Q: My car won't start

asked by on December 11, 2016

My car started squeaking a few weeks ago so I changed my serpentine belt and it was fine for a few days until I turned my heat on then the squeak came back. I was driving home when it just died in the middle of the road while driving. I did some research an saw that it could be my crankshaft position sensor. So I replaced that. The old one was pretty worn. It started an ran but squeak was still there so I replaced my tensioner pulley. And for 2 days the squeak went away. I came home from work an the next morning my car wouldn't start an I noticed some heavy black dust on the alternator. It cranks but will not fire. I believe there's multiple problems but I don't know what. Pulley misalignment, bad alternator, bad belt again, loose belt, help please

My car has 126000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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This may be related to many different possibilities, some of which may be related to a lack of spark and some of which may be related to a fuel delivery problem or a combination of both. For example, if the ignition coils, crankshaft position sensor, spark plugs, spark plug wires or ignition module are faulty, this may cause the motor to not produce the spark needed to ignite the fuel in the motor. The fact that the car cranks over suggests that you have plenty of battery power which indicates that the alternator is functioning.

In the case of a fuel delivery problem, this may be related to low fuel pressure, faulty or dirty fuel injectors, a faulty or dirty idle air control valve (this relays information about air intake to the computer which makes fuel adjustments), or potentially a faulty fuel pressure regulator or fuel pump. Fuel delivery problems will typically not allow the proper amount of fuel to be delivered to the cylinders which results in a lean fuel condition which can cause backfiring or simply cause the motor not to start as a result of fuel starvation. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your no start problem.

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