Anyone know about cars' mechanics?

[Hawng]

Almost every time I start my car it takes anywhere from a few to several times to turn the key before it actually starts. When it doesn't start it just makes a small click as if it were about to start but it gets no further than that. So far, I can get it to start everytime but I fear this problem will get worse. Anyone know what the problem may be?

Im a mechanic.... sound like you need a tune up ( air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs and wires, distributer cap and rotor) as well as a new battery.But like a previous poster before me said, you may also need a starter.
If you have any mechanical ability and access to some tools, you could do the job yourself. I would suggest you go to Pep Boys and pick up a service manual for the car you drive. That book will give you the information you need to tackle almost any job.

If you have no mechanical ability then you need to save your money. It is going to cost you parts ( some shops charge an extra 20% for delivery fees and part storage, starters can run from $75 to $300) as well as $65 to $100 an hour for labor. The whole job could take up to 2-3 hour to complete depending on the location of the parts on your vehicle. you can bring your car to most shops to get an estimate of cost but that might cost you an hours worth of labor.

Hope this helps.

 

[DreamNeonBlack]

I know shit about mechanics.

I'm one of those girls who would prolly get stuck somewhere
and call all her friends "eew what do I do now?"






nah I'm kidding.




nah, I'm not.






btw James: isn't that the most annoying thing in the world?
The person who scratched my car $%^$%^$^%$^%#$%##@@!!!

I have a whole row of tiny scratches on my truck, where the morons at school keep knocking thier door into it.

I get so annoyed when people do shit like that. I try to park in a space where it won't happen but some days I don't feel like walking a mile to get to class.

:Smug:

 

[lizard]

Sounds like the starter solinoid.

yeah sounds like the starter. better get it checked out before it craps out totally and makes you call for a tow

 

[Karmic]

Yeah...in 1926
That was sooooooo descriptive.

thanks!

well, I asked around, and its called the choke or something. but I think most cars have it automatic now

 

[Mike]

Speaking of cars...
someone scratched my car in a parking lot
and I'm so pissed beyond beliefe.

Tuesday when I was at school, i come back to my car and it has a scratch and paint chip from where someone hit it trying to pull into the spot next to me.

i was devastated.

 

[derek]

thanks!

well, I asked around, and its called the choke or something. but I think most cars have it automatic now

Yeah dude, its a choke. I have an old mini that has one. I generally use it for crashing around an old airfield.

 

[Reminiscence]

Im a mechanic.... sound like you need a tune up ( air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs and wires, distributer cap and rotor) as well as a new battery.But like a previous poster before me said, you may also need a starter.
If you have any mechanical ability and access to some tools, you could do the job yourself. I would suggest you go to Pep Boys and pick up a service manual for the car you drive. That book will give you the information you need to tackle almost any job.

If you have no mechanical ability then you need to save your money. It is going to cost you parts ( some shops charge an extra 20% for delivery fees and part storage, starters can run from $75 to $300) as well as $65 to $100 an hour for labor. The whole job could take up to 2-3 hour to complete depending on the location of the parts on your vehicle. you can bring your car to most shops to get an estimate of cost but that might cost you an hours worth of labor.

Hope this helps.

Yes, this did help. I'm glad that I can currently afford any of these jobs, but I'm not liking the prices, so I would much rather do it myself. Are you saying I could do the starter job myself? I have a goodly amount of tools and little mechanical ability, but with a guidebook, I think I could manage the tune-up. Don't know if a starter job is more complicated.



Thanks to teredd as well.

 

[metalkingdom]

I think that your problem is 100% the starter.

I wouldn't suggest that you change your starter on your own, unless you are mechanically adept and willing to get very dirty. If you have access to Alldata, or even a repair book for your specific vehicle, you can find out what you need to do to remove/replace your starter. Sometimes (especially in foreign cars) you have to remove your exhaust pipe to get to the starter - which is one helluva job for a non-mechanic.

Your new starter will most likely be refurbished. Get a Bosch one from Pep Boys or somewhere like that. You'll get a lifetime warranty on it even though it's refurbished.

If you get stuck somewhere and your vehicle won't start, you can take a wrench and bang the bolts on the starter solenoid while someone else cranks the ignition. Just make sure that your vehicle is NOT IN GEAR - or you will die. If you are alone, it works sometimes by just banging the solenoid connections (you'll see and hear sparks) and then turning the ignition yourself. Good luck!

 

[Mike]

when you turn the key, if it makes that rrrRRRrrr rrrrRRRrrrrr noise, then i think it means the starter is working. My old car did that oen time, it would make the noise but not kick over, so i thought it was the starter, but it was actually the water pump... i dont know how that works... but thats what the mechanic replaced and it worked again.

 

[Reminiscence]

My car started on the first try several times today, and only missed once, whereafter it started after one subsequent turn of the key. This is weird.

 

[metalkingdom]

^^^^^STARTER^^^^^^

 

[Anvil]

My Jeep has a lot of little dents and paint chips and shit, but thats because I love 4x4ing.

All my buddies tell me my Jeep looks best when dirty. Heh.

 

[LORD_RED_DRAGON]

I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CARS CUZ I'M A QUEEN
SO WHEN MY CRAPPY-ASS CAR NEEDS WORK DONE ON IT
I JUST HAVE A DYKE DO IT

 

[derek]

them dykes sure to pwn at motor-engineering.

 

[Reminiscence]

^^^^^STARTER^^^^^^

Wouldn't that hint more towards a faulty or tenuous connection somewhere more than a dilapidated starter? I would think an ailing starter would just continue to degerate, not fluctuate and give me hope.

 

[Souls of Black]

I believe that Teredd is correct. Two cars of mine did this and it was solinoid both times.

On a side note, if you have trouble starting your car due to battery corrosion and don't have tools, etc. Pour some coca-cola on the terminal. Eats right through that shit...sounds funny, but works like a champ.

 

[metalkingdom]

^^^ Old trick. Not recommended in areas thick with fire ants....

The solenoid is part of the starter.....

Starters don't always just die. They can be intermittent for quite sometime before completely dying. I'm telling you dude, get your starter replaced. I just went through the exact same problem as you. A few weeks back I noticed that my ignition was dragging upon startup , and it got worse and worse. Then it died in a parking lot where my wife ended up getting stuck. Then it miraculously started up after about 10 minutes. The next day everything was cool until I went to Subway and got stuck in the parking lot for about 30 minutes. Then I got under the truck and banged on the solenoid connections until it sparked. I got back in the driver's seat - all greasy and shit - and started the truck up and drove home. I went to see my mechanic (and golf buddy) and he put the meter on my battery while I cranked the ignition. He said "The starter is putting a load on the battery. You need a new starter." I went to Pep Boys and got a FREE replacement Bosch starter because of the lifetime warranty on my faulty starter. My mechanic and one of his guys replaced it in about 40 minutes. Smooth starts and no funny stuff since.

 

[Jody42147]

Wouldn't that hint more towards a faulty or tenuous connection somewhere more than a dilapidated starter? I would think an ailing starter would just continue to degerate, not fluctuate and give me hope.

The thing is trying to tell you it's wearing out. Sure it will work once in a while here and there, maybe even more here then there, but sooner or later it's gonna shit the bed and you'll be stuck somewhere.

 

[LORD_RED_DRAGON]

them dykes sure to pwn at motor-engineering.

EXACTLY

 

[Reminiscence]

Three days without a problem and still going.