Repairing a car that won't start can be as simple as plugging in a wire, changing a fuse, or as complicated as replacing major engine components. The following may help you discover the problem, but there is no way to cover every possibility. We will look at individual possible problems, and ways to check for them.

Part One of Three:
Check the battery and starter

1
Check the battery. If you do not have sufficient voltage and cranking power, the car simply won't start. The proper voltage is 12.6 volts for a normal car battery. You can test the voltage using a simple multimeter available at most hardware stores.

2
Have the battery tested. Most retail stores that sell batteries can load test them to make sure they have enough cranking amperage to start your engine.

3
Have someone attach booster cables to your battery if the engine seems to be turning over slower than normal.

4
Look at the battery cable connection's condition. Corroded or loose connections at the battery terminals will prevent the starter from getting enough amperage to start your engine.

5
Decide if the starter is the problem.If the battery seems charged, and the starter motor still doesn't turn the engine, or turn it fast enough to start the engine, the problem may be in your starter motor itself. Changing the starter is not too complicated, but if you decide to attempt this, try to find someone who has done it before to help you, or buy a do it yourself manual that has a description and pictures of what you need to do. Some cars such as Fords have starter solenoid mounted on the inside fender that you can test to see if the voltage is going through to the starter motor, if not, some times you can cross jump the solenoid and start the car. If the car engine is turning quick enough and doesn't try to start, next check the fuel input to the engine.

Part Two of Three:
Checking the fuel system

1
Make sure you have fuel in your tank. Hopefully your fuel gauge is working, but some lose calibration, and will register remaining fuel when the tank is dry. You cannot open a true fuel injected system to look for fuel, but on older cars, you can remove the air filter from the breather housing by taking the wing nut or other fastener off the top and lifting the cover. Here, when you pump the accelerator pedal, you should see gasoline spray into the carburetor throttle body.

2
Many fuel injected gasoline engines have a test port on the fuel delivery line. Since the fuel pressure can be as high as 70 PSI in some vehicles, using a test gauge is the safest way to make sure you have a sufficient fuel supply for your engine to run. Some cars have electric fuel pumps situated in the gas tank, and if someone listens at the filler cap while you turn the ignition switch from off to run, they will hear the pump cycle on for a few seconds, then click off when the system pressure reaches the required level. This can tell you if the pump is not working. Changing the fuel pump is a difficult and possibly dangerous project, so you should take your car to a mechanic.

3
Check your fuel filter to make sure it is allowing fuel through it. Fuel filters can become clogged over time, and eventually it may not allow enough fuel through it to allow the engine to run. Changing fuel filters is much easier and less expensive than changing a fuel pump.

Part Three of Three:
Test the ignition system

1
Remove a spark plug wire from your spark plug and use an insulated screwdriver to ground the metal fitting inside the spark plug boot to the engine, and have someone turn the engine over while you watch for a spark. You should have the metal screwdriver shaft about an eighth of an inch from a clean metal surface on the engine, and be careful not to touch any uninsulated parts of the tool while testing the plug. If you do not have a spark, you have an ignition circuit problem, and depending on the vintage of your vehicle, you may have to replace anything from a coil wire to an ignition CPU, or computer.
You can also buy an inexpensive spark tester instead of using a screwdriver. This is a somewhat easier and safer method.

2
Look for damaged or loose ignition components. With newer vehicles, it would be difficult to describe in detail all of the ignition system parts, but generally speaking, you will have a coil (or individual coils for each cylinder of the engine), spark plug wires, and spark plugs. You may also have a distributor cap with a rotor button, condenser, and other parts that can fail.

Tips

Look at the wires, hoses, and other components under the hood. Often, one unplugged wire, or one broken vacuum or fuel line will be the problem, and these are simple and inexpensive to fix.

Check the owner's manual for fuses, relays, and circuit breakers related to either fuel or ignition. You should be able to locate these and make sure they are not tripped or blown. In the relay block, you can exchange relays that are the same size from another component, such as the AC blower, to test the ignition relay.

Listen to your engine when you crank it. If you hear a knocking sound, backfiring, or misfiring, you may have a flooded carburetor or a serious engine problems such as jumped timing or stuck or broken valves.

It is not possible to cover all the reasons a car won't crank in this article, but if you are able to find a do it yourself book at a department store or auto parts supply, or your local library, they can help with specific problems.

Even when your car doesn't start when you try the ignition, it may show a "code", or information stored in the computer, that can be accessed by a technician to find the source of your problem. This may be a "check engine" light, or other indicator.

If the owner's manual doesn't list a fuse or relay for the fuel pump, your car has a mechanical pump, and the only way to check it is to remove a fuel line, and turn the engine over to see if gasoline comes out, but this is very dangerous!

The best thing that you should do is to have a good mechanic check your car every month so that you can predict any problem in advance. Good luck!


Warnings

Be extremely careful with exposed spark plug wires, as they contain high-voltages and can be dangerous!

Do not remove any wires or other electrical parts without disconnecting the negative (-) post of the battery.

When testing for spark or doing anything else which requires turning the motor over while looking under the hood, be careful of the fan blades, belts, and other moving parts.

Do not remove fuel lines unless you know how to bleed off the pressure in them, injected fuel systems are pressurized, and will blow off gasoline when they are uncoupled.

Never turn the engine over or crank it with the breather cover removed. Fuel in the throttle body can ignite!

Source: https://http-m-wikihow-com.0.freebasics.com/Fix-a-Car-That-Doesn't-Start?iorg_service_id_internal=1565619690390248%3BAfpO88EUH8VwGV2g

Autosbay, teaching NL folks how to press 'spoil' buttons in their car.
God dey sha! anyhow, kazeem must chop.

@ kingreign no information is too big or small, I would really love people to even try it and testify in this thread if it works or not, everyone is trying to help each other in any possible way he or she can, in addition, most of the post I put here on this thread are not my work, that is why if you scroll towards the end of my post, I do take my time to cite my source, I even check if the link works, with all politeness, I do not post something on Nairaland for people to damage their cars I make my post based on recurring challenges i see people post on the forum, even when a drug is prescribed on TV, they still say " if symptoms persist after 2 days consult your doctor" please no one is taking away food from "Kazeem" table we are all trying to help.
Thanks and God bless

Thank you Autosbay, tho av tried the solenoid jump start befor. It's a good thing to know. And along the line, have also learnt to change my motor starter also.


Good job

Eeyah

Good write up

Let me bookmark this page

Cool stuff. Thumbs up OP.

Better call Kazeem!! The moment any of this process goes wrong while you are doing it story that touches start be dat...

All these in one morning

AutosBay:
Part Three of Three:
Test the ignition system
1
Remove a spark plug wire from your spark plug and use an insulated screwdriver to ground the metal fitting inside the spark plug boot to the engine, and have someone turn the engine over while you watch for a spark. You should have the metal screwdriver shaft about an eighth of an inch from a clean metal surface on the engine, and be careful not to touch any uninsulated parts of the tool while testing the plug. If you do not have a spark, you have an ignition circuit problem, and depending on the vintage of your vehicle, you may have to replace anything from a coil wire to an ignition CPU, or computer.
You can also buy an inexpensive spark tester instead of using a screwdriver. This is a somewhat easier and safer method.

Please Do not try this at home. Better call a Kazeem.

Ibro2005:
Can a Female Driver do all these

most females dont like hard and dirty jobs. In my university days as a student, wehad only a girl in the faculty of Engineering.

Ibro2005:
Can a Female Driver do all these

Interested ones can do it. Remember we have female mechanics and female inter-state drivers. That's passion.

What if bicycle failed to start

....

[/quote]
Hi autos Bay... I have a question but it doesn't relate to your topic.. I need a little advice on opel cars. I have one I'd like to buy but was advised against it. Please do you know any peculiar problems about it, fuel consumption, maintenance, parts etc.. And btw an opel vestra/Astra and a Toyota 'big for nothing', which do u thing will be a better option...... Thanks

itsmybusiness:


most females dont like hard and dirty jobs. In my university days as a student, wehad only a girl in the faculty of Engineering.

FUNAAB, class of '09?

Last tip.
Call Gazzuz

Ok