We understand how frustrating it is to get into your vehicle, try to crank it up, and find that your car won’t start. Plus, it always tends to happen at the worst possible times, like when you have somewhere that you need to be. Most drivers will right away think that the issue is with our car battery and desperately try to find those jumper cables and a friend to help. However, a car not starting doesn’t always point to the battery.
Let’s look at some of the potential causes for why a car won’t start.
- Dead battery – yes, often times the case is due to a dead battery. You may have left a light on all night or you haven’t replaced your battery in years. This can easily be determined by testing the battery for charge.
- Battery corrosion – corrosion on the outside of the battery terminal can prevent your engine from getting the correct charge in order to start up. A good battery cleaning (make sure to do it safely) can do the trick.
- Bad starter motor – a bad starter motor is another typical reason for a car that won’t start. The starter motor is what actually gets the engine to turn over and fire, and a bad one can prevent your engine from starting up.
- Bad or snapped timing belt – a bad timing belt can prevent the engine values from opening when they need to, hence preventing the engine from starting.
- Broken distributor cap – the distributor cap helps voltage from the ignition coil get to the spark plugs, which is necessary to start up the engine. Moisture can actually get into the cap which can cause start-up issues.
- Bad ignition coil – a bad ignition coil can prevent the battery’s voltage from turning into the electric spark needed to start up the engine.
- Clogged fuel filter – a clogged fuel filter can prevent the proper mixture of fuel and air from reaching the engine, which is needed to run properly.
These are just some of the top reasons for why you may find yourself having car start-up troubles. We recommend bringing your vehicle into John’s Auto Care if you’re having trouble, and we can get to the bottom of the issue correctly. You don’t want to waste your time buying a new battery only to find that your car still won’t start. We can perform the proper testing to understand what repairs your vehicle really needs and get you back on the road quickly and safely!