Car will not start

[kunfu]

I was driving from Baltimore to NY last night and the car was running great, had to take a pit stop so I pulled over into a rest-stop in NJ, when I came back out to my car 5 minutes later the car would not start. It made absolutely no attempt to start, no cranking, no clicking, no anything. The lights all turned on but there was absolutely no activity coming from the engine bay. I tried multiple times to start it again over the course of 2 hours, finally 2 hours later it just magically starts like nothing ever happened.

This has happened twice before over the last 8ish months, but on those occasions it only gave me 5 minutes of aggravation.

So what do you think the deal is? Thanks for the help

[TRex]

wet maf?

[Scribbles]

My shit does this too. So you can turn the key all the way and the power goes on, but there's no activity of the engine even trying to start. I usually put the key in, wait abit, then crank it and it works fine. Sometimes it takes a few tries

[dadderllama]

I think it is just NJ.... did u get gas too? Im in NJ for work and my work truck runs like shit on nj gas (from multiple stations)... never wants to start, runs like shit and stalls out (its an automatic). BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE IM FLYING HOME TODAY AND GET TO DRIVE MY BABY ONCE AGAIN!!!!!

[m4tic]

crappy/dirty battery terminals... take a wire brush to the cables and battery posts.. electric grease them too

[Tabasco69]

Had this happen before, turned out to be a glitchy "immobilizer" bullshit mazda incorporated as anti theft device, if it doesn't even try to turn over, you do not hear any selenoid clicking and the little red key symbol goes nuts in the gauge cluster....it is the "IMOBILIZER".....glently tap the wire socket going to the ecm....other then that prepare to get raped by the stealership.

[kunfu]

Originally Posted by Tabasco69 Had this happen before, turned out to be a glitchy "immobilizer" bullshit mazda incorporated as anti theft device, if it doesn't even try to turn over, you do not hear any selenoid clicking and the little red key symbol goes nuts in the gauge cluster....it is the "IMOBILIZER".....glently tap the wire socket going to the ecm....other then that prepare to get raped by the stealership.

So far this sounds like the most likely. Crappy gas and wet maff seem unlikely since it makes no attempt at all at turning over, and teh solenoid does not click.

[TWOptSL0W]

check battery terminals and also, your power clip on the starter might not be getting a connection. wiggle it

[ms6_ward]

Originally Posted by bmorrisj crappy/dirty battery terminals... take a wire brush to the cables and battery posts.. electric grease them too

werd. Used to happen to me and Id get pissed thinking the car had major issues. Nope just clean the terminals and make sure everything is tight and snug.

[kunfu]

Originally Posted by ms6_ward werd. Used to happen to me and Id get pissed thinking the car had major issues. Nope just clean the terminals and make sure everything is tight and snug.

If this was the case why do the lights still turn on and all of the other electrical systems?

[cesaros]

Could be the switch in the clutch pedal that prevents engine from starting when clutch is out.

Might be worth checking out.

[kabobulate]

I had this exact issue that plagued me for a few months. Stealership said it was common to have corrosion on the cable that runs up to the starter, but mine was fine. I cleaned the hell out of my terminals and put grease on them, but it didn't help either. I found that if I jiggled the cable that runs from the battery to the fuse box that I could duplicate it, so I replaced it with a length of battery cable from Advance Auto. It's a pretty big cable and didn't really look messed up when I took it out... but my car has been perfect ever since.

Btw, if you try to buy this cable from the dealership it is like $130, and a 2ft length of it from Advanced was about $7.

[vincent1010]

I love how evey single person on this forum thinks they know everything and anything about mods and tuning... People sit here and talk all this nonsense but when a member cant even start his car, only 11 people comment and chime in!! See something wrong there , i do

[Boost Addict]

Originally Posted by vincent1010 I love how evey single person on this forum thinks they know everything and anything about mods and tuning... People sit here and talk all this nonsense but when a member cant even start his car, only 11 people comment and chime in!! See something wrong there , i do

And your worthless post isnt helping either. People have been suggesting plenty of good ideas for a fix for this. You can only take so much advice at once, too much and you'll be overwhelmed, and have no idea where to start.

[AtTheDriveIn]

I wouldn't overlook the starter itself if you've tried everything else these guys mentioned. Some times the solenoids go bad. I know they've gone a long way since the 70s but still. Sometimes they can get stuck.

[m4tic]

Originally Posted by kunfu If this was the case why do the lights still turn on and all of the other electrical systems?

this happened to me so many times... go to the gas station, stop the engine, get gas, try to start the engine, nothing happens and all my electrical turns off and my cluster needles start wigging out. then my lights slowly come on and stay dim.

all i did was clean the terminals and it just stopped. actually i replaced the neg cable with a $6 cable from oreileys

Originally Posted by Wiki Corrosion at the battery terminals can prevent a car from starting due to electrical resistance. The white powder sometimes found around the battery terminals is usually lead sulfate which is toxic by inhalation, ingestion and skin contact. The corrosion is caused by an imperfect seal between the plastic battery case and lead battery post allowing sulfuric acid to react with the lead battery posts. The corrosion process is also expedited by over charging. Corrosion can also be caused by factors such as salt water, dirt, heat, humidity, cracks in the battery casing or loose battery terminals. Inspection, cleaning and protection with a light coating of dielectric grease are measures used to prevent corrosion of battery terminals.

[dooderek]

i burnt my one of my ign fuses, same problem

[vbt101]

So - this same exact thing used to happen to me all the time. There is a spade connector that goes to where the starter is right below the intake mani/in front of the oil cooler (the "Terminal S Connector" in this screenshot).

This didn't get corroded, but it got coated with oil/grease just from its location. I tried cleaning it out with sandpaper, but that didn't turn out to be a reliable fix. The simple solution was to just cut off the connector and replaced it with another generic insulated spade connector.

My spade connector doesn't "click" in like the stock one, but it is pressure fit on there well enough that its more reliable than the stock one. If this is your prob too, it's easy to get to from under the car with just taking the belly pan off.

[karl-hungus]

i had the corroded starter solenoid wire (power to everything but it wouldn't start with no starter relay click) and the stealership was nice enough to clean it for $100.

the paper clip trick in the clutch switch worked for awhile as it eliminated enough resistance to start her.

[kunfu]

lots of good info here. I guess I will start working through all of these, starting with the easiest.

[Raider]

I had a battery with a bad cell refuse to start, try try try start. Then be fine for weeks. POS Optima. Tested, failed, swapped, all was well.

[kunfu]

Originally Posted by vincent1010 I love how evey single person on this forum thinks they know everything and anything about mods and tuning... People sit here and talk all this nonsense but when a member cant even start his car, only 11 people comment and chime in!! See something wrong there , i do

Thanks for the concern but 11 people on this forum is probably enough to solve any problem. Oh and fuck off.

Originally Posted by vbt101 So - this same exact thing used to happen to me all the time. There is a spade connector that goes to where the starter is right below the intake mani/in front of the oil cooler (the "Terminal S Connector" in this screenshot). This didn't get corroded, but it got coated with oil/grease just from its location. I tried cleaning it out with sandpaper, but that didn't turn out to be a reliable fix. The simple solution was to just cut off the connector and replaced it with another generic insulated spade connector. My spade connector doesn't "click" in like the stock one, but it is pressure fit on there well enough that its more reliable than the stock one. If this is your prob too, it's easy to get to from under the car with just taking the belly pan off.

90% sure this/was the problem. It makes sense, it would describe the symptoms my car had. Although I see how some of the other solutions could also be it.

[ms6_ward]

Hows the car man did you get it fixed?

[themytb]

I know I'm late to the party, but +1 for the signal/trigger/small wire to the starter, happened to me, wire brushed the terminal and put some dielectric grease on it, hasn't happened again.

did you get it fixed?

[kritz]

@kunfu Did it get going yet???

[kunfu]

Originally Posted by kritz @kunfu Did it get going yet???

I know it was a long post............

"finally 2 hours later it just magically starts like nothing ever happened."

Thanks for asking though. Yeah its running fine....have i corrected the problem to make sure it will never happen again? Nope not yet.

[themytb]

Some crazy hot chick is going to want your sausage right now-- and then it wont start.

[ms6_ward]

hahaha ^^^^^ how fucked up would that be lol