Top Reasons Why Your Car Won’t Start

It can be extremely annoying when your car won’t start. Worse yet, when you can’t figure out what could the underlying issue. There are basically two scenarios to this. Either the car engine is not cranking at all or it cranks but doesn’t start. There could be many reasons why your car won’t start at all or has difficulty starting.

Before you call for an auto mechanic to diagnose the problem for you, we suggest that you start by checking if your car has run out of gas. If the needle shows you have an empty gas tank, you know what to do to fix this. If this is not a problem, make sure the steering wheel isn’t locked.

If your car still giving you trouble during starting, there could be other reasons such as:

1. A dead battery: Usually a dead battery is the reason why your car won’t start. For a battery that still has some life left, you could hear a small cranking sound. You can jump start your car to get moving. If this happens too frequently, have the battery tested and replaced if necessary.

2. A bad starter: A broken or worn out starter is a more common problem than most people think. Poor maintenance and general wear and tear are the usual suspects why your car starter may be showing signs of malfunctioning and making the engine not crank at all or crank slowly with a low, whirring or grinding sound. Since a starter motor is primarily responsible for energizing the engine, it is no surprise that a bad starter is the reason for your problem.

3. Problems with ignition switch: If battery is not the reason and your car won’t start, it is most likely the ignition switch.
   

4. A failing fuel pump: You may have a full tank, but a bad fuel pump, or a clogged fuel filter may interfere with the gas reaching the engine. What are the signs of a bad fuel pump? An exceptionally loud whining sound from the fuel tank, problems with starting the car or your car requiring more cranks than normal are pretty good indicators that something could be wrong with the fuel pump and need replacement.
   

5. Bad ignition coil: What a well-functioning ignition coil does is, it converts the battery power into an electric spark. If there is something wrong with the ignition coil, this function takes a hit which shows in engine not starting. There are number of other signs that might indicate a bad ignition coil are car backfiring, getting less mileage, stalling, jerking at high speed or vibrating when idle.