my boyfreind's car wont start?

Question

I really have No idea why it isnt starting and i dont have alot of information about it .. I was Just wondering if anybody had any ideas on why the car wont start. Everybody is saying it might be the starter.

Answer 1

is the battery good, could need charging, could be the starter, it hard to say with such little info

Answer 2

You didn't give us any details. So we just have to check them all.

No Air:
1) Dirty air filter
2) A cat crawled into the intake and blocked it up
3) You're in a high elevation and the air is too thin (A few sprays of ether will get it started)
4) Someone put a banana in the tailpipe
5) You installed a new throttle body but left the plastic wrapping on.

No Fuel:
1) Clogged fuel injectors
2) Failed fuel pump
3) Clogged fuel filter
4) Wrong type of gas (ie. bourbon is not the same thing as unleaded)
5) Someone is trying to slow him down and cut his fuel line (check underneath car for fuel smell and immediate area for suspicious character with pointy moustache)
6) No gas.

No Fire:
1) Failed starter motor or solenoid
2) Dead battery
3) Fuel injector no-volt
4) All of the sparkplugs are fouled
5) If your bf's car has this feature... the immobilizer chip built into the key hosel may need to be reprogrammed.
6) Ignition switch has a short
7) Distributor or rotor is dirty
8) Ignition coil failure
9) Distributor or rotor or wires are missing (look in the immediate area for suspicious character with pointy moustache).

Others:
1) Is it cold? Maybe the car is frozen.
2) Are you sure its the right key? It's sad but it happens.
3) Maybe he just doesn't want to leave. ;)
4) Did the car ever start? Was it made by Merkur?

There are dozens of reasons why a car wouldn't start. The most common reasons are usually the more obvious ones like a bad battery or starter.

Does the engine turn over when you turn the key? If so, it may still be the battery but you're not getting enough juice to get the motor running. Check to see that the battery terminals are on tight (i.e. can't move it with your hands). A loose terminal could cause the starter to run, but the engine to not. This could also mean you have a fuel or air problem.

Does the engine not turn over when you turn the key? It is probably something electrical. Start with the battery. Remove it and take it to an autoparts store. They will put it on a tester and tell you if its good or not. If not, buy a new one, give them your old one (will save you a few dollars) and replace.

These are the simple solutions... beyond these, you're best off taking it to a mech, unless you have time to have each possible component removed and tested yourself.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Several times a day, someone asks a very similar question to your's.

It's very helpfull to include a little more information in your question to help us, help you, in your times of trouble.

Some of the simple things to include in your question is:

1) Year of car.
2) Make of the car.
3) Model of your car.
Those three things can help us narrow down known issues with particular vehicles that have certain problems that occur on a regular basis. (ie. recalls and such)

Next, If you could give a more detailed explanation of what is happening when you turn the key to start your car.
1) Nothing happens?
2) You hear a "click", but nothing else?
3) You hear the starter turning, but the engine doesn't turn?
4) The starter turns the engine, but the engine won't start up?
5) The engine turns over, but very slowly.
6) the engine turns, but there's an awful banging noise?

Lastly:
What happened last time you drove it?

1) Drove home fine last night, just won't start today?
2) Was driving fine, and it just died on you?
3) You haven't driven it in a while. It's been parked in storage?

I like to say: "The better the question, the better the answer"

"Won't start" is pretty vague. It could be hundreds of posibilities.
Dead battery, Low battery, bad ground wire to engine, bad power wire to starter, bad power wire to battery, bad connection at battery post or terminals, blown fuse, bad key switch, bad starter, bad fuel pump, bad injectors, out of gas, neutral safety switch, seized engine, broken connecting rod, no compression, no spark, bad oil pressure switch, broken timing belt, plugged fuel filter, bad starter solenoid, bad starter, broken rotor, cracked distributor cap, Anti-theft device, water in/on engine, out of gas, vacuum leak, bad gas, bad ignition coil, blown computer, ...

I could list 50 more things easiy...

When you turn the key, what happens? EXACTLY..

Answer 4

Most common problems leading to start-failure... In order of frequency.

1) You left a dome light on and your battery is dead. Jump start.

2) Alternator is bad. Replace it.

3) Starter is bad. Replace it.

Please note that starter is last... because it is more commonly the alternator, and also harder to get to... fix the easy stuff first.

Answer 5

i'll definitely call that a problem...
there are billions of issues that can lead to "the car wont start"
the most basic check would be the battery, and then the starter, and then the alternator electrical component.
everybody says its the starter because it is a basic check, recall that "my car wont 'start"" and "starter", duh....