Help: Can't start car

[Wabash9000]

EDIT: Check post 4
Final Update check post 8.

I'm having problems getting my car to start. I was driving on Saturday. Went to start my car and I heard the starter motor spin up, but the engine didn't turn over at all. So I thought that the starter solenoid went out. I push started it, drove it to the shop, told them to replace the starter. Shop called me saying they couldn't get it not to start(tired 20 times they said), I told them to go ahead a replace the starter figuring if it didn't work once it was probably going bad and would do it again. So they replaced it, it started just fine for them, started fine for me in the parking lot, started fine at the gas station, then I got home and was going to go out for dinner and went to start it again. It wouldn't start again... wtf.

I just had the shop replace the clutch and flywheel a month or so ago, is it possible that part of the flywheel teeth are striped out? I'm just trying to figure out what it could be. Thanks for any help you can provide.

cliffs: new starter motor doesn't engage flywheel on some startups.

[daryl337]

Lucky for you, starting circuits are relatively simple.

First, how is battery voltage and amperage?

If it isnt the solenoid, work your way back and check all cables for corrosion. Might want to check out the ignition switch as well. My guess is you have corrosion in the starter cable.

[Wabash9000]

Lucky for you, starting circuits are relatively simple.

First, how is battery voltage and amperage?

If it isnt the solenoid, work your way back and check all cables for corrosion. Might want to check out the ignition switch as well. My guess is you have corrosion in the starter cable.


I'm not sure that it's an electrical issue. The starter motor is spinning just fine. If it engages the flywheel it turns it over and starts it with no problems. The last time I tried to start it, the engine turned over maybe a quarter of a revolution and then stopped and then I could just hear the starter motor turning. I feel like the problem is that the teeth on a section of the flywheel broke off, and on my last attempt to start it, it got to that spot on the flywheel and didn't have enough inertia to get past it.

Does that sound like something that it could be?

I'm not really sure what good asking here is really doing for me, I'm going to have the mechanic work on it because there is 6 inches of snow on the ground and I don't have a garage. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what it could be before I take it in.

[Wabash9000]

ok so I was wrong... it wasn't the flywheel.

I had my roommate try to start my car while I watched the engine, it was turning a quarter turn and then not moving anymore.

had the battery checked by O'reily's and they said it was at 30% charge, but passed voltage and amperage tests. I had them charge it and clean the terminals on the battery, and then I changed out the connectors on the wires because they were cracking and rusty, so I figured they were not making good contact. I was concerned about the fact that the battery was at 30% so I thought maybe the alternator wasn't keeping up. Once the battery was recharged and the connectors replaced the car fired right up. I checked the voltage on the battery while the car was running and it was 14.39 volts.
I thought the problems were fixed, but it didn't fire up today right away. I let it sit for a second and then it fired up kinda slowly but it worked.

Tonight I'm going to check the connector to the starter, check the grounds(although they looked fine yesterday when I was checking them with a volt-meter), and replace the relay. Is there anything else you guys would suggest looking at?

[nissanfreak317]

How new is your battery? After reading all of this it sounds like your alternator is fine but battery is not taking a charge very well. Aside from that I would check the engine and battery grounds along with the connections to the starter. The latter being most unlikely of the three.

[Wabash9000]

How new is your battery? After reading all of this it sounds like your alternator is fine but battery is not taking a charge very well. Aside from that I would check the engine and battery grounds along with the connections to the starter. The latter being most unlikely of the three.
The battery is an optima red top and is 2 years old. The battery tested fine at o'reillys yesterday. I think the battery was low from me cranking the starter trying to get it to start.

[Wabash9000]

alright, replaced the relay and checked the cables, all good. My friend thinks it is a problem with lack of spark, so I'm thinking maybe my coil is going bad. I'm going to check the resistance of it tonight against the values in the fsm. this is getting rather frustrating, because it works 5-6 times, then doesn't work, then go back to it the next day and it works perfectly, without changing anything.

[Wabash9000]

Alright so I finally found the problem. I know I'm bumping an old thread now but I wanted to have the information out there in case someone was searching for a similar problem.

So the problem started beginning of February which was 3 weeks after I had the clutch and flywheel changed out. It wouldn't start, so I had them change out the starter figuring the solenoid had gone bad. 2 days later it continued not to start, so I figured electrical problem and checked the battery, alternator, and all connections. Everything checked out fine. I didn't have too much more problems with it for a little bit.

It worked great for 3 weeks and then it started having problems again, so I took it back to the shop, they decided that the starter they put in was bad, so they ordered a new one and put it in. When I went to pick it up the car started just fine. An hour later the car wouldn't start again. I took it back to the shop the next morning and couldn't get it to not start again, the shop owner gave me his personal cell phone and told me to give him a call the next time it happened and he would personally give me road side assistance to check what the car was doing. A week later it didn't start again so I gave him a buzz and he came out and checked it out, and once again blamed the starter. So we push started the car and took it to the shop. They ordered a new starter and gave me a ride home.

The next day I got a call from the shop saying the new starter came in but it was the wrong part, so they put the old part back in and told me to bring it back on monday night when they would be getting the part in. So, I went to pick it up and it wouldn't start in the parking lot, so I left it there. Monday came around and the next starter came in and it was once again the wrong part, so they ordered 3 starters for the next day from 3 different brands so that hopefully one of them was correct. Starters came in today and the found one that worked, they went to replace it and the tech looked at the flywheel to check for damages and found that the ring gear was loose from the flywheel and was completely free-spinning. So now I have a new flywheel coming in and they are going to replace it tomorrow.

so if you car will not turn over more than a 1/10 of a turn and you can hear the electric motor spinning freely, pull the starter and check the ring gear on the flywheel, it may be loose.