Car won't start after running recently
Bear with me here. I'll include a bunch of details which are probably unrelated, but just in case they are...
The Problem The problem is real simple. I start the car up, I drive somewhere. I turn it off. A few minutes later I try to start it again, nothing happens. Leave it there until next day and it works fine. Definition of "nothing"? All the idiot lights come on as normal. But when I turn the key to the final notch, nothing happens. Not even a click from the starter. It just sits there as though I hadn't done anything. Power is just fine. Power windows, windshield wipers, everybody is perfectly hunky dory, but the car makes no attempt to start at all. What have I tried? Pushing every button on the dash. Spraying compressed frozen air on anything in the engine that looked like a sensor. Unplugging and plugging in fuses. Jump starting. Nothing has worked other than waiting. How long have I waited? I know that it has worked after 7 hours, and it hasn't worked after 2. Other items of possible interest.
When has it happened? It has happened four times in the last 2-3 weeks (I don't drive it every day).
Now for the probably unrelated part. Three or four years ago I had to leave the car outside for the winter. That spring, during a really, really heavy downpour, I was driving somewhere when all of a sudden the alarm system went off. The car was honking, the lights were flashing and (oddly) the left door open indicator was flashing as well. This is a very embarrassing way to drive! I made it home, and it didn't repeat. The garage found nothing wrong. It happened again a few weeks later, again, heavy rain. That time I took it to the garage so they could see it in action. Again, nothing. And as before, turning the car off and on made the problem go away. It happened again a few times over the next year or so, and the garage did try replacing some of the left door wiring, which may have had an impact. A bit more recently, I was having starting problems, and in rapid succession went through a new battery and two alternators before the problem was traced to the center console door lock, which had a short. I haven't seen the alarm problem since then, but that's why I initially thought this problem might also be rain related. I need to get it out of the gas station parking lot by 10 tonight. Hopefully it will just start, otherwise I'll have to call for a tow. If someone has a quick bright idea, I'll take it to my local garage. Otherwise I'll probably take it to a local Subaru dealer, because the garageman is drawing a blank on this, and electrical problems really aren't his forte. Thoughts? |
Re: Car won't start after running recently
My guess is that the starter solenoid contacts are shot. Odds are you'll have to replace the entire starter.
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Re: Car won't start after running recently
Clock comes on and works fine when I turn the key. I didn't write down what idiot lights were on since I assumed it was all of them. I'll check if I get a chance.
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Re: Car won't start after running recently
I had the same problem a year or so ago, but the car usually started if I just continued to turn the ignition ON/OFF until it decided to start(usually within the first 10-20 tries). Again, never so much as a click when failing to start. Meantime the shop replaced the starter and ignition switch. As the problem continued to plague me, I was told the safety interlock (combination of foot on brake and shifter in Park, sensed by the Inhibitor switch) might be failing, and to try starting the car in "N". Sometimes it would, and sometimes not. The shop finally tried bypassing the inhibitor, and though the car now ran the risk of starting in gear if not paying attention, it would start, every time, first try.
Maybe I haven't so much answered your question, as made some suggestions on how you can move toward solving the problem by trial and error. Best of luck! Glenn |
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Re: Car won't start after running recently
How in depth can you diagnose your own car? By the sound of it your security system could be malfunctioning causing the start disable to activate randomly... does your security system still work? You should try to start the car in neutral to see it if is possibly the NSS or neutral safety switch. do you know how to use a test light?
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You're thinking if it dims, then the problem is in the starter, as opposed to before then? |
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And it still doesn't start, so I'd say this has gone from being intermittent to permanent. |
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I'd try tapping the starter itself with a hammer or screwdriver a few times while trying to start it. If the car turns over, you know it's something inside the starter itself. Probably the contacts. |
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So kudos to you, and kudos to Holton Street Garage in Woburn, MA! |
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More info can be read here. http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/show...oid#post332532 Harvey. |
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