Car wont crank (non festiva)

[NicholasJackson]

Hello,

I have a 98 toyota corolla which wont crank. I pulled the starter and bought a new one has it has already jammed before. I have power to the starter and have tested the starter and know it works. It is an automatic transmission and i have turned the belts to turn the flywheel and still nothing. Im pretty positive it's not the battery which i checked is putting out about 12.12v and the starter is getting 11.47v. I cant think of anything else.

Not having a car is killing me.

Cheers nick.

[pyrothehitman]

did you try spark plugs and wires? Also how about the crank shaft/cam shaft timing? You may want to run the codes on it, then get back to us so we can better assist you.

[pyrothehitman]

what kinda of sound is it making?...just a clicking sound, or does it wer wer wer wer sound?

[FestYboy]

^ it's not even cranking.

ok, first, CHARGE THAT BATTERY! 12.1 is WAY low. second, you have over a .5vdc drop between the bat and starter, that's not good. clean all your terminals or even replace the positive cable to the starter. the cable should have LESS than 0.2ohm resistance. next, put the car in nutral and try to start it. i'm betting on the PRNDL switch crapping out on you.

[PhoenixSHO]

^ it's not even cranking.

ok, first, CHARGE THAT BATTERY! 12.1 is WAY low. second, you have over a .5vdc drop between the bat and starter, that's not good. clean all your terminals or even replace the positive cable to the starter. the cable should have LESS than 0.2ohm resistance. next, put the car in nutral and try to start it. i'm betting on the PRNDL switch crapping out on you.

I doupt its the batt , 14.4 is the normal while running , and key off , anything in the 12V range is good.

I would try to jump from the batt to the starter with booster cables first , that would eliminate the wires.

Then , maybe its the starter solenoid thats sticking , try knocking on it with a hammer (just taps) while someone cranks it.

[timmay89]

I doupt its the batt , 14.4 is the normal while running , and key off , anything in the 12V range is good.

I would try to jump from the batt to the starter with booster cables first , that would eliminate the wires.

Then , maybe its the starter solenoid thats sticking , try knocking on it with a hammer (just taps) while someone cranks it.

I agree, turn your key to the on position and try jumping the starter and see if it runs. That will give you a good idea of what's going on.

I had a similar problem once before, turned out my immobilizer was on, oops. So make sure that you push the unlock button on the key fob.

Do you hear any relays kicking over, or the fuel pump kicking on when you put the key in the "on" position?

[FestYboy]

a battery at 12.6vdc is at capacity, dropping to 12vdc more than halves the capacity, so if the battery is rated at 560ccA when charged, it drops to about 250ccA when measured at 12vdc, and depending on the age, can be less.

so, charge your battery! check your cables, a 0.5ohm resistance can easily keep a starter from getting enough current to start a car.

[NicholasJackson]

Thank you all,

yes ive tried starting in park and in neutral. It's now 11 am over here and i left the battery on the charger over night. I put the battery in and i tried again. I can here relays going and the starter motor ticking like it was shooting the pin out. Then after a couple of goes it started. Ive turned it on and off in park and neutral and it starts but im worried to take it out as the last time it did this i was a long way from home.

I tested the battery while charging from running in the car and it was at 14.2v.

[NicholasJackson]

Ive also noticed if i use something that draws quite a bit of current like the fan or hit the remote central locking it dips the revs down from say 850 to about 600 then goes back up to 850.

[FestYboy]

^ that's just a temporary dip due to the load on the alt, but realisticaly, you shouldn't ever see a dip in RPM with temp loads like that. i would recomend you clean your connections at the battery and main chassis grounds to help alleviate this issue.

oh and as for the hard ticking from the starter without cranking: it's either dirty internal contacts not allowing proper current draw, OR a lack of current availability from the battery itself. remember, at that much current, even a .5ohm resistance anywhere in the circuit can cause the current to nearly stop.

[NicholasJackson]

Alright thanks mate.

Looks like i got some work to do.