If you’ve ever been in a situation when your car failed to start, you already know that sinking, helpless feeling you experience when this happens. But if your car won’t start what can you do about it?
Sometimes it’s as simple as forgetting to fill up your gas tank. The first thing to do then is to see if the fuel gauge registers any gas in the tank. If it’s on the last tick mark, chances are that you’ve run out of gas, and it’s time to take a nice stroll to the gas station to fill up your 3-gallon gas dispenser.
If your tank has gas in it, another thing you can do is to turn on your headlights and observe if they are weak or not. If they appear to be very dim, or don’t light up at all, you’ve got a dead battery on your hands. You’ll need to get a jump start or replacement battery.
Pop the ClutchIf you’re pretty certain that your car has a weak or dead battery, you can also jump start the car without cables if you have a manual transmission. This takes some elbow grease and a friend.
First put your car in second gear with the clutch disengaged (clutch pedal pressed down). Your loyal friend, who you have promised to a six-pack of beer or a free meal at McD’s, pushes your car until it gets up to a good rolling speed. Once this is achieved, let out the clutch, and with a bit of luck, your engine should turn over, and start to run.
Pick up your buddy in the car, drive to your nearest auto center and have the battery tested.
Flooded CarburetorVirtually all modern cars have done away with carburetors and have replaced them with electronic fuel injection systems. But if you have an older car that has carburetors, your engine may be in a state of being flooded with too much fuel.
If you can smell gas underneath the hood, chances are that your engine is flooded. To solve this problem, you’ll need to wait at least 10-15 minutes for the carburetor to clear. After this, depress the accelerator all the way to the floor and try to start the engine again.
Bad StarterSometimes you’ll hear a click when you try to start your car. This may mean that your starter is bad and needs replacement. But if you hear your engine try to start, but nothing happens, and you hear a slow grinding sound, it is either a weak battery or bad starter.
In this situation you’ll need to tow your car into the service station for repairs.
Get Roadside AssistanceA good piece of insurance that will pay for itself many times over is to sign up for a roadside assistance program. Sometimes this service is available to you as an option on your car insurance policy.
There are organizations such as AAA that also provides this service. Auto care centers such as Firestone have roadside assistance programs that are very reasonable as well. All of these offer free towing, gas, and jump starts, which pretty much covers everything you need in case your car doesn’t start.
Source:
car.tips.net