Car won't start

start with the basics...
check battery
solenoid
alternator
test the starter

i know that whats his name (has the wizard for an avatar) has a checklist for this exact thing...i think his names hissin5.0, but that coud be someone else, anyways track him down on here and ask him.

oh, and also try asking jricker (sp?) i knoe he'd probably know as well. best of luck...

You think right.

I would do as said, but first let me ask: Did you bury the clutch pedal into the floor when trying to start? If so and you have no starting, go to the solenoid. Put a test light on the slide-on wire at 12 o'clock. Does it illuminate while cranking?

If not, be sure the car is in neutral, ebrake on, etc (since you will bypass the starter interlock safety devices here) and remove the slide on terminal and touch it to the battery lug on the solenoid (has lots of connections). If the car starts now but you did not have 12 volts to the little wire, the starter interlock circuit is at fault.

If still no start, jump across the two big lugs on the solenoid. Does it start? If so now, the solenoid is at least one component seeming to be at fault (you could still have a starter interlock issue).

This kind of rambles, so do some above testing and post back and myself or one of the other guys and use that info to point you in the right direction (rather than me typing forever. I did that the other night and it was hard to follow).

Good luck.

Whats the volt of the battery before u turn it over? Is the wire connections tite at the solenoid? Mine has always been one of the problem when mine just clicks. Good luck!

Here's a checklist:

Since some of the tests will bypass the safety interlocks, make sure that the car is in neutral and the parking brake is set. Becoming a pancake isn’t part of the repair process…

Check battery, terminal connections, ground, starter relay switch (also known as solenoid) and starter in that order.

A voltmeter is handy if you are familiar with how to use it to find bad connections. Measure the voltage drop across a connection: more than .5 volts across a connection indicates a problem.
See http://www.fluke.com/application_notes/automotive/circuit.asp?AGID=1&SID=103 for help


1.) Will the car start if it is jumped? Then clean battery terminals and check battery.

2.) Check the battery to engine block ground, and the ground behind the engine to the firewall.

3.) Jump the big terminals on the starter relay next to the battery with a screwdriver - watch out for the sparks! If the engine cranks, the starter and power wiring is good. The starter relay is also known as a starter solenoid.

4.) Then pull the small push on connector (red wire) off the starter relay (Looks like it is stuck on a screw). Then jump between the screw and the terminal that is connected to the battery. If it starts, the relay is good and your problem is in the rest of the circuit.

5.) Remember to check the ignition switch, neutral safety switch on auto trans and the clutch safety switch on manual trans cars. If they are good, then you have wiring problems. See http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/large/0900823d80195963.gif for 88-90 year cars .OR see http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/large/0900823d80195964.gif for 91-93 year cars. See http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB..._us/0900823d/80/1d/db/3c/0900823d801ddb3c.jsp for 94-95 model cars.

6.) The starter may be hung, loosen up the bolts that hold it on, and give it a good whack with a big hammer. Tighten up the bolts and try again.

7.) If that doesn't work, use a jumper cable from the positive lead on the battery direct to the starter post where the big wire from the relay connects. If it cranks then, it is the power wire from the relay gone bad. This will be hard to do, since there isn't much room to do it.

8.) Pull the starter and take it to Autozone or Pep Boys and have them test it. Starter fails test, then replace it. If you got this far, the starter is probably bad.

I usually try the BFH to the starter, and see if maybe it had frozen up. Believe it or not, it worked for me before, and continued working for about a year before the starter finally needed replacing.