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Why did my car just die?
Cuba
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
After driving back to my apartment complex from school, I stopped near the manager's office so that I could check the mail. I turned off the car and hopped out for two minutes while I went to the mailbox. I got back into my car, went to turn it on, only for the engine to make a very faint "high" noise. Suddenly, the thing won't turn on at all. The horn does not even work anymore.
I'm not sure what could have lead to my car dying like this, as I did take it in for a full tune-up just barely a month ago. Since then though, I drove it from Oregon to Utah, which was a 12 hour drive. But since arriving in Utah and driving around for 3 1/2 weeks now, it has worked fine. Now this...
The specifics of the care are as follows:
1993 Ford Ranger
220,000 miles and some change
Before the tune-up a month ago, I would take it to get its fluids checked/switched once every three months. In short, I've done pretty well on regular maintenance for the thing.
Does anyone have any idea what may be wrong with it? The battery, perhaps? Since there is absolutely no power going through the vehicle at all, I'm thinking it may be that...
Anyways, I'm trying to get some sort of idea what may be wrong with it before I have to deal with mechanics. I would like to be at least somewhat in the know.
I'm not sure what could have lead to my car dying like this, as I did take it in for a full tune-up just barely a month ago. Since then though, I drove it from Oregon to Utah, which was a 12 hour drive. But since arriving in Utah and driving around for 3 1/2 weeks now, it has worked fine. Now this...
The specifics of the care are as follows:
1993 Ford Ranger
220,000 miles and some change
Before the tune-up a month ago, I would take it to get its fluids checked/switched once every three months. In short, I've done pretty well on regular maintenance for the thing.
Does anyone have any idea what may be wrong with it? The battery, perhaps? Since there is absolutely no power going through the vehicle at all, I'm thinking it may be that...
Anyways, I'm trying to get some sort of idea what may be wrong with it before I have to deal with mechanics. I would like to be at least somewhat in the know.
Cuba on
0
Posts
Crack open the hood and check the connections to the battery. Be sure that they are tight, secure, etc.. You may just have a loose wire. Easy fix.
If not, you may want to bring it to a shop to have the battery and the alternater looked at. It's a simple test for them, and while it'll cost you money..it'll be worth finding out if they really do need to be replaced before you just run out and do it.
How to get it to a shop? You can think about jumping it, or if it's a stick shift you can pop the clutch. I don't recommend the second, but it'll get the job done....violently if need be.
Thanks for the help, you two. I appreciate it a lot. I also appreciate having a running car again. ;-)
How exactly do you do this?
Put car into neutral, find either a hill or several strong/fit friends.
Gather some speed and once you are going reasonably quickly chuck it into second and drop the clutch and give it a touch of gas. If it gets the magic of ignition and fuel in the engine then it will start.
Satans..... hints.....
Car won't start but in a manual transmission car you can force your engine to turn on by rolling/pushing it. Get enough momentum going and shift into first and I believe the car will start up. The wheels will all be spinning so when you engage the plates it will force the engine to turn over and start, I think. I haven't tried this myself yet because I haven't needed it, but if not you could always just push it around in neutral for a while; everyone wants massive quads anyway.
I had thought it was a battery issue. Tried to jump it, no dice. So the guy that was trying to jump it was willing to push.
The basics of it are:
1) Turn the key to the "on" position
2) Push the clutch down
3) Get the car into gear (reverse if you're moving backwards, 2nd gear going forward...NOT first.)
4) Get the car moving
5) Take your foot off the clutch and give a little gas. Please understand that when I say "take your foot off the clutch" I'm not talking like you would were you driving it. Not smoothly. Yank that foot off the clutch.
At this point, ideally, you have an engine that runs.
Be warned, with no power to the engine your power steering will not work, and you'll really have to use some pressure to push the breaks down.
Pushing is often enough momentum, but if you can..and you think you'll have to do it...just park on a gradual hill...and cross your fingers.
Also, you know it's your starter that is the issue and not the battery when you turn the key to "on" and your air, windows, radio, etc... all work. Please be careful and don't try to jump a live battery. I did it because I'm stupid, but really...avoid it if at all possible.