Posted on 12/06/2012 5:34:39 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Can you beleive both cars towed home within 24 hours! Hers I think has a fuel starvation problem of some kind. It'll turn over but won't start. On my old thing the ignition won't turn with the key in it. Suggestions? I don't know how she'll be going to work until I get one fixed.
How about make and model to start....
hers: do you hear cylinder firing or is it just turning over ?
his: you mean you turn ignition to start and nothing ? like dead battery ? lights work as bright as always ?
Just start drinking. Try again in the morning. Tell your wife to start walking to work now. She’ll get there in time.
Budget? I’d recommend going through Craigslist or cars.com (private listings) and having a mechanic on standby.
Car 1: Out of gas
Car 2: Wrong key
I had a 94 blazer that would turn over but not start. I shot some ether into the intake and it ran for a while and quit. It was a fuel pump in the tank. If the key will not run in the ignition it sounds like the switch is shot. The tumblers in the switch could have come loose. Know knowing what you have makes diagnosis just guesses.
On the key deal, my brother has a Plymouth that has started doing this. I haven’t researched the replacement of the integrated lock mechanism but I’m betting it won’t be cheap. For now he inserts the key and gently taps on it while rotating the key. It seems to giggle the tumblers into cooperating.
Did her car just quit while it was running?
Hers: 1999 Kia Sephia .... mine: 1984 Mercedes 300D turbo diesel
Well, sounds like the fuel pump on her car.. maybe a lot of other things.. and, as for the ignition that won’t turn, I had that happen to an old chevy PU I owned. I stuck a big screw driver in the key hole and latched a pair of vise grips on it.. and I turned it. It worked after that.. didn’t need a key, but no one knew that...
If none of these are the problem you have an electrical problem and are screwed.
In all seriousness, I don't even know if cars have these same components anymore.
On the key problem. Try moving the steering wheel side to side while working the key. Sometimes the steering wheel locking pall will cause the ingnition lock to hang. Try using your spare key it might be in better shape than the one you have been using. Put some light lube on the key and work it around in the lock.
As mentioned upthread, give her (the Kia not your wife) a shot of ether.
If it fires, probably the fuel pump, especially if no “check engine” light is on.
Ethanol content I’d wager . . .
You may have to turn hard on the steering wheel to get the tension off of it to get the key to turn.
Agree the fuel pump might be the problem, but best to check fuel filter first. Always look at cheapest, simplest causes...
I had the check engine light come on in my Sentra, took it to the dealer, he put it on the computer and it said EGR valve.
So drove it home and started working on removing egr, and while getting ready, noticed that a rubber hose that did about a 90 degree turn going to the EGR had a monster crack in it.
Replace the four inches of hose, light went out, never came back on. Worked like a champ.
About a 75 cent fix. Beats the hell out of taking to a mechanic who would charge me 300 bucks for a new egr valve!
Make sure your car is in park all the way.
Here’s where I do mah searchin’...
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w123-e-ce-d-cd-td/1193444-steering-wheel-locked-key-wont-turn.html
I use google like this:
1984 300d ignition won’t turn site:www.benzworld.org/
Sweet! Did you patent that?
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