johnnyo319

Yesterday i tried to start my car and all that happens is cranking. It won't start up. The battery is good so it can't be that. I'm thinking it might be the starter going bad or something else. Anyone know why it won't start? I didn't drive it for a day and it was cold out so would temperature affect it? Any clues?

Thanks!

-shock211-

iTrader: (1)

first,
check and or replace the power terminal clamp. a corroded clamp/power wire will often cause this problem.
second,
test your ignition coil, spark plug wires, distributor cap & rotor, check spark plugs, starter, clean the starter solenoid and all connections thoroughly.
third,
test your ignition.
it's a lot to check but you don't want to just assume it's the starter and replace it but still have the problem as i've done once before...
i had a similar problem a few months back and it ended up being the ignition in my case.

MaximamixaM

It could be tons of things. How do you know the battery is good? Does the starter spin the engine at the same rate as usual? Does it start at all, or idle at all? Do any warning lights come on? Can you hear the fuel pump hum? Fuel in the tank? Fuel filter ever been replaced. And then ignition-are spark plug wires ok, distributor cap and rotor ok? Timing belt ok? CPS ok? Just saying there are tons of things that make a car "start". On a young car, dead batterys are most common. On a older car it can be so many things. Does it seem to be spinning at the usual speed when trying to start? Good Luck.

johnnyo319

Thanks for the replies fellas!! Geeshh, i guess it could be a lot of things.. I know the battery is fine because my volt monitor says 12.2 V when on the ON position. I do hear a fuel pump hum when i turn it to the ON position. (So thats what that noise is). It doesn't idle or start at all. No warning lights either. Battery terminals aren't corroded and and the battery is pretty new. I'm a newbie under the hood, is the starter the thing attached to the firewall on the passenger side of the car? My dad keeps telling me its under the car somewhere. (according to his experience with old junky cars.)

subs1000w

the starter is on the front of the transmission oppisite of the firewall

if the motors turning over its NOT your starter that pretty common sence

easyest way to deturnimin if the problem is fuel or spark is to spray some kind of flamable liquid into the engine and crank it if the engine starts fior a second and then dyes you have a fuel delivery problem if it still dont start you proboly have a ignition related problem

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

It's underneath the car, 1.5 feet inward from the front bumper looking from the driver side. Yes, you'll need to jack up the car and remove the water splasher shield plastic thingies.

Make sure you disconnect the negative terminal from the battery before messing around with it or you could turn good starter into a defect.

89maxSE

I had that problem a while back. The cause of my problem was in the fuse box...loose connection...maybe you should try that....my max was down for about 4 or 5 months w/ that problem. I tried replacing the power transistor, distributor, went through all kinds of testing and it was something as simple as that. Pretty much ****ed me off, lol. Well good luck w/ it, let us know what the problem was

johnnyo319

Turned out to be the starter.. swapped it out and now it starts fine..