Car not starting sometimes

oulu

I was having issues starting car so bought a new battery ,for 3 weeks every morning no problem then when I turn the ignition it is strying to start but will not turn over, I could not start with a jump but did get it started with a tow. Got me into work but now same thing happening.it has happened 3 times now in last few days, one time it did not start then I went and tried 2 hours later and it worked. This was the orinigal problem which is why I got new battery as I thought this was the problem same battery for last 10 years.Battery light come on red when I have this issue. all help appricated.

dos30

It sounds like either your fuel pump or fuel pump relay to me. More than likely your fuel pump relay, it's a cheap fix about €20. You can pick one up at a scrap yard and probably even fit it yourself.

JoeySully

without trying to sound like a really nasty poster - if you rang a vet and said that my 10 year old pet has a cough it would be very difficult for him to give you any advice as to what the problem is if you did not tell him what kind of pet you had - if you get my meaning :cool: sorry

Marcus.Aurelius

Alternator and starter motor also possibilities

Malfunctioning immobiliser wouldn't stop turnover, would just stop engine from catching or stop it once it did start, but I'm open to correction here!

Pete67

I'd suggest that you get the alternator checked out first - sounds like the battery is not being charged properly. Especially if the red battery light is on when the engine is running.

Assuming the battery connections are fine (not loose or corroded), a quick check of the battery condition when a car will not turn over on the starter is to switch on the headlights - if they light brightly then the problem is not with the battery. If they light dimly or not at all then the battery is discharged and you will have to find out why.

--amadeus--

Unlikley to be a fuel pump problem, otherwise it would also die out when it was being driven, wouldn't it? I'd suspect starter motor / alternator.

But to be honest if you are having to post on here to ask whats wrong then it doesn't make any real differencne - if you don't know enough to diagnose the problem you'll have to take it to a garage to get it fixed so why not just take it to a garage and get it diagnosed properly?

dos30

If it was the fuel pump relay, once the car actually starts it would keep going. It doesn't sound like the alternator as he says..

"one time it did not start then I went and tried 2 hours later and it worked"

and also

"when I turn the ignition it is strying to start but will not turn over"

Also the battery light always comes on when you try to start a car. This sound like the battery is working and getting charged fine but there is no fuel getting in.

Let us know the diagnosis from the garage anyway.

unkel

dos30 wrote: »

It sounds like either your fuel pump or fuel pump relay to me. More than likely your fuel pump relay, it's a cheap fix about €20. You can pick one up at a scrap yard and probably even fit it yourself.

+1

I had a pretty much identical intermittent starting problem recently. After doing a lot of checks, ruling out battery, alternator, fuses, spark, etc. I swapped the fuel pump relay over with another (identical) one from the horn. Problem fixed! The horn still worked so the relay just wasn't making proper contact before

dos30 wrote: »

If it was the fuel pump relay, once the car actually starts it would keep going

Indeed.

Lucifer

If it wouldnt go on a jump start but went on a push start its quite unlikely to be fuel related so that rules out pump/relay. You say it is trying to start but not turning over? do you mean that it is clicking but engine not spinning. if you do I would say it is likely a starter motor problem. As if it was power related, battery/alternator it would not start 2 hrs after not starting previously as the battery would be no more charged than the previous try. Also would explain why it did not start with jump start but did with push start.

Post and give us more information, is the engine not turning or is it turning but not starting. Also let us know the make, model, year and engine size of the car as it will help us find your problem.


Kevin

mickdw

Is the engine actually turning when fault occurs or is it just not firing? If not turning it could be a faulty earth at he starter. Battery is charging as he said it could fail now but start in 2 hours without being driven in between.


Lucifer covered most of this in above post. Didnt see it.

unkel

Good points, Lucifer. It would sure help to know make / model / age. But:

Lucifer wrote: »

If it wouldnt go on a jump start but went on a push start its quite unlikely to be fuel related so that rules out pump/relay

Could just be a coincidence. In my case it looked like the engine would start when cold but not when warm, but those occasions turned out to be be coincidents too. You have to be careful in ruling out some causes when the problem is intermittent as per the title "Car not starting sometimes"

bbam

2 Points to note here...

1. Pease, please mention what type of car this is... Someone with the same model may have specific advice..

2. You have spent the money on a new battery and still the problem remains, probably money un-necassarly spent. If you continue to change bits and pieces without a real understanding of the problem you will waste more money. Bring the car to a decent mechanic.. fixing a car by "swaptronics" is expensive, more expensive than paying a professional.

A car not starting is nothing but a curse, specially this type of intermittant carry on..

Cmar-Ireland

Do you have a multimeter? If yes, select 20v dc on the dial and check the battery with the engine off. Should be 12.x volts. Now start the car and the volts should just up to over 13.5v. If it doesn't then it's your alternator not charging the battery.

ART6

Sounds to me typical of a starter motor problem. If you can jump start it, it isn't a fuel issue, and if it then runs it isn't an alternator issue either.
Starter motor earth connections and terminals are quite exposed to weather, water, and muck, and it could be any of them. I have known cases where the starter motor copper braid was almost burned out. Alternatively, if the car is getting on in years it could be the starter motor brush gear worn out. With that it will start sometimes and not others - not an uncommon fault. It's generally easy enough to change a starter motor with a service exchange unit.

Having said that I entirely agree with other posters here. If you don't have the means or the experience to diagnose and resolve the problem, find a mechanic, otherwise you'll spend a fortune on replacement surgery.

Gary ITR

Had the exact same problem last week, took a brush and some wd40 to my starter connections and Bob's your auntie.... no probs since

hey all im havin the same problem no wit my opel corsa 00 it just keeps trying to kick in and i also changed the battery and it didnt happen for three weeks but then on sunday the problem came back but on saturday it was raining really heavily wud that be part of the problem like the rain getting in somewhere?brought it to the garage today but d mechanic wasnt there so gotta wait till the morning,any ideas wot it cud be and how much it will cost?

Lucifer

Which model corsa is it? Corsa B (1993-2000) or Corsa C (2000-2006)?
Is your engine turning over but not starting or is the engine not turning at all?

Both models x10xe, x12xe, z10xe, and z12xe engines can give Crankshaft Sensor trouble that will cause an intermittent non start, Usually after driving them for a while they wont restart or can cut out. When left to cool down for a while they will usually restart. Also if you have a rev counter it will sometimes not work but the speedo will.

If its a corsa c, the early models can give an intermittent non start due to a loose connection behind the speedo clocks. It causes no immobiliser signal to be sent to the Body Control Module. Also you might noticed the rev counter and speedo dropping while driving. If this is your problem it can be fixed by removing the clocks and putting a small amount of foam behind the block connector where it sits. This pushes it out slightly and fixes the loose connection.

If the engine is not turning over you need to focus first on battery, alternator and starter. Your battery, while charged 3 weeks ago could be losing its ability to hold a charge. Next time it doesnt start, try start it with jump leads. If it starts, your problem is likely to be power related to battery/alternator. If it still wont start, could be the starter motor, try a push start and see does it start? After trying some of this we can narrow it down and give more information.

It could be fuel related but i suspect it will probably be power related due to you charging the battery solving the problem for a while.

hey its the corsa B and is turning over for as long as i hold the key in but engine not startin,this only seems to happen lately after its been raining. i have jump started it befor wit leads and it has worked and i have gotten a push and had it in second gear and it started too,sorry i meant i CHANGED the battery 3 weeks ago not CHARGED.
like it might not started for 5-6 tries then all of a sudden it wud just start.then one time it wudnt start wen i got a push then immediatly turned the key and it started.dunno if its coincidence about it not startin wen it has been rainin.thanks for ur reply mate
also i am leaving it in with advance pitstop in the morning wud you recommend going with them or getting someone more qualified?

ok so i dropped my car in today with the starting problem and the noise in my engine which turned out to be my cathalyc converter which i got fixed but they didnt find anything wrong wit the starting motor or anything but i wudnt imagine the car wasnt starting because of the converter would it?altho the car has been starting lately,anyone an ideas?

martinr5232

As was already said RPM sensors gave a lot of trouble on corsa b's not that expensive to replace.

I would nearly put money on that being your problem.

ok well it'l be next week b4 i can try that coz i got no money from getting the converter earlier,cheers mate

hey just wanted to let you know that i brought it to a proper mechanics that isnt advance pitstop lol and the problem was the sensors and only cost 110 euro altogether,thanks lads for the help.
also the other problem with the car that i left in to advance pitstop they told me the noise in the engine was the catalytic converter so they charged me a bomb for that and the nosie is still feckin there....never again.