car will not start...new starter?

gsmooth

Member
I have been problem free for way too long after owning my P5 now for 7 years.
I was due...

very simple, I got into my car after work on tuesday and turned the key and nothing except for the fuses flickering the control panel lights, radio and heater off/on.

the car will not turn over. I need a new starter? how much will that cost me and is it easy to DIM (do it myself) ?

Thanks for your help.


it is standard so I know that if i could get a push, it would probably go (I know this because in the 80's my dad had a Datsun that he'd park on a slight hill to get it going all the time!!)
 
I have not tried jumping it.

The battery is less then a year old.

For the last couple days the conditions have been really mild (above 0) so the cold cant be to blame if it is drained...
I didn't leave any lights on while I went into work but I'll give it a boost and see what happens.

The only reason I think its not the battery is because there is no attempt whatsoever at turning over...usually with a battery drained it tries to turn over...

thanks for the tip
 
this might sound retarded, but it has happened to me and i know of others having the same problem.
you see, the clutch pedal on our cars has a small, metal plate attached to it. what this plate does, is that when you depress the pedal, it activates a switch...that's your CLUTCH switch....if this switch is not activated, the ECU might think that you are not pressing the pedal and therefore won't start the engine due to being unsafe as the car might actually be in gear.

the solution is simple, bend the little plate forward or just press the clutch slot harder than usual.

you can also test it by pushing the clutch switch manually, making sure the car is in neutral and having someone try to start the car, if it starts...there is your problem

i hope this helps
 
that does sound retarded...I'm going to try that first

thanks!! and I'll post back here if that does the trick
 
You can always pull the battery and have it tested. Check your terminals for corrosion. My car got to the point where it would not always start because the corrosion was preventing a connection. If they're dirty, mix baking soda and water, scrub them with it (don't get any on the paint) and try again.
 
well first if the car wont start by itself try jumping it... if that doesn't work remove the battery get it tested. If its good then check the starter or "clutch switch". You have done NO trouble shooting and expect us to take random guesses.

Seriously check the battery first! Just becuase its a fairly new battery doesn't mean s***. They have a warrenty for a reason because the s*** does go bad prematurely every now and then. Did you leave your lights on? dome light? do you have amp and all that fun stuff installed? Also by the lights flickering when you try starting the car. I would say its the battery.
 
Seriously check the battery first! Just becuase its a fairly new battery doesn't mean s***. They have a warrenty for a reason because the s*** does go bad prematurely every now and then. Did you leave your lights on? dome light? do you have amp and all that fun stuff installed? Also by the lights flickering when you try starting the car. I would say its the battery.

+1

Especially since the OP noted that the car had been exposed to subfreezing temperatures, a condition which often damages batteries.
 
+1

Especially since the OP noted that the car had been exposed to subfreezing temperatures, a condition which often damages batteries.

Lol, I'm guessing he's either from Canada or the midwest, since anything above 0 he considers "mild" (thumb)
 
Lol, I'm guessing he's either from Canada or the midwest, since anything above 0 he considers "mild" (thumb)

haha...yup I'm in Montreal

had a look for the plate behind the clutch pedal...not sure what you were referring to though, didn't find a plate.

The problem seems to be the battery...didn't test it but when I got in my car yesterday, I turned the key and heard the slightest attempt of the car trying to start (for a fraction of a second)

thanks everyone for your input
 
haha...yup I'm in Montreal

had a look for the plate behind the clutch pedal...not sure what you were referring to though, didn't find a plate.

The problem seems to be the battery...didn't test it but when I got in my car yesterday, I turned the key and heard the slightest attempt of the car trying to start (for a fraction of a second)

thanks everyone for your input

and... did you ever try jumping it? I assume not because you never mentioned it.
 
so i swapped the battery out and one of the bolts for the battery cables broke...sucks because I wasn't at home and didn't have anything to tighten it with.
I still dont know if its the battery!

I noticed the positive clip that tightens around the battery is broken in one part...

Lots of corrosion too...can I change just the clips on the pos and neg cables?
 
so i swapped the battery out and one of the bolts for the battery cables broke...sucks because I wasn't at home and didn't have anything to tighten it with.
I still dont know if its the battery!

I noticed the positive clip that tightens around the battery is broken in one part...

Lots of corrosion too...can I change just the clips on the pos and neg cables?

You can change the clips on the cables. I have never liked the bolt on terminals because they seem to attract corrosion between the cable and the terminal clamps. If you can keep them clean you should be ok. Your battery is probably good since you said you have lots of corrosion, that is probably your problem.

Clifton
 
got the car started (with a boost!) but cannot restart it...

looks like an alternator.

I'm going to try cleaning the one terminal as I replaced one of them, before getting the alternator swapped out...will let you guys know what happens.
 
got the car started (with a boost!) but cannot restart it...

looks like an alternator.

That is the classic symptom of a bad battery. Now if you had put a fully charged new battery in, run it around for a day, and THEN it wouldn't restart you'd have a case against the alternator.
 
got the car started (with a boost!) but cannot restart it...

looks like an alternator.

I'm going to try cleaning the one terminal as I replaced one of them, before getting the alternator swapped out...will let you guys know what happens.

Are you fuckign kidding me... it toook you from 1-27-2010 to today to try jumping the car!?!?! Either you dont need this car that bad, have another car, dont give a crap, or just plain lazy for it to take that long... so which is it?


Does the car stay running after you jump it for awhile or can you drive it around awhile and just cant restarted it after shutting off?

If you can drive it around for awhile and it doesnt die on you, your alt is good and your battery is dead, or your battery cables are corroded all to hell and its preventing the battery from sending the juice needed to turn the starter.
 
Are you fuckign kidding me... it toook you from 1-27-2010 to today to try jumping the car!?!?! Either you dont need this car that bad, have another car, dont give a crap, or just plain lazy for it to take that long... so which is it?


Does the car stay running after you jump it for awhile or can you drive it around awhile and just cant restarted it after shutting off?

If you can drive it around for awhile and it doesnt die on you, your alt is good and your battery is dead, or your battery cables are corroded all to hell and its preventing the battery from sending the juice needed to turn the starter.

lol...you're right, I dont need it that bad, I dont have another car, I didn't give a crap and managed to try a couple of things before the weekend. Finally got a ride to go grab a battery to replace it on sunday (that didn't work) and was waiting for a friend of mine that was able to boost me (not until tuesday). I'm 3 kms from work, or a 5 minute drive if I get all the green lights...the few days it was at work it was REALLY cold.

When I got it home, I left it running for almost half an hour, stopped it and it wouldn't start again. The next day I boosted it and went to where I bought my battery, took it out and got it tested. Fully charged, no problems with the battery.

Now you have me thinking the negative battery cable clip is the problem because that thing is really corroded. might as well replace this one too.

I'll let you guys know how that goes
 
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