A car that won’t start, a bad start to the day. In order not to find yourself powerless in the face of this situation, there are certain things that you can check before calling the towing service.
A car that does not start and there is panic. The breakdown never comes at the right time. Here’s what you need to know to fix the situation. First of all, it is necessary to check the main points that can cause the starting to malfunction.
What are the causes?
Has your car shown signs of weakness in recent weeks? Faced with a car that does not start, the first instinct is often to think about the battery. Particularly in winter where long cold nights can be the cause of a slightly faulty battery.
To find out if your car won’t start because of the battery, check whether or not the indicator lights come on when you turn the key in the ignition. If everything turns on correctly, and your headlights are also running at full power, it probably isn’t the battery.
What to do when the battery is involved?
On the other hand, if the lights near the meters remain off, or the headlights are weak, you have a battery problem. In this case, the best solution is to start the car using the energy of the battery of another vehicle using crocodile clips. This other vehicle must have the engine off.
How to jump start
- Position one red clamp on the positive terminal of the vehicle’s battery, and the other red clamp on the positive terminal of the vehicle to be started.
- Then connect the black clamp to the negative terminal of the first vehicle, then clamp the other black clamp to a metal part of the broken down car (choose an unpainted part, e.g. engine).
- Start the breakdown vehicle, then turn on the ignition of the car that won’t start.
- If the latter does not start, increase the engine speed of the recovery vehicle by pressing briefly on the accelerator, while remaining in neutral.
- When the car is started, remove the crocodile clamps – always starting with the negative terminal, the metal part, then the positive terminal.
Note: if your battery is completely dead, this operation may not be successful.
Other important points
No fuel
There can, however, be other causes for a car that won’t start. Obviously, make sure you still have fuel in the tank. The gauge needle may be stuck and misleading you. Heckle the car from side to side to hear if there is fluid in the tank.
Starter
It can also be the starter. In this case, locate it using the vehicle manual and tap lightly on its front part, the slightly pointed one, to break the scale that is preventing the flow of current.
If you have older Ford Explorer with manual transmission, you can also start the engine by pushing the vehicle. On a slope or with the help of someone, drive the car forward at a sufficient speed to start in second gear.
