Auto and Truck Repair and Advice
Serving the Gainesville and Hawthorne Florida Area
What to do if your CAR WON'T START
2) A good STARTER strong enough to turn the engine over fast enough to start
3) A engine in good mechanical shape with the correct VALVE TIMING and COMPRESSION.
4) Proper fuel air mixture delivered to engine by the CARBURATOR or FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM
5) Proper spark of high enough voltage across good SPARK PLUGS .
This spark must happen at the correct time. This is called IGNITION TIMING.
Click on the above links for test procedures on all 5 essential car systems!
Some quick field tests for no-start condition:
Cars that won't start usually have either a fuel supply problem or a no spark problem. A broken timing belt or chain can also stop your car dead!
Here are some easy test to do:
TEST 1 (non-risky)
Note: this applies to fuel injected gasoline engines. Most all engines made after 1990 are fuel injected.
Get a friend to sit in the driver's seat. Go to the gas filler cap. Remove the cap and listen to the open gas filler pipe. Have the friend turn the ignition switch on, but don't turn the engine over ( the rrrrrr sound ). You should hear a whiring sound from the gas tank for a few seconds, then it should stop. This is the electric fuel pump running. No whirring sound, no running fuel pump. This means your fuel pump is either bad, or the relay powering it is bad, or the computer which runs the relay is bad, etc. There are some vehicles with electric pumps where the pump only runs when the engine is being turned over by the starter. Have your assistant turn the engine over and listen again. If there's still no "whirring" sound, there's no pump action.
TEST 2 (deadly if you have a pacemaker, otherwise unpleasant if you get a shock: careful now!!!)
Remove a spark plug wire. Insert a screwdriver or other metal object in the plug wire end. Hold this wire about 1/8 to 1/4 inch from a metal part of the engine. Have the friend turn the motor over. (making the rrrrr sound).
There should be a nice blue spark jumping off the screwdriver to the engine metal part (pick a part: any part).
DON'T LET THE SPARK GET NEAR THE BATTERY: IT WILL EXPLODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
CAREFUL!!!! IT CAN BITE!!!!!!!!!!!!
No spark can be from a bad coil, rotor, distributor cap , electronic igniton module, pickup coil assy., or wiring defect.
TIMING BELT CHECK: MOST CARS
Remove oil filler cap. Should be able to see the camshaft. Have a friend crank the engine: No cam turning, timing belt gone for sure! If you can't see the cam, remove the distributor cap. With only a few exceptions, the distributor is driven off the camshaft. Distributor doesn't turn with motor, probably the belt is bad.
If you're in the Gainesville Florida area, we look for free................
The Economechanix Cyber Mall
We also serve the surrounding communities of Alachua, High Springs, Hawthorne, and Newberry!
Thank you for visiting the ECONOMECHANIX WEB SITE. Please feel free to comment. We also serve the surrounding communities of Alachua, High Springs, Hawthorne, and Newberry! Gainesville has been my home since 1974, and I've loved Gvl and the Gators since I came here in the fall of 1974 to attend the University of Florida. I loved it so much I stayed and opened my car repair business. Originally it was out of the back of a 1963 Chevrolet wagon, but in 1977 a fellow mechanic and I opened an auto repair shop with actual walls, etc. I stayed in the same location for 26 years, and recently moved my operation to property I bought 15 miles east of Gainesville. I am doing most all the repairs myself now, having reduced my overhead from $1500 per month to practically nothing. I do work by appointment only. I mostly work only on my established customers cars, but I will occasionally take on new clients. E-mail me and I will either make arrangements to look at your car, or I will recommend you to someone who will.
George G. Scott, Jr.