Whether it’s the thumping of a flat tire or the clicking sound of a vehicle’s refusal to start, most of us have had that sense of fear and frustration when it comes to our cars.
It can certainly ruin your day, but some car problems can be a part of your life for weeks or even months. However, many car problems can be avoided by regular maintenance; that being said, things happen.
Although cars are complicated to maintain, most people experience many of the same types of car problems. So, in this article, we share some common car problems that could be causing your vehicle not to start.
Dead Car Remote Battery
Being able to lock, unlock, start, and many other things from afar is a handy feature that has become commonplace for many modern cars. Many cars don’t even use keys for the ignition anymore. If the battery dies or is almost dead, this may create issues for starting your car. More times than not, the fix is a simple remote battery change. Knowing this is possible, and keeping a spare battery in your car can change a high-stress situation into nothing more than a 30-second fix with no stress.
Car Battery Issues
Draining a car battery is an easy mistake to make. Leaving an interior light on or forgetting your headlights has led to many non-starting cars throughout the years. These days, many cars have safeguards for those mistakes, but we still figure out how to kill our batteries.
All you need here is your jumper cables and a friendly car owner who will lend you their battery for a few minutes. If you look at your battery, two metal posts are sticking up. One will likely have a black lead cable (usually, this will be the negative terminal), and the other will be red (positive). You’ll notice the same is true for your jumper cables.
Ensure the live car is off and attach the red cable to the live car’s red battery terminal and then the red cable to the dead car’s red terminal. Continue with both black leads just as you did the red ones. Once both batteries are connected, fire up the live car and let it run for a few minutes before trying the dead car. Once the dead car fires up, remove cables in the reverse order; black then red.
Rusty Battery Terminals
Sometimes it may seem like your car’s battery is dead, but that isn’t always the case. Battery terminals can rust and get covered in a green or sometimes white ash-like substance that keeps the terminals from conducting electricity.
This will cause the car not to start. If you open the engine area and see this rust, all you need to do is disconnect your battery cables and grab your handy wire brush. Scrub the terminals until all you see is bare metal and reattach your battery cables.
Clogged Fuel Filter
Fuel systems are sensitive and require a clean and consistent stream of fuel. If a fuel filter catches too much stuff like dust, rust, dirt, or poorly refined fuel, this will keep a car from running properly or running at all.
This can also be a simple task to change out the filter, but even if you don’t feel comfortable doing the work yourself, knowing this issue may help to keep car breakdowns a little less stressful.
Sparks Plug Losing Sparks
Spark plugs are a key piece to keeping a car running. A sparkplug is what ignites the fuel to make our cars move. If even one spark plug goes bad, this will dramatically affect the way your car runs. Changing spark plugs is easy, but it does require special tools like a spark plug socket wrench and, of course, a replacement spark plug. Again knowing that this is common can lower stress levels when your car doesn’t start.
Conclusion
Car issues can really mess up our plans and cause financial stress. Arming yourself with a few tools and a little information can make these stressful times a little less stressful even if you don’t feel comfortable working on your own car; knowing the common smaller issues can save you from worry and panic.
