Common Reasons Why Your Car Will Not Start and What You Need to Do |
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Dan Hinchee
1 February 2016
Vehicle problems are often unpredictable and unexpected. If your car breaks down on the highway and completely refuses to start, there could be a couple of common reasons. Here are a few and what you can do about it:
Dead battery
Sometimes you may forget to switch off the radio or cut the lights off when you pack your car. After remaining on for hours on end, the lights will eventually drain your battery. Once your battery is dead, there is no power to send electric power to the starter motor and therefore, the engine will not start. The only way to get the car to start again is by boosting your battery using jumper cables connected to another car battery.
Fuel pump failure
If you do not take your vehicle to the service shop for maintenance as per schedule, you may experience a couple of unexpected problems with your vehicle. The in-tank electrical fuel pump failure is a common reason for no-start problems in cars. You should also avoid allowing the fuel level to stay below ¼ for long, or running out of fuel completely as this can also cost premature fuel pump failure. You will need to replace the fuel pump in case it is ruined. If this happens while you are on the road, just call for a tow truck.
Timing belt failure
For most vehicles, the timing belt should be replaced after about 60,000 miles of normal use. If you do not change the timing belt before it breaks, you can cause some expensive damage to your vehicle. Get the timing belt checked and changed a short while before the recommended mileage level of your vehicle to avoid timing belt failure.
Rusty battery terminals
If your battery terminals are rusty or coated, they are not able to transmit electrical power through the cables. You need to find some sand paper and rub off the coating or rust on the battery terminals for full contact to complete the electrical circuit of the vehicle.
Electrical problems
No-start problems may also be due to an electrical fault in the circuit of the vehicle. Electrical problems in the ignition switch in particular can give you a hard time while trying to start your vehicle. You need to take it into the service shop for a full electrical diagnostic and repairs to avoid having this problem again in the future.
Fuel mix problems
If your fuel line is clogged up, if you have impurities in the fuel or if you have the wrong mix of fuel, the fuel will not ignite properly and you vehicle will not start. Worn out piston rings and failing exhaust valves can prevent the level of compression necessary to ignite the fuel mix. Weak and missing sparks due to bad spark plug cables can also prevent the fuel from igniting to start the engine. Problems with the spark plugs could be attributed to a faulty system or bad spark plug timing among other issues.