Why wont my car start???

I know it is obvious (and im sure you checked it), but check all your conenctions that lead to your battery and starter.

Once something similar happened to me where I couldn't start the car. I could turn the key and nothing would happen. Not even a jump would help. Turned out to be a loose positive battery cable.

Just my $.02 for what it's woth.

depending upon how many amps the neighbor's charger could boost you, if you battery is dead, it might not be enough. do you have a spare car around to use to jump start you? chance any dome lights, glovebox etc lights were left on overnight?

as said, battery connections should be checked first. cold and wet seem to create more resistance.

good luck.

when i had that happen, i found it was the small 12gauge red trigger wire that goes onto the starter, it is what pulls in the coil for the starter, and if that is off, it wont click or anything, also there is a sorta large connector on the pass side, up near the fire wall. its white and if that comes unplugged it will do the same thing. its probably the first thing, cause i had replaced my starter and i dident need to

what does a bad alternator sound like (esp since the car wont start)?
do you mean starter? i am not being a smartie, but i see you keep referring to a possibly bad alternator and cant figure it out.

huskerpower02 said:

well it sounds like its trying to start the car but it wont. i just sounds like
da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da really fast. anyway, ya so it makes noise obviously but it wont start. so its either starter or the alternator.

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LMAO. ok, unless the alternator is physically toast (bearings, etc), it has nothing to do with starting. the starter turns the motor at such a low rate and there is such a large draw on the battery at the time, the alternator has little to do with anything.

if you can get it to start, i might have a parts store check the stuff out (or take the battery in for a load test). a jump start could help with isolating the problem. if it clicks or makes some sort of noise, your interlock devices are working (the wire to the solenoid that others referred to) - not enough juice is getting to the starter for whatever reason.

if everything checks out alright, dont forget to check your motor ground(s). remember, the flow of juice is from negative to positive. if there is insufficient grounding, a power plant cant start you car. i would really stress checking the cables again (they can rot from the inside out - lookin fine on the outside) and the battery. if you have an inductive ammeter, you can see how many amps it is putting out at crank.

good luck bud.

huskerpower02 said:

wow man you might as well have typed that whole thing in spanish cause i have no idea what you just said. i have tried to jump the car but to no avail. it clicks when i try to start it but doesnt turn over. same thing when i try and charge it.

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ok, from the top, simply. you may have done some of this, but i will just say it again cuz im slow.

battery cables: check the connections for cleanliness and conductivity. the cables can look good on the outside, but be almost dust inside. when you start the car, that is by far the largest drain on the battery and the biggest strain on the cables. really check them.

grounds: there are several grounds. one is for the battery. it MUST be in very good condition. there are also grounds on the motor to the frame. they must be up to par - here is why:

electricity flows from negative to positive. so if you dont have proper grounding, you could hook up 6 batteries to your battery and it still would not start the car. the starter achieves its grounding via the motor. ergo the motor must be grounded properly.

if that is all good, i would go to the battery. you could have a dead cell or another reason it wont start the car (a bad cell can also make it seem like the alternator is bad, since it can inhibit the alternator's output from being 'stored'. a parts store can load test your battery (take the battery out and take it inside the store, if the car is not driveable).

what i would do: check all the cables and connections, per above. if you want and have something like spare cables around, temporarily attach one from the battery negative post to the motor (like an accessory bracket - something FAR away from the battery itself). dead batteries or half dead batteries tend to outgas - highly flammable gas. be careful! (this is why you ground the jumper cable on the motor, away from the battery. you dont put in on the dead battery negative cable!).

then get a buddy to bring his car over and pretend you are jump starting the car. be careful and all that. will it start? if so, play with extra grounds as above and see if it is able to start on its own. or/and have the battery load tested.

it does not sound like you are getting sufficient juice (either positive or power ground [negative]) to start the car. i would not be lookin at the starter or alternator, unless once it starts, you are discharging or not within spec (battery should have ~12.6 volts when the car is off; ~14.5 volts at 2K rpm with no accessories on). one can have good volts without enough amps to start the car (a motorcycle battery is a 12 volt battery, but would not necessarily start the car [some guys do use one for racing, but that is the easiest analogy i can think of]).

the last thing within reason i can think of is that the power cable from the starter to the battery is not up to par. that is the least likely.

is it a stick? have you tried to compression start it (push start)? the puter can sense when you are trying this and will open up the coil's dwell to make it easier to start.

lemme know if that makes sense. do be very careful, esp with regard to the risk of fire or explosion. good luck!