehicle to have it checked and charged. This will save you some money if the battery can be recharged and you don’t need the car right away. If the battery is bad, you will need to get a new one anyway. If the battery is simply discharged, you will need to discover if there was a load left on or the vehicle charging system was not working (you should have seen warning lights).If you are in a hurry, in a remote location and late at night call a rescue service like AAA. Expensive but effective.
Why won't my car start even after I put a new battery in?
Before retiring, I owned an auto repair shop. A guy comes in and says he replaced his battery, replaced the starter twice and the car would still not start. He bought a “rebuilt” alternator and wanted us to install it for him. I told him if he had a new starter and battery, there was no likelihood the alternator was involved, would he like us to troubleshoot the car and try to find the cause of the problem.He aid all he wanted was for us to install the alternator, nothing else. I wrote up the repair order Car does not start, customer wands us to install his supplied alternator and will not allow us to diagnose the problem or touch anything else. Under that circumstance, we are to push the car into the shop, install his supplied alternator and push the car out. Under no circumstance are we to attempt to start the car. The labor will be paid for in cash before the car is pushed out of the shop, the customer will wait for it.I had the customer sign the order and the instructions, and did as he asked.He paid and we pushed the car out of the shop. He tried to start it, nothing happened ao he came back into the shop mad! I told him to read what he had ordered us to do, and then, would he allow us to diagnose the problem and make a repair, charging clock time and allowing us a half hour diagnostic time, to try to find and fix the problem. He agreed and signed a repair order. The Mechanic went to the parts department, got and installed a new ground cable. The problem was that the owner had replaced the ground cable with a short one that he bolted to a loose bracket on the right side of the engine. There was nothing wrong with his battery, starter(s) or alternator. The classic DO IT TO YOUR SELFER.
Why wont my car start sometimes?
Carefully inspect the battery connections. I would clean them with a wire bush and a bit of water, and some baking soda if they are bad. Inspect the battery wires carefully. Inspect the large grounds. Remove and clean the connector and the engine and body surface that the wire is attached to. Then go to an auto parts store and get a free alternator and battery test. Because this is intermittent, it will be hard to find. You can guess, and most shops will just guess also, but that is really a waste of time and money. Check the connections on the starter. Remove and clean them. Then see what happens. Get near back of vehicle and have assistant turn key to the accessory position. You should hear the fuel pump turn on. If you can hear that from the drivers seat, listen for it each start. Turn off radio, and fans when you stop car. Then next time you turn on, if you do not hear pump, and car does not start, that may be an indication of intermittent fuel pump issue. Which could be a bad fuel pump, but usually they will eventually fail, bad/broken wiring, or corroded/bad connection at fuel pump. If past due, change the fuel filter, probably not the issue, but worth changing. Are you able to tap the starter with the handle of a long screwdriver, or something. If so, then when vehicle does not start. Tap on starter, just rap it firmly, not trying to hammer it, if vehicle starts, then might be the starter. Try this over a few times, if it happens say five t 10 times, not start, hit starter, then starts next time, then most likely is the starter. The starter solenoid may be built into the starter. A few things to try. good luck.