QuestionHi,
I have a friend who owns a 1997 Corolla CE 1.6L with 165,xxx miles on it. He is having a problem starting his car.
Here's what's happening:
* We can hear a loud clicking sound almost like a loud snap coming from the starter, but would not turn and crank.
Here's what we did:
* I immediately suspected that the starter was frozen or stuck due to age and wear so I tried tapping the starter with a breaker bar hoping it would loosen up and turn.
* The car battery is two months old and almost brand new. I was suspecting that it maybe drained by a faulty alternator or some sort. I removed his battery and hooked it up to my Toyota sienna and fired it right up the first try. I figured it eliminated the alternator and battery issues.
* We then replaced the starter with a new one and replaced the battery terminals with new ones as well to make sure that there is very good connection. It started the engine on the first try and left it running for a good 15 minutes before we drove the car to a nearby store and was there for about 30 minutes.
When we got in the car and the car will not start and the starter is not making any type of sound. We managed to get the engine to turn by pushing the car since it has a manual transmission and drove it home. We turned the ignition off and tried to start it and it did, then we tried again but it will not start again. Can this be a sign of electrical issues or ignition switch issues? Was the starter really bad to begin with. Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance...
AnswerThere are a couple of things to consider, first, does it have any kind of alarm system? If not check the clutch start switch located under the dash, it's on a bracket making contact with the clutch pedal arm, also make sure the clutch pedal can be depressed all the way down, no carpets or floormats below the pedal, check the battery ground cable and make sure it's tight on the engine block or motor mount.
