Alternator problems, car won't start after I use A/C?
Most of the time, my car starts just fine. However, a couple of weeks ago, I used the air conditioner for about 10 minutes right before I arrived somewhere, and when I went to leave a few minutes later, I could not get my car started. At the time, my coolant light was on indicating that it was low, and I thought that maybe my car had just overheated (it was really warm out and I'd been running a lot of errands). I ended up having it towed home, added coolant later that night, and it started up fine the next morning. Today when I got home I decided to test it again to see if it would do the same thing...I had my car running in the parking lot and turned on my a/c for about ten minutes. I shut my car off, and was unable to restart it. I don't know a lot about cars, but I do know that running the a/c uses a lot of power (right?) and I'm guessing that maybe the alternator is starting to go bad and that running the a/c just kills it completely. But I'm not sure, because I don't know a TON about cars, and I've only had this car for about 6 months. It's a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix GT with 160k miles.
Car doesn't start after the rain?
So I was setting ignition timing on my car about four days ago and the sky started sprinkling (yayyy....)...My car was idling and one lucky or very unlucky rain dropped somewhere on my engine bay and made my car turn off. I immediately close my engine bay and try to start it again. Of course it didn't turn on but it did crank. I waited for a day and tried to start it again but it didn't work. So, I went and replaced the spark wires, checked my spark plugs and spark plug valleys for water (nothing),took off my distributor and cleaned everything thats related to it and then finally i sprayed the whole engine bay with WD 40. I left the car lid opened to dry. It didn't rain that day or two days later. So, what the hell is going on!?! =[ my rotor and dist. cap are also very new; I've only put on 3k miles for my spark plugs...I've replaced the gaskets for the distributor too...O rings..or w.e I'm pretty sure its not the battery because I still have light and radio. I've also checked the intake for water but thats impossible since the car was stationary. (intake is through the trunk and out of the engine side vent) My car is an 1989 Toyota MR2 N/A with 129kmiles thanks a lot!
How do you diagnose the problem when a car won't start?
Just as you are sure to have the common cold or a tooth ache at some point in your life, you will most likely, without warning, have an episode where your car won’t start. In mechanical lingo, it is called a “no start condition”. Now you could easily go to an auto mechanic shop and spend more time and money than you want or do a little research (this of course is why you are reading this article) and find out how you can get a head start on the issue by diagnosing your no-start condition. Now keep reading, so you can jump the diagnosis hurdle with this common car problem.There are two types of no start conditions in a car: crank/no start and no crank/no start. The crank/no start is when the spinning of the engine is heard, but it doesn’t catch for the car to run on its own. The no crank/no start is just that-you don’t hear the car crank (hearing crickets) and the car doesn’t start. With most, it may be a given, but for those who honestly may not know, if you have a no crank/no start, check the car battery first, by turning on the lights. If the lights are bright and normal then you know that the issue is elsewhere.With this do-it-yourself method”, you are actually doing tests on different parts of the car, labeling the results of each test either “good” or “bad”. The car part is “good” when it is in operating order and “bad” when it is malfunctioning and more than likely is the reason for your nonmoving vehicle.The big question to be asked and answered by the diagnostic tests is whether there is a lack of fuel or a lack of spark in the car. The tools necessary to begin the testing in your diagnosis of the no start condition are a spark tester and a fuel pressure gauge. Rather than just purchase any spark tester, the HEI (High Energy Ignition) brand is recommended, because this reduces the likelihood of receiving a false test result. At the most, the HEI spark tester would cost you around $15 dollars. The fuel pressure gauge can be bought at your local auto parts store or online from a professional shop, if your car requires a certain type according to its make and model. For more in depth information click here
How do you troubleshoot intermittent car starting problems?
You need to prepare the vehicle with test equipment so you can catch the malfunctioning part of the starting system.If by intermittent no start you mean, the vehicle cranks but does not start then I would not bother with the starter circuit , providing it is cranking fast enough, minimum 300RPM. If you mean intermittent no start because of no starter engagement then the problem can be reduced down to starter circuit and anti theft issues if so equipped.If it cranks but doesn't start intermittently then you have to hook up a pressure gauge and monitor fuel pressure during starting.If that is present then you have to check for spark at the plugs. That can be a tad difficult if you have a coil on plug ignition system. There are inductive probes available for that .Intermittent no starts are almost always primary ignition circuit problems, i.e an electronic issue that prevents the coils from being triggered and so you will need at minimum a scan tool that can show you cranking RPM and injector pulse as those two signals tell you that the crank and cam sensors are watching the engine turn over.But often times even a good scan tool is not enough to really look at the amplification and synchronization of all the sensors required to have an engine crank and run and you will need to get your hands on a lab scope .Intermittent no starts can be very time consuming to investigate.
Car won't start... Jump starting????
My car worked yesterday then today when I turned on the car I got the radio to start up like usual when I start the car, then it just quit and dies. I think it could be the battery cause I noticed a light was left on somehow. If I was to jump start it, and it worked, is that all I need to do, or do I need to drive it around for 2 hours...or do I have to take it in to be recharged? I would like to be able to go to work today in my own car instead of catching rides to and from, so if jump starting works I'd like to know if I could just use it then.
Car won't start if AC is on?
Ok so my car has a hard time starting if I leave the dial for my AC on before I shut the car off. If I set the dial to off it will start up. Any ideas? Please don't say just leave the dial off! I just want to know if there is a bigger issue, thanks.