Your Car 101 (Series) - My Car Died, What Happened??

My Car Won't Start!

There's a few things that could cause your car to die.  I'd say 85% of the time it's your battery.  My sister was caught stranded once, and her car wouldn't start again.  Turns out, while waiting on help, she kept her headlights and radio on...for an hour.  When she went to start, it just made clicking noises.

Click, click, click

So...a sure way to tell if the cause is your battery is when you begin to start the car, it tries but just makes a lot of click click click noises (this applies to most modern vehicles since the starters are now electronically controlled).  Sometimes the dash and radio lights will dim.  The car may even make a slight slow engine whine. (Gets slower the more you try to start the car.)  That's because the starter is trying to turn but there's not enough power to rotate it fast enough to start the car.

Clanking Noise

Now...if there is a loud clanking noise, that's not a good sign.  Some in the motor has come loose or broke.  I'd have to taken to a mechanic you trust at that point.

Battery is good!

There's no clicking.  The whine is pretty quick, so the engine is trying to turn.  It's just not firing up! 

1. The car may not have enough fuel in the motor.  This could be a result of the fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel regulator...basically anything related to getting the fuel to the motor.  If you're a novice at replacing or checking these components, I'd recommend taking it to a trusted mechanic.

2.  The other end of the equation is that the car needs fire to light the fuel.  This gets the motor turning.  The ignition or coils, spark plugs, and spark plug wires are all part of this system.  The quickest check is usually the spark plugs and plug wires.  If you're a novice at replacing or checking these components, I'd recommend taking it to a trusted mechanic.

Car starts, but quickly dies

If the car starts, and then dies...there are various other issues that may be going on here.

Vacuum lines.  Most motors have a handful of silicone hoses.  Heat will deteriorate these over time.  A leak in this system will allow the motor to start, but then somewhat quickly dies.  Sounds like there's a slight hesitation before shutting off.  These can be difficult to find.  If you're a novice at replacing or checking these components, I'd recommend taking it to a trusted mechanic.

Finale

There are other reasons that a car would die, but they will most likely require a trusted mechanic to track down.  Hopefully, this provides you a quick overview of a small things that might could be happening.  This however, is NOT the end all be all.  The advice given above is just to help educate you on the possibilities that most shops would check first. 

- Bryan Lin | CEO, The Motorsports Authority, Inc. | www.MSAStore.com