Car wouldn't start earlier. It has rained for two days. Tried again and it worked but there was something that sounded like it was going bad for a second. Something scraping. Shut it off and tried again a couple of times and it worked. Drove around came back, tried again and nothing. Electrics/Battery still work, but the thing flat out won't start. Not a sound. Fuses are ok for the starter switch and solenoid, but they could be bad. If it is the starter or alternator, does the car still try to crank? I'm not a techy and I don't want to get hosed when I can get it in for service. Any ideas for troubleshooting?

 

Well it could either be the starter or altenator from what your saying. If you still hear it trying to crank then yes, however it could be your fuel pump also. When the car starts it uses battery power then it switches to the altenator.

but the car would start and just run off the battery for a period of time before it dies.

I say its either your starter or fuel pump but more than likely your starter cause with a bad fuel pump the car would still try to start.

Hope that helps.

 

The car won't crank at all. Nothing. If the starter went, would the car still crank? Something fried I think.

 

I'm sure this won't help....but everyone tries to help me here......I had an issue when i turned key and nothing (whenever it rained or was damp pretty much) and it was a worn spark wire. I bought some "instant dry" type spray from a local car parts place and sprayed it on the wires and it started immediately. Guess the spray evaporates moisture on contact. My wire was worn and it wasn't visible to the eye. After that i relaced the wires and it all straightened out. Cheap way to eliminate something simple that might drive you crazy like it did to me on a few occassions.

 

One of the starting problems common to our Maxs is bad ignition switch. For quite a while I noticed that I was having to twist the key kinda hard against the stop before the starter fired off. Finally one day it wouldn't start, but I could tell that the battery and connections were OK. Lights were bright and everything else worked. Has your ignition switch been acting like that? Do you have any symptoms of a bad battery or connection, like headlights dimmer than normal. Have you tried jumper cables yet? Do you have access to a multimeter to check voltage at the battery and the starter positive connection? For what it's worth, these are some of the first things I'd try.

 

Longtassle, what you say is true. It was raining here for the last two days
and the car was sitting all weekend. However, I changed the plugs last summer and the ignition wires are in good shape. It is possible that it got damp under the hood this time.

I just went out and it started up. I tried it once and it started right up w/o any issues or noises etc. It may have dried itself off since it was nice here this afternoon. The confusing part is that I had run the car earlier w/o issue, came home, went out again and bam!, no go.

 

880, I was thinking the same thing. Never had a problem with starter switch. I tried turning the key hard a few times, and did try a jump from my QX4. I cleaned the + battery terminal as well. Don't have a meter, but it may be time to get one.

As I mentioned to Longtassle, I went out before and it started up as though there was never a problem. This worries me as it could happen again away from home.

How would I use the multimeter to check? Meaning what would I be setting it to and what level of amp/voltage would I be looking at?

 

this happened to me a few weeks ago. tried to start the car, but nothing no crank or any kinda noise. i went out on a limb and changed the starter. low and behold that was the problem.

 

Wow that weird. The car wouldn't start due to moisture build up? I've never had the problem with my max and it usually sits for 4 to 5 days at a time.

However what's fully is my 1996 vw GTI VR6 doesn't start when theirs moisture build up around the distribution cap. The thing has to dry off before its a go

 

My ignition switch did exactly what happened to you. When it failed the first time I was 80 miles from home. Messed with it about an hour before calling the wife. Next day I drive back 80 miles with an axle dolly to drag it home and it starts up fine - like nothing ever happened. It'll almost certainly fail you again, but that's probably what will have to happen before you can diagnosis it. Multimeter is a must if you work on cars much. With a factory manual, a multimeter, and patience you can run down almost all electrical problems. Just follow the flow chart. For voltage just set to VDC (volts direct current) and range 00.0 for a reading of 12.2 or 12.7. Good luck

 

Max'ed, I've never had the problem either. With 110K mi. on it, anything can happen I guess.

Just went out again this evening and it started right up on the first shot.

i30, I'll be keeping an eye out for the starter as well.

Thanks for your input all.