help my car wont start!

gussieg · 08-01-2010 4:09pm #1

As i was gaily about to head off to enjoy the free trip to galway thanks to another boards.ie poster, my little subaru vivio that i love and that usually is so reliable ,just wont start .
Is there anything i can do to get it going? we tried jump leads from another car but no joy.

v300 · 08-01-2010 4:11pm

AA or mobile mechanic time.

Is it out of petrol or even low ?
Fill her up a bit with 5 litres or so and try again.

gussieg · 08-01-2010 4:18pm

good idea. no tank is half full, i just topped up the engine oil as well, and nothing. there is frosting all over the engine though, didnt use it since wednesday.

v300 · 08-01-2010 4:20pm

She's frozen solid (metaphorically) and may have trouble vaporising the petrol.
A mechanic should be able to start her with some "quick start"

gussieg · 08-01-2010 4:26pm

thats brilliant maybe could i get some from somewhere myself?

crótach · 08-01-2010 4:27pm

Have you got anti-freeze in the coolant? If it freezes you could have serious engine problems. And I'm guessing the temperatures overnight have been low enough to cause the block to crack.

Anan1 · 08-01-2010 4:28pm

What exactly is happening when you try to start it?

v300 · 08-01-2010 4:39pm

crótach wrote: »

Have you got anti-freeze in the coolant? If it freezes you could have serious engine problems. And I'm guessing the temperatures overnight have been low enough to cause the block to crack.

We don't have enough information to jump to that conclusion yet.

It's a possibility, but first things first eh !

gussieg · 08-01-2010 4:45pm

ah boo hoo as far as i know it has anti freeze in it, but i dont know . it has been grand starting up til now, ...

hi_im_fil · 08-01-2010 4:46pm

Is the engine turning over even?

gussieg · 08-01-2010 4:47pm

what happens when i try to start it is the starter kicks over and the battery seems to work but not a jot out of the engine.

helimachoptor · 08-01-2010 4:47pm

Have the same problem with the a 03 vectra, frozen and currently trying to defrost it!

gussieg · 08-01-2010 4:51pm

i just tried it again and it was nearly kicking over but now the battery seems to be going down

v300 · 08-01-2010 4:52pm

gussieg wrote: »

what happens when i try to start it is the starter kicks over and the battery seems to work but not a jot out of the engine.

Try the "Cold / Quick start" stuff.
Available Motors factors, but read the instructions as this stuff
can destroy engines if not used properly.

Engine is probably slightly flooded with unburnt fuel.

Get a set of spark plugs for the car too ASAP as well
IE tomorow or Monday.

gussieg · 08-01-2010 4:57pm

nice one thanks ive got a set of fancy plugs in it from halfords that appar ently improve the fuel efficiency etc. i put them in about 8 or 9 months ago.

v300 · 08-01-2010 5:01pm

gussieg wrote: »

nice one thanks ive got a set of fancy plugs in it from halfords that appar ently improve the fuel efficiency etc. i put them in about 8 or 9 months ago.

Get ordinary ones from the motor factors this time.
High Resistor (Economy) plugs do increase fuel economy,
but make cars marginal to start if the car is not tip top condition.

For the 0.1 percent fuel you save,
wouldn't you prefer to be able to start the car when she's cold.

SO: In conclusion, I'm blaming the plugs with the available evidence !!:D

gussieg · 08-01-2010 5:07pm

a ha so its the plugs possibly

gussieg · 08-01-2010 5:08pm

engine was n early kicking over a minute ago but its getting cold again and now the battery is going down . my dad says he has a charger that may help. im hoping to be able to squeeze the car into the garage over night might help.

gussieg · 08-01-2010 5:13pm

thanks for all the invaluable advice:D

kona · 08-01-2010 5:13pm

Do you have a spark? Do you have petrol?

Also dont you need high resistance leads to match the plugs?

gussieg · 08-01-2010 5:23pm

that could be it also. leads are more ordinary.

v300 · 08-01-2010 5:28pm

gussieg wrote: »

a ha so its the plugs possibly

Well there more impeding it than helping it at the moment I would guess..;)

Darragh29 · 08-01-2010 5:36pm

OP, is the engine turning over when you try to start???

gussieg · 08-01-2010 5:41pm

the engine is trying to turn over when started, but doesnt seem to have the power or else its still just too cold.

sherdydan · 08-01-2010 5:42pm

we had an issue like that with the car a few nights ago, the engine was turning over, but just wasnt starting, turns out the choke was frozen solid and all it took was a few dabs of the throttle to get her going

gussieg · 08-01-2010 5:43pm

i'm not the brightest but i do try to look after this car. I've just put a little blanket on the engine and would bring it a hot drink if i thought it would help

Darragh29 · 08-01-2010 5:54pm

gussieg wrote: »

the engine is trying to turn over when started, but doesnt seem to have the power or else its still just too cold.

OP it sounds like the battery is short on cranking capacity due to the temperature within the battery being pulled right down, obviously due to the weather. There are two options here which will resolve this for you...

(1) Jump starting the car should resolve this issue for you.

(2) Replacing the battery will also probably resolve the issue for you.

Unfortunately towing the car to start it is not an option in the current weather.

I'd strongly advise trying option one above, what you should do is get another car and hook it up with jump leads to your own car, taking care to get the polarity right (positive to positive and negative to negative), leave the donor car (the other car you are using), running for a few moments to get your own battery charged up (for around 20 minutes), and then try starting your own car.

20 Euro says it will start!

help my car wont start!

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