Yikes, what's wrong with my car? Help.

[chaska]

It won't crank. It'll turn over - that means it's not the battery, right??? It will almost start ... intermitently, but just won't go all the way.

It just started this today.

It's been wet here and I didn't drive it yesterday. Would that make a difference. I've occasionally had problems with the battery in the past when it's wet. But since it's turning over...?

[commander bunnypants]

1. sounds like a starter

g/luck

CB

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. Yup, or a battery cable. n/t

[ET Awful]

3. Agreed, sounds like a bad starter. . . or bad solenoid (which is a

hell of a lot cheaper).

[LisaM]

4. Fuel line? or a solenoid?

Could be that just part of the battery is bad, and in wet weather, it's enough for the car not to start.

[eternalburn]

5. I vote "starter" too

5 years experience :)

[CO Liberal]

6. Clogged Fuel Filter or Wet Ignition Wires

That's my best guess from here...

[Philostopher]

7. How old is the car?

Does it have a distributor/distributor cap? It could be water condensation inside the cap -- I used to have a Toyota that was a real bear to start in damp weather, and if it had been damp and then got cold enough to freeze -- forget it.

If it's newer and had an electronic distributor of some kind, I don't know. Always possible it's an electrical problem with your fuel injectors, too.

[chaska]

13. '93 Plymouth Voyager.

[ChoralScholar]

15. If your vehicle is turning over, then you have no

starter or solenoid problem.

Check the moisture inside the distributor cap first. A cap and rotor set is pretty cheap if you need one. but most likely you have a bad ignition coil. Should be a small cylindrical component under the hood on the passenger side. This supplies high voltage to your distributor.

[chaska]

16. x

[democracyindanger]

8. damaged flux capacitor

[chuckrocks]

9. what yr/make?

if you have a distributor cap, i'd start there. spray the inside with a little wd40 to dry it out. used to have a 76 dart with that problem. also, if you have head gasket issues, your spark plugs may be fouled. simple wire brushing and regapping will fix it.
also, if it sat overnight, it is possible that whatever is floating around in your fuel filter has settled and blocked it. always start with the cheap stuff. usually about 8 bucks.

[madinmaryland]

10. Sounds like a starter issue,

though I hate to say this, but you might be out of gas or have a clogged fuel line.

[chaska]

14. No, new fuel filter and half a tank.

[MadHound]

11. I have the answer and solution for you

You have a crack in your distributor cap, and moisture is getting inside and playing havoc with your ignition system. How do I know this? First, I'm a pretty decent shade tree mechanic. Second, this happened to me a couple of days ago, and I fixed it. Now then, here is what you do.

First off, take off your distributor cap, and spray everything down with WD40, both inside the cap, and around the rotor. This will drive off the moisture. Let this sit for about fifteen minutes to allow the excess WD40 dry off, and then reattach your distributor cap. While you're waiting, take a close look at your rotor and spark plub wires, especially where they come inside the distributor cap. If any of the metal looks pitted or burned, it means that the water that was collected inside your distributor shorted out your ignition system

Your car should start now. When it does, drive to your local auto part store, and get yourself a new distributor cap, and if your rotor and spark plug wires looked bad, replace those with new also. Drive home, and replace cap, wires, and rotor. Make sure that your new rotor is in the same position your old one was when you took it off. Also make sure that your new spark plug wires connect up in the manner your old one did, ie plug one with distributor cap hole one, etc, etc. Don't be afraid to mark things in order to prevent confusion.

After you're done with this, button things up, and you're ready to roll. The next time it is damp or humid out, your car should start just fine.

Many miles of happy motoring!

[soothsayer]

12. distributor cap crack, if it's only rainy day related

[chaska]

17. Update:

I started removing the distributor - at least I think it's the distributor. I thought they were supposed to be round. This one's retangular, but it has all the spark plug wires terminating there, so it has to be, right?

But anyway, one of the bolts is going to require more tools than I have in my hand at the moment, so I thought that maybe I should try starting it again rather than go to all that trouble. So now it won't turn over, it just makes a rapid clicking sound.

What's up with that?

[haele]

18. Starter or starter soloniod...

That clicking sound is most likely the bendex arm not connecting with the flywheel. I've heard that sound many a time on the average Ford vehicles; their major downfall is that the starter/soloniod grouping only lasts as long as the battery does.

However, Laz suggests you might want to make sure your distributer cap is back on properly and tightly. You can get a clicking noise from that, also. If it doesn't go away after you do that, check the soloniod first.

Good luck -

Haele

[chaska]

19. I put the bolts back in. No change. Still clicking only.

And I haven't a clue what a solenoid is. I can get some help tomorrow - looks like I'll need it. But any and all advice is welcome and appreciated.