I am needing the car for tomorrow when me and my little sister are off on our camping trip away and, now my car has decided it won’t start.
I have opened the bonnet to see if I can see any faults but I can’t and I’ve got my parents to try and jump start it but, it just starts then dies after I rev the engine then just cranks again.
I’m hoping someone here can help me out with what may be the problem.
It could be the battery, alternator, spark plugs,…
I just changed my battery last week when the car barely started.
Call Triple A. I don’t think we’re going to be able to diagnose your car problems.
Sounds like the alternator. The alternator not charging the battery
Not all cars have alternators these days…
Call a mechanic. Random folks on CC aren’t going to be able to diagnose or fix it.
True all cars dont have alternators like hybrid and ev, you cant jump start an hybrid or an ev so that tells me its a typical car engine.
If she’s opened the bonnet – she’s in the UK or Canada eh? Do they have AAA? Maybe it’s called the Motor Club? Or ring your local friendly garage mechanic.
Canada calls it a hood, so I’d guess UK
Not by that name. But yes, I think the best advice is for the OP to contact a mechanic or roadside assistance.
If you can get it started, take it to an Advanced Auto store (or something similar), they will test the battery for free and see if that is the problem.
@CMB625, it still isn’t starting, even after a jump start :(.
Does it sound like it’s trying to start? If not, it could be a weak battery. Are you just hearing a click? That could be a flat spot on the solenoid (starter).
@austinmshauri, it does not click, it just cranks continuously. No, it doesn’t sound like it is even close to starting at anytime because the longer I try, the slower the cranking gets.
How old is the battery?
About a year old.
A. Purchased an under-rated/sized battery for the car’s electrical requirements. And drained it.
B. Defective battery (not likely), defect rate isn’t that huge.
C. Bad alternator/voltage regulator,
D. The starter, but starters can last a very long time, maybe 10-20 years, before they give up the ghost.
E. Corrosion around the battery terminals and battery cable clamps, depending on maintenance, usage, weather, storage, venting, etc.
I’d guess alternator. A battery that is a year old should be jumpable. Bad alternator, would mean un-jumpable. Bad starter is possible, but unlikely. Not really a complicated part and they last for a very long time. As mentioned above, before they die, they make clicking noises or wild “spiral gear” noises.
OP needs the Royal Auto Club – or whatever the heck is in her/his area unless she/he is in the states and just using non-American terms. If it cranks but never fires, it’s probably not a battery issue. Sounds like fuel or spark. I will NOT try to diagnose remotely. Call a mechanic.
Even if we can diagnose it remotely, we certainly can’t fix it remotely. Call a mechanic!
M-I-l’s new Honda CRV started doing this. We changed the battery and it still did it. Honda dealer kept telling her nothing was wrong, but she’d go out to start it and it would be dead as a doornail. This happened repeatedly.
She finally insisted they keep it until they figured out what was wrong. Honda sent a factory person down. Still no explanation. They reset the computer to factory settings. Continued to randomly not start.
Eventually, after bringing up Lemon Laws, they finally started admitting that this phenomenon was something they were seeing in the new Honda CRVs.
Finally, they replaced the computer and several weeks later, she no longer crosses her fingers when she gets into her car.
Long way around to say: maybe there is something wrong with the electronics.
A quick update seeing as I have 4G here at the campsite.
First of all, I eventually got the car started this morning after about 10 minutes and I got one of the leaders to have a look under the bonnet to see if they could see why it wasn’t starting. He reckons its the battery as well, even though its less than a year old.