Car won't start. Sometimes....
 

My car sometimes won't start. I haven't figured out exactly what conditions it won't start in though. Fuel pump primes, all my lights turn on (reads 13 volts on the dash), there's a click, but nothing from the engine.

Tonight was after racing a little. We had to push start it, but after driving it home I turned it off and tried it again, and it fired right up. A week ago it was the morning after I did my spark plugs (it started fine right after the install though), and it's done it at least 3 times in the past 2 months.

Usually I just wait a while and keep trying, and it'll work randomly. But the time after my spark plugs, it wouldn't work all day, till I switched the fan and ignition relays. All the other fuses were fine.

Sometimes, at night, when I push in my clutch to coast to a stop, all my lights will dim and my rpm's will drop below idle, stumble a bit, then rise back up.

I have some other minor details that I don't think would affect the ignition/starter stuff, so I didn't include them. But if you need more info, I'll post em up.

Thanks in advance.

Never had any trouble with my T/A but I did own a 4Runner that had an issue close to what you describe. It would usually start fine but randomly when I turned the key it would just click. Think it was only one click but I can't recall since it was a few years ago. Everything ran fine when it was running and usually it started without any issues. Ended up replacing the starter (a common issue with the 4Runner) and it worked just fine after. I'm no mechanic but I'd assume it was the starter.

As far as the dimming goes, my T/A seems to do that once in a while also, no clue why... Never gave it a lot of thought. Don't think it means much of anything, if your RPMs drop its not abnormal for headlights to dim.

Sweet man, thanks. I'll start with the starter.

I would take a lot at your VATS system. I had a very similar issue. I would drive to the gas station for example...fill her up...and then it wouldn't start. I pushed it into a parking spot and the next day came back with a new starter relay. I tried to start it before the relay swap and it fired right up. This has happened probably 15-20 times before I read about VATS. Take a small screwdriver or scribe to the 2 pieces that read the chip in your key just inside the ignition cylinder (key hole) you will see what I mean when you look in there with a flashlight. Odds are its either a little corroded or really dirty. Also clean the contacts on the chip in your key. After I did that I had not more problems. What does the red security light do when it wont start? If I remember, it wont blink or do anything if its VATS related but I might be remembering that wrong. Good luck

i had the whole starting issue too. if i wiggled the battery wires it would start up fine, it also worked if i just waited 5 minutes. seems to happen more often to me when the weather is warmer.

Try the battery. Mine had that problem and I replaced the battery....all was well.

Sounds like a battery issue. One thing to remember is that you need amps to crank the engine and your dash only shows you the voltage of the system.

If your battery is not a sealed unit, it may just be low on electrolyte. If that's the case, you can re-fill the battery with distilled water - which should give it additional cranking capacity. If its a sealed battery, it may be on its last legs.

Man I just had the same issue. It turned out that I had a cracked starter solenoid. If you put a stronger battery on it, that will be a temporary fix because the extra voltage will force the soleniod to move. So just have your starter rebuilt.

Sounds like a starter solenoid to me as well. I'm pretty sure if it's the VATS that it still wouldn't start when you pushed it.

Next time it does it you might reach under the car with a soft faced hammer and hit the starter a few times, see if it starts after that.

+1 on cleanin the contacts....doesnt sound like a battery issue if it starts up fine even after sitting.

If it was the anti theft system how could it push start?

very good point...I over looked that. Starter is a very good possibility. The old starter on my 86 monte SS worked when it wanted too haha. Same thing happened with the truck I used to have.

Battery might be the issue(or slightly corroded terminals) as previously said. My GTP had this exact issue and it was because the neg battery terminal was cross threaded and fairly loose. But it would randomly be hard to start but the lights would be full strength but when you turn the key to start everything would just go blank.......did you switch the relays back after it started?

Wow, thanks for all the replies guys. At the moment I'm driving my parents car, waiting for another check for a new starter solenoid. I'm really hoping it's that.

I took it off, got it tested at Autozone, and it passed 3 times. The dude there said it sounds like the solenoid could be bad, though.

And the battery is the stock AC Delco. 6 years, 64k miles. I think it's a sealed battery? I'm not sure how to tell, sorry. But also, we tried jumping it before we switched the relays and it didn't work. But, the relay could've been blown at the time, so I'll keep the battery in mind. I was in a hurry, so I threw the old relay away and bought a new one for the fan, so I'll never know if the old Ignition Relay was bad or not.. lol


If I was to take apart the starter, is there a way to know the solenoid was bad? What would I be looking for? I'd like to verify the problem before I drop money on a new one. Plus I'd like to know how it works... :)

I'll keep ya'll updated. I get money Saturday.

Regardless of your problem, its probably time for a new battery anyway. Your stock battery is probably a sealed unit. You can tell as they have a small circular window on top that shows a green indicator when the battery is good. If you can't see the green dot, its definitely time for a new battery.

definitely, 6 years is a loooong time for a battery, i'd say 5 is about the max. Usually if its your ignition relay the car will crank but won't start. With your VATS system, something i noticed was if my key got a little dirty the car wouldnt even turn over an the security light would light up, so i just rubbed the key with my fingers an waited about 5 minutes before i tried again, an it fired up. You could bench test the starter yourself to see if the plunger is kicking out the pinion gear, if not im pretty sure the solenoid could be bad--just a thought im sure someone could add something to this.

I had the same problem as BOA279, cleaned the contacts and it's working fine. I don't know how it starts while pushing the car if it's a VATS problem but.... :confused: .... this solution worked for me too. As Daredevil stated, also make sure the resistor on the key is clean.

Ok, so, the battery passed at autozone, so I bought a new starter and threw it in there. Then I cleaned the VATS stuff. It started up fine after the install, but I'll have to wait and see if it really worked. If it doesn't start again, I'll be really pissed.. lol

Oh, and a battery is next on my mod list for sure.

Thanks for all the help guys! I love this site.

Regarding the pop starting question that everyone asked about (why it works if it's the VATS system causing the problem), it's because the VATS system simply prevents the signal from going to the starter to kick on and start the car, but by pop starting the car, you are bypassing the starter, so there is no issue there.