Quick answer: Most cars that won’t start have a weak battery, corroded battery terminals, a failing starter, or an alternator that stopped charging the battery. What the car does when you turn the key tells you which. Our battery and charging test is free, so you can know before anything gets replaced.
A car that won’t start tells you what’s wrong by what it does when you turn the key. Before anything else, notice the sound. It does most of the diagnosis for you.
What Happens When You Turn the Key?
- Nothing at all, no lights and no sound: no power is reaching anything. That points to a dead battery, corroded terminals, or a bad main connection.
- One loud click, or rapid clicking, but no crank: power is arriving but can’t turn the engine. That points to a weak battery or a failing starter.
- It cranks strong but won’t fire: the battery and starter are fine; the engine isn’t getting fuel or spark. Different problem, different section below.
- It starts, then immediately dies: fuel delivery, or the security system cutting the engine off.
- A security light is flashing on the dash: the immobilizer thinks the key is wrong. Read the honest answer on that below.
- It’s a manual and nothing happens with the key or button: press the clutch pedal all the way to the floor and try again. Manuals won’t crank without it, and the switch that senses the pedal can fail.
- It started fine after a jump, but died again days later: that’s not this page’s problem; see battery keeps dying.
What should I do when my car won’t start?
- Turn everything off and try once more. Switch off the headlights, fan and radio. A marginal battery sometimes has enough left for the starter alone.
- Don’t keep cranking. Ten seconds at a time, with a minute between tries. Long cranking overheats the starter and can flood the engine.
- A jump start is a test, not a fix. If it fires right up with a jump, the battery or charging system is your answer. Come in for the free test below.
- If you’ve had service with us, you may already have roadside coverage. Any visit of $25 or more comes with a year of our roadside assistance program. It covers jump starts, towing and lock-outs, up to $75 per incident, twice a year, 24/7 at 866-588-0728. Save that number now, while the car is the problem and not the emergency.
Why won’t my car turn over?
The battery is the most common cause, especially in Oregon’s wet, cold winters. Cold cuts a battery’s strength exactly when the engine is hardest to turn. But a no-start doesn’t automatically mean a dead battery. Corroded terminals, the white or blue-green crust our climate grows on battery posts, can block current from a perfectly healthy battery. That’s a cleaning, not a replacement.
The starter motor physically spins the engine to life, and it usually fails gradually. Intermittent no-starts, a single hard click, or grinding while cranking are its calling cards. And the alternator recharges the battery while you drive; when it quietly dies, it drains a good battery and frames it for the crime. A new battery won’t fix an alternator that stopped charging, which is exactly why we test, free, before anything gets replaced.
Is it the battery, the alternator or the starter?
Most of the time the car tells you. A weak battery usually shows up as slow cranking, rapid clicking or dim lights. A failing alternator shows up while you’re driving: the battery light comes on, the lights dim or flicker, and a jump start works but doesn’t last. A bad starter usually leaves the lights bright and gives you one click or nothing at all. Here’s how to read the clues yourself.
What does clicking mean when the car won’t start?
- Rapid clicking, like a fast tick-tick-tick: the starter is trying, but there isn’t enough power to turn it. That’s almost always a weak battery or a poor connection.
- One click, then nothing: power is reaching the starter but the engine isn’t turning. If the lights stay bright, the starter or its wiring is the likely suspect.
- No sound at all: either no power is getting through, or the starter isn’t being told to turn. The lights sort that out (see below). On a manual, make sure the clutch pedal is all the way down first.
Slow Crank or No Crank?
- Slow, labored cranking: the engine turns, but it sounds tired. That’s the battery running low, and it’s usually worst on the first cold morning of the season.
- No crank at all: clicking or silence. Start with the battery and its connections; if those check out, the starter is next.
- Normal cranking, but it won’t fire: the battery and starter have done their jobs. Skip down to fuel and spark.
What do the lights tell you?
- Dim headlights or a dim dash, especially when you turn the key: the battery is low. If a jump start gets it going but it’s dead again later that day or the next morning, either the battery can’t hold a charge or the alternator isn’t refilling it. A test tells you which.
- Lights bright and strong, but only one click or nothing: the battery has power to spare, so the starter or the connections to it are the likely problem.
What happened on the last drive?
- The battery light came on while you were driving: that light watches the whole charging system, so the alternator, or the belt that drives it, is the first suspect.
- Lights dimming or flickering while you drive, often worse at idle and brighter when you rev. The alternator is struggling to keep up.
How Old Is the Battery?
Most car batteries last about three to five years. Oregon’s summer heat and winter cold get a lot of the blame, but age and short trips matter more. A car that mostly makes ten-minute hops never gets its battery fully recharged, and that wears it out early. Cold mornings are just when a tired battery finally shows it. If yours is four or five years old and cranking slowly, it’s the likely suspect.
What should battery voltage be when the car is running?
A simple multimeter across the battery posts tells you a lot. These are general guidelines, and the exact numbers vary a little from car to car:
- Engine off (after the car has sat a while): about 12.6 volts is a fully charged battery. Noticeably lower means it’s run down or tired.
- Engine running: roughly 13.5 to 14.5 volts means the alternator is charging. Well below that, it isn’t keeping up. Some newer cars vary their charging voltage on purpose, so one odd reading isn’t the final word.
One catch: a battery can show good voltage sitting still and still fail when it has to crank an engine. That’s what a load test is for.
Could it just be the battery terminals?
Before you buy anything, look at the battery terminals. White or blue-green crust on the posts, or a cable clamp you can twist by hand, can keep a perfectly good battery from doing its job, and it can cause clicking, slow cranking or no start at all. With the engine off, cleaning and tightening them is the cheapest fix there is.
How do we test a car that won’t start?
When a car comes in with a starting problem, we test the battery, the charging system and the starter together, because one can make another look guilty. A tired alternator runs down good batteries, and a weak battery can make a healthy starter sound sick. The battery and charging test is free, and if the starter needs a closer look, we’ll tell you what that costs before we start.
Why does my car crank but not start?
Strong cranking means the electrical supply side did its job. The engine is missing fuel or spark. On the fuel side, listen for the two-second hum from the tank when you switch the ignition on. Silence often means the fuel pump, while a car that starts and dies points at delivery or pressure. Fuel pressure testing and the pump, filter and injectors are covered under our fuel system service. On the spark side, failed ignition coils or fouled plugs keep a cranking engine silent. That work lives under a tune up, and the wider electrical faults (relays, fuses, ignition switch) under auto electrical services. A cranks-but-won’t-fire condition almost always sets trouble codes, and the code read is free.
What does a flashing security light mean?
If the security light is flashing and the engine starts-and-dies or won’t crank at all, the immobilizer has decided your key isn’t yours. That’s a real cause, common after battery changes and with worn keys. We can confirm whether the security system is actually your problem or just a coincidence sitting on top of a dead battery. That’s part of the free first look.
Why won’t my manual car crank?
Often it’s the clutch safety switch. Every manual has one, and the engine won’t crank unless the pedal is fully down. When that switch wears, you get a no-start that comes and goes, cures itself when you stomp the pedal harder, and fools people into replacing starters. We’ve been the clutch shop in Beaverton since 1995; if your manual won’t crank, this is one of the first things we check.
How do we find the actual cause?
The battery and charging test is free. It covers battery health under load, terminal condition, alternator output, and the trouble-code read. For a no-start, that free pass answers it a good share of the time. When it needs real diagnostic time, such as starter current draw, fuel pressure or spark testing, that’s billable, and we’ll tell you what it costs and get your approval first. Whatever we find is documented through our Digital Vehicle Inspection with photos, so you’re deciding from the same evidence we are. If the car can’t come to us on its own, remember the roadside number above. Loaner cars are also available at no cost if the repair keeps it overnight.
From the Shop Floor: A 4Runner That Needed a Starter, Not a Battery
A 1998 Toyota 4Runner with 258,899 miles came in this September because nothing happened when the key was turned: no crank and no click. The answer was the starter, not the battery. A no-start usually gets blamed on the battery, so that is where testing begins. Technician Malik Wilson tested the starting and charging system before anything was replaced.
Malik replaced the starter motor, and the battery stayed in the truck. The visit came to just under $1,000, including the diagnostic time on the starter. The battery and charging test is free. Testing the starter itself is billable, and we tell you what it costs before we start.
This is why we test before we replace. A new battery would not have started this 4Runner. Testing first meant the owner paid for one part, and it was the right one.
Is the repair covered by a warranty?
Qualifying repairs at MotorCar Doctors are covered by a 36-month / 36,000-mile nationwide warranty on parts and labor, honored at participating shops across the country. Full terms are on our warranty page.
Bring It In
We’ve been getting stubborn cars started in Beaverton since 1995, with ASE-certified technicians, for drivers across Aloha, Tigard, Hillsboro, Cedar Hills and the rest of Washington County.
Find us at MotorCar Doctors Auto Repair, 13203 SW Canyon Rd, Ste C, Beaverton, Oregon 97005, open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Call 503-626-4810, and tell us what it does when you turn the key: silence, a click, or a healthy crank that goes nowhere. You already know the most useful clue.