Car won't start.

[SN95StangMan]

My car wouldnt start up at work today, so I just had AAA tow it to my house since it was dark and I couldnt really see what I was doing. I would turn the key and all I would get is a click. Tomorrow I'm going to try to figure out what it is. My alternator was working fine, and the battery I have is an Optima red top, so Im thinking it might not be those things. I've read that the grounds might be bad, so I will start there. Any suggestions on what to look for?

And I was supposed to start installing my Cobra Intake tomorrow morning.

 

[SN95StangMan]

Now that I think about it, that ground on the block is near the oil filter isnt it. Well, I changed my oil yesterday and I probably knocked it loose. Hopefully it'll be that easy.

 

[bigb64]

If its n ot that this only a sugestion but I had the same thing happen and it was a solinoid in my tranny

 

[CobraSVT95]

this is the the problem with cars... when a car wont start it could be ALOT of things.

this problem happened to mine and man was it frustrating

the first time it happened i was driving on the highway and out of nowhere my gauges all went down and the car wouldnt start back up again for a good HOUR!

the diagnostic shop that i took it to first said it was the computer chip so we told them to fix it

a few months later the cars runnin fine when i go to start after work and nothing. but instead taking it back to the shop i just started asking around what the problem might be and me being young and dumb i just figured i would fix everything they thought might be and the problem continued off and on for another 3 months before i couldn't take it anymore.

things i heard it might be:
oil sensor
fuel filter
fuel relay

but then i took it to a different more friendly diagnostic shop and the next day it was running great. the test found that the (hope i spell them right as i am still not sure 100% what they are) STATOR AND SHAFT needed to be replaced i think it was

like i said it could be a number of things but i hope this helps you

 

[jetuomi]

mine was distributor point...

 

[HISSIN50]

it should be a battery, cable, ground and/or starter issue. he is only clicking. if it was turning over and not starting, that would be an engine management issue, but not even turning the starter over is different.

i dont think you could inadvertantly knock your ground cable off. but do check grounds. you could try to hook up a jumper battery (like a jump start) to rule out your battery. make sure the motor to frame ground is good - the starter gets ground via the motor. and juice flows from ground to positive.

i dont know if you guys have a separate starter solenoid, but if you do, you can jump it to see if it starts (i doubt it would, but solenoids can fail).

that is what comes to mind at first blush. good luck.

 

[SN95StangMan]

Well, the car still wont start, but I've ruled out a few things:
-Battery
-Alarm
-Grounds/Wires
-Starter/Solenoid
-Starter Relay

I'll continue on my hunt later today. My uncle is one of the head mechanics at a ford dealer, so if he decides to get off his @$$ tonight, I'll have him take a look at it.

 

[mystang94gt]

I had problems with my car not starting for a while. It would start right up when it was cold but once it got hot it wouldnt start again. ended up being the TFI module. Doesnt sound like the same symptons necessarily, but just a thought.

 

[mytight95]

another vote for the tfi module

 

[HISSIN50]

guys, again, if it does not even turn over, it is not an engine management issue. the car has to turn over and NOT start for that to be considered.

you are all right: thick film mods like to fail when they are old and when they heat up. but with that, if that is the only problem, your car turns over, but wont catch.

good luck.

 

[SN95Oh]

Have you check the battery cables to see if they are loose, or corroded? It will do that. Or the starter may be locked up, that has happened to me before on my camaro.