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Three months ago wife’s Accent had a no-start. Mechanic pulled a code that ID’d the crank position sensor. $88 part ended up as $388 to drive it home.
Wednesday morning wife called to say it wouldn’t start. No crank at all. Not knowing what to do other than call AAA, I suggested she release emergency brake, depress clutch, & try to start car while it rolled down the driveway. It worked & off to work she went.
Checking online I learned she hadn’t truly roll-started the car (she had maybe 3 feet of roll at 2 mph) & all I could come up with is something about the “contacts” (?) in the starter had hit a dead spot. Kind of like landing on “0” on a roulette wheel?
So I’ve got a starter available at Advance Auto ($270) that I thought I could install myself, but having seen what I’d have to do to get at the starter, I realized “who am I kidding, I can’t do this myself.”
So before I buy this starter & pay my mechanic to install it, I was hoping that this GREAT EricTheCarGuy.com forum could advise me this is the most likely cause of the no crank/no start.
The car has not failed to start since that one time 2 days ago. But the wife is afraid to drive it back & forth to work. I can but my round trip commute back & forth to work is 145 miles. I’m willing to take my chances (I’ve got AAA towing for up to 100 miles, enough to get me home should it not start at work) but I can’t rely on that forever. SOMETHING caused that no crank, and since the battery is good, everything I’ve read leads me to believe the INTERMITTENT no crank indicates the starter is failing.
Almost forgot, this is what happens: key in, shifter in neutral, clutch in, turn key to ON, hear the fuel pump cycle on, see the dash idiot lights come on, turn key to start, and it starts right up. Dozens and dozens of times over the past two days.
Thanks in advance for your help. I turned to youtube for advice & was blown away by Eric’s excellent videos. Thank God he has this forum to help a car challenged guy like me.
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Replies
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Hello and welcome to the forums!
I would be looking at your battery connections, making sure they are clean, tight and free of corrosion.
You can also have the battery load tested as well as the starter tested on vehicle at most auto parts stores for free.
I would also be checking the connections going to the starter.
You can do a voltage drop test on the feed and ground side of the starter circuit to rule out any excessive resistance causing this issue.
The next time it does not crank, i would try wiggling the key in the ignition to see if that will help. You also may have an issue with the clutch neutral safety switch and/or wiring.
I hope this is a good starting point for you.
Thanks for the welcome, and the response!
Battery is only 2 months old with good connections, so I’m ok there.S:)Local Advance Auto Parts won’t test starter on-vehicle. I could check newly opened Auto Zone, but I’m pretty sure you can’t get at the Accent’s starter from above without removing the air filter box & hose(s).S:(
So I gather that any or all of the things you suggest would be the cause an intermittent no crank? And they would be present even if the car was now starting?
I came across alot on the web about replaced starters ultimately not being the fix for intermittent no starts. But I also came across alot about cars that were towed or flatbedded to shops that were unable to diagnose the problem since the car stubbornly kept on starting.
I also read about how a failing starter has “dead spots” that have developed and that if you were able to whack it you might nudge it back to a “good spot”. Did I understand that correctly?
Thanks!
I had a similair scenario in an old truck and a celica I had… It was caused by the starter sticking and not wanting to engage. Wouldn’t make a click or anything. Gave the starter a few good taps with a hammer or wrench and it would start right up… Eventually it happened to me in a storm and then I replaced the starter!
Making sure all connections are good should be priority though, it’s a good idea to undo the battery terminals and clean up any connections you can, grounds, connections on the the starter etc, with a small wire brush. Then spray with a good oil like fluid film, anti sieze or grease…
Welcome to the forum. Here is a video on starter diagnosis that I hope will help, it covers many of the things that have been suggested, remember the battery and it’s connections are VERY important and where you should begin your search.
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