If Your Engine Won't Start
Diagnosing why your engine won't
start falls into two areas,
depending on what you hear when
you turn the key to START (III):
You hear nothing, or almost
nothing. The engine's starter
motor does not operate at all, or
operates very slowly.
You can hear the starter motor
operating normally, but the
engine does not start up and run.
Nothing Happens or the
Starter Motor Operates
Very Slowly
When you turn the ignition switch
to START (III), you do not hear the
normal noise of the engine trying
to start. You may hear a clicking
sound or series of clicks, or
nothing at all. Check these things:
Check the transmission
interlock. If you have a 5-speed,
the clutch pedal must be
pushed all the way to the floor
or the starter will not operate.
With an automatic transmission,
it must be in Park or Neutral.
Turn the ignition switch to ON
(II). Turn on the headlights and
check their brightness. If the
headlights are very dim or don't
light at all, the battery is
discharged. See Jump Starting
on page
163
.
Turn the ignition switch to START
(HI). If the headlights do not dim,
check the condition of the fuses.
If the fuses are OK, there is prob-
ably something wrong with the
electrical circuit for the ignition
switch or starter motor. You will
need a qualified technician to
determine the problem. (See
Towing on page
174
.)
If the headlights dim noticeably or
go out when you try to start the
engine, either the battery is
discharged or the connections are
corroded. Check the condition of
the battery and terminal
connections (see page
129
).
You can then try jump starting the
car from a booster battery (see
page
163
).
Taking Care of the Unexpected
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