My car broke. Help me.

[cccp]

This morning, I tried to turn it on, but couldn't. The starter is spinning, but the engine doesn't start. There are no problems with the battery, and i checked the fuses. I also used the jumper cables to start the car and to check the battery, but it didnt help.

What i think:
1. The fuel pump is fucked.
2. The fuses??


That fucking sucks. Why would it just stop working one morning?

 

[HumorMe]

What kind of car and what year?

 

[Devastation]

push it off a cliff

and make a vid so we can see

 

[RADAR]

Sounds like the battery to me.....when it doesn't have enought current(amps) you will get a whinning sound.
Borrow 0r buy some jumper cables to get you going....also check the water level in the battery.


RADAR

 

[Devastation]

This morning, I tried to turn it on, but couldn't. The starter is spinning, but the engine doesn't start. There are no problems with the battery, and i checked the fuses. I also used the jumper cables to start the car and to check the battery, but it didnt help.

What i think:
1. The fuel pump is fucked.
2. The fuses??


That fucking sucks. Why would it just stop working one morning?

what kind of car and year? do the plugs have spark? is it getting fuel to the cylinders? we need a bit more info

 

[mdd]

same thing just happened to me on fri, it was the starter.

it would click when i turned the key, battery worked fine radio came on etc, jumping didnt help

tapped the starter with a hammer and it worked

 

[cccp]

This is a 1987 Volvo 740 Turbo. The starter is spinning, but the engine doesnt turn. I don't know if the problem is in spark plugs, because I don;t know how to check them. Also, the car worked just fine yesterday. oh, yeah, jumping didn't help.

 

[Devastation]

87 volvo. is that a deisel?

 

[HumorMe]

This is a 1987 Volvo 740 Turbo. The starter is spinning, but the engine doesnt turn. I don't know if the problem is in spark plugs, because I don;t know how to check them. Also, the car worked just fine yesterday. oh, yeah, jumping didn't help.

The starter might be spinning but it's not engaging. mdd said to tap the starter with a hammer. Usually that will work but if not it looks like you will need a new starter.

 

[cccp]

87 volvo. is that a deisel?

no, regular.

So if the starter is spinning it doesn't necessarily mean that it's working correctly? I'm gonna try to tap it with a wrench or something. if it doesn't work, i'll have to tow it to a volvo service station.. and i'm poor already

 

[HumorMe]

no, regular.

So if the starter is spinning it doesn't necessarily mean that it's working correctly? I'm gonna try to tap it with a wrench or something. if it doesn't work, i'll have to tow it to a volvo service station.. and i'm poor already

Right.

I don't know about foreign cars but American car starters are faily simple to install.

 

[Devastation]

before you do all that, disconnect one of the spark plug wires, take a screwdriver with an insulated handle, stick it inside the cable so it is touching the contacts and hold the screwdriver about 1/8" away from the block. you should have spark, if not maybe its your distributer. does your car have a computer? i'm sure it does. how many miles does your car have? this doesn't really sound like the starter.

does the motor turn over or not when you try and start it?

 

[out_at_sea]

This is a 1987 Volvo 740 Turbo. The starter is spinning, but the engine doesnt turn. I don't know if the problem is in spark plugs, because I don;t know how to check them. Also, the car worked just fine yesterday. oh, yeah, jumping didn't help.

Next time buy a VOLGA....used to be the Russian Cadillac.....

 

[malice]

for a car to run, you need

1.fuel
2.air
3.spark

work your way from there...

 

[AAP]

good luck bro, hope it is nothing serious.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

Next time buy a VOLGA....used to be the Russian Cadillac.....

The new ones are fuken bad ass cars. Still is the russian cadi.

 

[bwood]

it is either the starter solonoid (the electromagnet that engages the bendix)...

or it is the bendix itself (which is the small gear that slides to engage the teeth on the flywheel when the solonoid is energized during cranking)...

do not tap on the starter as that is only effective if the brushes are stuck in the main starter armature, which they are not as the starter is spinning...

dont tap on newer starters anyway as they have more delicate magnets and can be rendered unrebuildable if hit too hard...

 

[cccp]

Dammit!

Ok, here's the update. I had to pay $800 to change the "wiring harness". I don;t even know what the fuck it is. Then I took the car from the mechanic, and went to a couple of bars. when it was time to go home, the goddamn car just wouldn't start. can you believe that? So I towed it back to the shop, and took a taxi. They better fix it right this time. fuckers.

 

[Devastation]

$800 for a wiring harness??! holy fuck you got ripped off

 

[Y_lifter]

Before reading this I guessed..

It's not getting gas
or
It's not getting a spark

I bet all it needed was new plug wires... $20 Plug and go