# Intermittent Car Starting Problems **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026 "2018-05-12T01:31:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/1 "2018-05-12T01:31:09Z")
I am in the States for a few weeks. I am driving my older-model (2010?) Toyota Corolla. My wife drives it from time to time when I am not home. I like it. So I got home a few days ago and took it to the car wash. I sprayed it off and it would not start when I was finished. The car wash guy helped me push it out of the bay. We attached a boost-box, but the gauges said the battery was fine. Some time passed. I was about to walk home and tried to start it again. It started right up. I have driven in a few days with no problems. I dropped off the kids at the high school dance. I parked and read my Kindle in the parking lot. No radio or a/c or anything. Time came to start it up and I had no nothing. I knew the batter was OK, the lights on the dash were nice and strong. Attaching the boost box did no good. I called my wife. While waiting a Concerned Citizen offered his help. He got in the car, the starter didn’t make any noise at all. I had him ensure it was in park that did not help. I called my wife. Just as she was arriving to my resuce I turned the key again. It started right up. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/2 "2018-05-12T01:33:30Z")
battery cables. poor connection at the battery, most likely. edit: reason I say this- when you turned the car on, the accessories (lights, etc.) only draw a few amps of current or so. However, when you try to start it, the starter will try to draw a few **hundred** amps from the battery. if the cables/terminals are marginal, the high current will cause the poor connection to spark and then break (the few points of contact between the battery terminal and clamps will burn away.) then later something makes contact, and by chance it works. or, starter solenoid. if it “clicks” loudly with no lights dimming, that could be the culprit. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/3 "2018-05-12T01:35:52Z")
Might be. But the lights, radio, and whatnot all have plenty of power. I suppose I will take into the shop tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/4 "2018-05-12T01:40:24Z")
If you don’t hear any click I would check the connections on the starter relay, if they look good test the relay for current going to it and coming out. Sounds like a relay to me. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/5 "2018-05-12T03:01:27Z")
Well if it were the relay, why would the car start at all after a wait? I suppose I will take it in tomorrow and let the mechanic puzzle over it. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/6 "2018-05-12T03:19:55Z")
That is a common behavior for relays. i spent close to 50 years in the business. Often with intermittent problems like that we could not repeat the problem. If we couldn’t find something obvious we would end up changing starter, relay and cleaning the cables rather than send the car back in the same shape. Once in a while it would end up to be the key switch but not often. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/7 "2018-05-12T04:00:25Z")
It’s not a manual transmission, is it? My wife had a 2002 Camry that wouldn’t start a couple times. Turned out the floor mat was jammed up under the clutch, keeping it from going all the way down. And when the clutch wasn’t all the way down, the starter wouldn’t engage. Pulling the floor mat out of the way was all it took to get it started. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/8 "2018-05-12T05:45:16Z")
I’ve had something similar happen on a couple cars I’ve owned with Japanese engines (1989 Plymouth Grand Voyager and 1989 Toyota Corolla). You turn the key and nothing happens. The culprit is a couple contacts inside the starter which get eroded, causing an occasional bad connection. The contacts are cheap at an auto-electric store, and if you’re a reasonably good mechanic it’s not hard to dismantle your starter and replace them. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/9 "2018-05-12T05:52:55Z")
First, check the obvious with looking at the battery cables, make sure they are nice and tight and then trace the ground back to the chassis and make sure it is grounded properly. Make sure all spark plug wires and connectors are firmly seated. If not, then: Ignition Coil is going bad, or the starter solenoid is giving out. Those are my best guesses without actually having hands on with the vehicle. Ignition coil may or may not throw a CEL/SES (Check Engine Light) and the only solution is to replace it (very simple). If it is the starter, next time you crank the car and if it doesn’t make a noise, click or whirr, hit the starter with moderate force with a hammer or a stick and try it again (brushes can stick/not strike properly). After those attempts and it does not work, identify the two poles on the starter solenoid/switch (usually screws) and attach a piece of metal across them or have someone hold a screwdriver blade across them and try again. If none of those, if the car is jumpy when it starts, it can be with the fuel system (clogged fuel filter if applicable or a failing fuel pump). Use a long blunt object and smack the fuel tank a couple times, if it works afterward… you know the answer. I highly doubt it is something with the fuel system though. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/10 "2018-05-12T11:55:26Z")
Thank you all. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/11 "2018-05-12T20:01:33Z")
If the lights on the dash were strong, and they didn’t dim when you tried to start the car, and you got “nothing” (not even a click from the starter), you either have a bad starter relay, a bad ignition switch or really corroded connections to the starter. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/12 "2018-05-12T21:08:26Z")
Or bad neutral safety switch. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/13 "2018-05-13T02:04:57Z")
… to the **car wash**. I **sprayed it off** and it would not start when I was finished… …Just as she was arriving to my rescue I turned the key again. **It started right up** … You have some bad contacts that short out when wet. The car started when the residual heat from the motor dried off the contact(s). Which contacts are affected by the soaking are in the suggestions above. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/14 "2018-05-13T02:10:22Z")
I’m on the “problem with starter” side. I just went through something very similar. When the dust settled, I had a bad starter. It took a few weeks, and 2 trips to the shop to run it down. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/15 "2018-05-14T01:49:16Z")
Well, we dropped it off at the mechanic. I am car-less for a few days.I shall keep you posted. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/16 "2018-05-14T10:17:21Z")
A crack in the starter motor’s conductors can cause this. It can be that it works only when at air temperature. For you its not conducting when its hot, heated by the engine. For me, it was that it didn’t work when cold. I was visiting a mountain area in winter, which means the morning was frosty. On the worst frost morning, it totally stopped. It was not starting. I had a good idea… I got a jug of boiled water, dribbled it over the starter motor, and it started !. Must have been expansion at work… It was a cracked conductor in the starter motor. Maybe it got hot when in use and its constant thermal expansion and contraction caused cracking. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/intermittent-car-starting-problems/814026/17 "2018-05-15T23:01:25Z")
$395 for a new starter. Thank you all.