Why Won't My Car Start?

Do I need a jump start? Dead battery? Bad starter? Stuck key?

If you turn your car key and get nothing, or get anything less than an engine roaring to life, you might be in for a bad day. Starting problems can be very frustrating because there are so many things under the hood that can keep a car from starting. Heck, pretty much everything under the hood can keep the car from starting.

In order to troubleshoot a no-start problem, you need to start at the beginning of the line, the battery, and work your way back. Some tests for a no-start problem are simple, others are a pain in the neck and a technical nightmare. Nonetheless, you need to figure out why the car won't start, so we'll try to help. If your key won't turn in the ignition, try this fix.

Electrical No-Start Problems

* Check Your Fuses: Few cars have a fuse associated with the starting system, but before you go monkeying around with everything, check your fuses to be sure it's not that simple.

* Battery Corrosion: Over time your battery connections can become dirty, or corroded. This corrosion breaks the connection your battery has with the rest of the car, and it won't start. Try cleaning your battery posts and try to start the car again.

* Dead Battery: The most common reason your car won't start is a dead battery. If you have a battery tester that can measure cranking amps, test your battery to see if it's weak. If you can't test it yourself, you can test the battery indirectly by jump-starting the car. If it starts right away, your problem is most likely a dead battery. Replace the battery, and clean the battery connections to ensure good contact.

* Bad Igntion Switch: If your battery checks out, but the starter is still silent, it may be a faulty ignition switch. Turn the key to the on position (not all the way to start). If the red warning lights on your dash don't light up (and your battery connections are clean), the ignition switch is bad. If they do light up, turn the key to the start position. The dash warning lights should turn off at this key position (most cars). If you're not sure, turn on the headlights. When you try to start the car, the lights should either dim (a lot) or turn off completely. If they do, your ignition switch should be ok. If not, the switch will need replacement.

* Bad Starter Connection: Corrosion can not only keep your battery from connecting, it can affect any electrical component, especially the ones exposed to the elements like the starter. If you have a helper, you can test the connection by holding a circuit tester lead on the wire that engages the starter. This is the smaller of the two wires connected to the starter. Be sure no part of your body is near the moving parts of the engine - it could still start at any time! Have a friend turn the key and check the current. If you're getting current to the starter but it ain't spinning, it needs replacement.

If your starter spins freely when you turn the key, the problem lies elsewhere. Now you begin to check the other systems that could keep it from firing up.





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Don't panic when this problem happens. Read thoroughly the instrucyions above and then you can identify what's the problem why your car won't start.

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7 Tips on Buying New Car Tires

When the time comes to purchase a set of new car tires, there are several reasons to make sure you make the proper selection for your car. Good tires help maintain safety when driving, they allow your car to handle better and to stop better and they also increase your gas mileage. As you can see, choosing the right tire for your car is very important, it also can be confusing with all the options you have available. Here are a few tips that may make buying new tires a bit easier.

Tip 1: Be Sure You Need Tires

Take a good look at your tires and look for bulges, cracked sidewalls, excessive wear and uneven tread. If you see any of these problems, you need new tires.
Tip 2: Know Your Tire Size

You want to buy the right size and style of tire that's been recommended by the manufacturer of your car. This information is usually in the manual or on the information placard that's attached to your door edge, glove compartment or on the inside of your trunk lid.

Tip 3: Assess Your Car's Condition

Do your tires show signs of uneven wear? If so, your car may be misaligned or you may have a suspension issue. New tires wear quickly on a car that is misaligned or has bad shocks so have a trusted mechanic or the tire center inspect your car before you buy your tires.
Tip 4: Buy a Full Set

It's tempting to replace only the tire or tires that look most worn but it's not practical. Your car is designed to work best with a matching set of tires and replacing all four at one time allows you to maintain your tires better, lets your car to achieve the highest degree of safety, allows for more predictable handling and can help with issues that may appear later such as suspension problems before they become major complications.

Tip 5: Check Your Spare

Now is a good time to make sure your spare tire is in good shape. If it needs to be replaced and is a full sized spare, you might be able to save one of the better tires you are replacing for your spare.

Tip 6: Break In Your Tires

There is a release agent that is used during the tire manufacturing process that leaves a residue on the tread of the tire. This means there's a chance your tire may not grip as well as it should until the residue is gone. Allow about 500 miles of break in time before you start to push your tires on cornering. You can also anticipate longer breaking distances than usual until the residue has completely worn off.

Tip 7: Maintain Your Tires

It is very important that you keep tires properly inflated as this helps tires last longer and you will see better gas mileage so check tire inflation regularly.





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If you're going to buy a new tire keep your old ones that are still ok to use you may use it in the future as reserve or spare tires.

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How a Car Muffler Works

Though your probably put almost no thought into your car muffler, you have probably heard—and even complained—about a noisy car without a muffler. Obviously, a muffler makes a big difference in the amount of noise pollution a car creates. But how exactly does it work? What follows should help you gain a basic understanding of your muffler's job and how it operates.

Sound Waves

Car mufflers work using a simple principle that works on any kind of wave, including sound waves. This principle is called destructive interference.

Any wave of any kind, including a sound wave, has a high point, or crest, and a low point, or trough. The difference between the crest and the trough controls how powerful the wave is—a wave with a large difference will be very powerful, while a wave with a small difference will be very weak. A wave with no difference isn't a wave at all.

When two waves are combined, they will either interfere constructively or destructively depending on their position. If the wave crests and troughs occur at the same point, they will combine, resulting in higher crests and lower troughs, and an overall more powerful wave. If the crests of one wave occur at the same time as the troughs of the other, the waves will still combine—but in this case, the resulting wave will be weaker than the 2 original waves, even if they were both quite strong to begin with. Destructive interference is this second kind of interaction, where two strong waves become one weak wave. By using this technique, your muffler can reduce the amount of sound coming from your engine.

Putting It into Practice

Your car's muffler is connected to its exhaust system. As exhaust gases travel towards the exit, they are sent through a set of tubes in your muffler leading to a chamber called the resonator. The resonator is intentionally designed to amplify and redirect the sound waves caused by your engine. However, the way the resonator directs those sound waves reflects them back to the source in such a way that causes the waves to destructively influence themselves.

While a resonator chamber cannot eliminate all sound, it is designed to target particular frequencies at the expense of others. By targeting the loudest frequencies produced by your engine, and the most offensive ones to human ears, the resonator chamber maximizes its efficiency at its intended task, even if it isn't perfect.
Other Methods

While destructive interference is the most common technique car mufflers use to cancel out unwanted sounds, there are other kinds of mufflers that are commonly used. Many mufflers use more than one technique to maximize their efficiency.

For example, another kind of muffler, called a cherry bomb muffler or a glass pack muffler, does not use destructive interference to cancel out sound. Instead, it sends exhaust and sound waves through a tube with holes in it that lead out into sound absorbing material. Cherry bomb mufflers have the advantage of reducing back pressure and increasing efficiency.





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Muffler adds a strong personality to your car because of it's loud sound and feels like your ready to race anyone on the road.

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Do-It-Yourself Automotive Axle Assembly Repair Tips and Tricks

Replacing an axle assembly is not as difficult as you may think. For front-wheel drive cars , and for some rear-wheel drive cars, this can be a do-it-yourself job. You will want to review the repair manual of your vehicle to decide, based on your own mechanical skill, whether you feel comfortable tackling this project yourself.

A common repair that often must be done after general wear on a vehicle is the replacement of a CV joint. In many cases, it makes good financial sense to replace the entire axle assembly instead of repairing the joint alone. Since replacing a CV joint can be a labor-intensive job, it may also be easier to replace the entire axle assembly. Doing so will save time and thus cut labor costs-you can often replace the entire assembly for the same cost as replacing only the joints. This will, however, depend on how much your mechanic charges you-unless you decide to attempt the installation on your own.

New axle assemblies generally come with fresh CV joints and boots already installed, so you do not have to buy both the assembly and the joints. Since the entire assembly works through the boots, it is important that all parts are well-maintained and work in harmony with one another.

Again, read the installation instructions for your vehicle's make and model. If you are fairly comfortable working on your own car , then this may be a project that you want to tackle yourself. Doing so would save you the money you would otherwise pay a mechanic.

An axle assembly is used mainly in front-wheel and four-wheel drive cars to transfer power from the transmission to the wheels. Most rear-wheel drive cars do not use an axle assembly, though there are a few exceptions, primarily high-end German sports cars. One reason that CV boots and axle assemblies fail, is due to the access of debris and contaminants. Debris can get inside of the boot if the boot comes loose or becomes cracked. When this happens, CV joints will quickly degenerate and fail.

If you own a four-wheel drive vehicle and take it off-road on a regular basis, you are more likely to experience problems with debris getting inside of the seals. This is even more common if you like to go 'mudding' and do not wash all of the mud out from the undercarriage of your vehicle.

Choosing a manufacturer for your new axle assembly is important. For many vehicles, you can go with OEM or aftermarket parts. If you own a specialized vehicle like a Bertone, you will want to go with Bertone parts, because keeping original Bertone parts would help to maintain such a vehicle's value.

If maintaining all original-brand parts is not important to you, then you have many choices when it comes to replacement manufacturers. Many of these aftermarket replacement parts can be found at a lower price-sometimes of a higher quality, as well. When buying auto parts, it pays to shop around and find the best quality and price.

Most of the time, a new axle assembly will come with a solid warranty, so that you do not have to be concerned about part failure in the immediate future. It is important as both a buyer and a mechanic to be selective and to get the right part the first time. Doing so will prevent having to remove newly-installed equipment, because it is not the right one for your vehicle.

Research and investigation can help you determine the best replacement parts for your vehicles. And using the internet to make your purchases will allow you to save a lot of money, while improving the quality of products you are able to buy within your budget.




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DIY repairing in your car save lots of your money. Make yourself familiarize with your car parts or if you bring it to shop make sure that you study and witness what the mechanic is doing so next time id the trouble happened again you can do it all by yourself.

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How to Fix a Leaky Car Window

If you have discovered that your floorboards, seats or car dash are wet following rain or morning dew, it is likely that you have a leaky window, even if you haven't actually seen rain coming in. You may also detect a musty or mildew-like odor in your car that comes from the car's interior regularly getting wet. As long as the cause of the leak is minor, finding and repairing a car window that is leaking is a task that many people can handle on their own.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

    * Garden hose
    * Utility knife or razor blade
    * Rubbing alcohol
    * Polyurethane sealant or silicone caulk
    * Caulking gun
    * Rag
    * Silicone rubber


      Step 1

      Sit in the rear seat of the car and have someone else spray water on the vehicle with a garden hose to locate the window that is leaking. Watch all of the side windows and the windshield to find out where the water is coming in.

      Step 2

      Remove the trim from around the edge of the window that has the leak. Find the seam of the trim, which is generally at the bottom on side windows and at the top corners on the windshield. Pull the trim out from the window slowly and it will pop free of the window edge.

      Step 3

      Inspect the edge of the window for missing caulking or black, mildewed spots in the caulking. Also, look at the edges of the window for cracks or chips in the glass.

      Step 4

      Add new caulking if there is missing or damaged window caulk. Remove the old caulking by carefully trimming it away with a utility knife or razor blade and clean the area thoroughly with rubbing alcohol to remove leftover debris. Don't let the alcohol drip onto the good caulking.

      Step 5

      Replace the caulk with polyurethane sealant or silicone caulk using a caulking gun. Polyurethane sealant and silicone caulk are available in home improvement and hardware stores.

      Step 6

      Use silicone rubber on cracks at the edges of the window. Silicone rubber will stop leaks from small flaws and will be covered up once the trim is put back into place.

      Step 7

      Press the trim back into place all around the edge of the window. As long as the trim was not bent during removal, it should be easy to push back into the ridge.




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This is a major problem especially to those car windows without a frame. Due to heat the rubber becomes brittle and it cause leakage in windows.

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How to Clean Rust From Steel

Rust is like cancer for automobiles. If you don't catch it immediately when it starts, it will spread

across the entire body of the vehicle. Removing rust from steel components is a challenge. You will need to de-oxidize the rusting area with a special agent made for this purpose.
Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

    * 1200 grit sandpaper
    * Rust converter
    * Application brush
    * Clean rag


      Step 1

      Sand the rusted area with 1200 grit sandpaper to remove any loose rust.

      Step 2

      Apply the rust converter to the rusted steel with an applicator brush. Make sure you get good coverage over the rusted area. Don't worry about using "too much." If you use too little, you will not convert the rust.

      Step 3

      Wipe up any areas that you applied the rust converter to that don't need it with a clean rag.

      Step 4

      Wait 30 minutes to an hour. The rust will turn black. This is normal. The rust is now converted to a primer that can be sanded and painted like regular steel.





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I already tried this one and it really pains my arm because you have to sand the rusty part and make sure that it is properly sanded before you apply rust proof in it.
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Auto Repair... made easy...Get the help you need to do your own car repairs.

Auto Repair... made easy...Get the help you need to do your own car repairs.
Auto repair doesn't have to cost a lot... when you do it yourself, there are no $100 and hour labor rates or huge parts mark-ups... only the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself. I've spent more then half my life watching the largest auto repair chains get richer, while good people get poorer. Now I want to pass on to you, the knowledge you need to do it yourself and not pay those high costs.
And yes...you can do it yourself.

tune-upIt seems the auto manufacturers and repair shops want everyone to believe that todays vehicles are "TOO COMPLICATED" for the average do-it-yourselfer to do even a minor auto repair...that's just not true. The right tools, the right information, and the right attitude are all you need to get the job done, and done right.

Here's how I can help...

With over 20 years of experience as a mechanic, and technical instructor, I'll show you how easy car repair can be. I'll give you access to the information the big companies don't want you to have.

The right tools, the right information, and the right attitude are all you need to get the job done, and done right.

With my free online tutorials you can do it just as successfully as any big name shop.

I'll show you why brakes squeal and techniques to prevent brake squeal and noise from happening in the first place. Today's brake systems are not the same as they were 20 years ago... a lot has changed. Smaller brake systems... heavier vehicles...and electronics like A.B.S. and Traction Control have changed the way a brake job is done. I want to show you how to do a 21st century brake service...the way the pros do it. You can do it just as well, and save hundreds of dollars.

How about the 100k mile tune-up myth? Yes, today's modern cars and trucks need tune-ups just like older cars...the difference is the definition of a tune-up, how often it should be done, and the damage that can be caused by not doing it. They don't want you to know that by doing a regular tune-up, you can prevent hundreds of dollars in repairs from happening.

Perhaps there is a pesky check engine light on... or maybe a misfire...check out the diagnostics section. Auto repair doesn't have to be complicated... It's easy when you know how...

You'll also find sections on Auto Detailing and Auto Performance...something for everyone...all with easy to follow tutorials, and step-by-step instructions.

So look around and see what we have...if you don't find what you need, contact me, and I'll do my best to walk you through it. But you can be sure that subject is coming soon.

Remember the right tools, the right information, and the right attitude are all you need to get the job done, and done right.



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As long as you love what you are doing you can do it on your own especially in fixing your car. It saves a lot of your money if you do it by yourself. Kust make sure that you know what you are doing, you can ask some of your friends what to do.

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Suspension

Before you start working on your vehicle, make sure you have a good repair manual. We recommend an online manual from ALLDATA You can even find out things only the dealer knows about your vehicle with TSBs, which are included with your ALLDATA manual.

Common Problems:

* Shocks and struts can wear out and affect handling. If you car bounces excessively over bumps and leans hard in corners, your shocks could be warn. Look behind the wheel for the shock or strut and look for leaking oil. This is a sure sign of a worn shock or strut.
* Ball joints. Ball joints wear and can cause your car to wander while driving down the road. This is dangerous as they can separate and cause you to lose control.

Preventive maintenance:

* Check your shocks or struts for leakage frequently. Also pay attention to how your car handles. If you notice the ride deteriorating take your car in to have the struts checked.
* Ball joints should be checked when your car is inspected, if not, have your mechanic check them at least twice a year.
* At each oil change make sure you or your mechanic lubricates the ball joints and any other suspension components. Some components can not be lubricated as they are sealed from the factory.

and make sure you choose the right suspension for you for more handling performance



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It right to have a preventive maintenance to avoid large expenses in fixing your car. It's easy to replace suspension and you can do it on your own.

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