(no subject)

[apocalypsos]

I have had Joe Bag-O'-Lugnuts in my possession one whole day.

I just tried to start the engine, aaaaaaaaand nothin'.

That sound I'm making right now? You might recognize that noise as "hysterical fucking laughter."

Okay, see, the power's fine and everything, the engine's just not doing anything, and hopefully it's not anything serious, but with my luck, it's not only something serious, it's that one more try at the ignition will start global thermonuclear war. And kill kittens. And give me split ends.

EDIT: Never mind. It turns out that my parents forgot to tell me that if Joe does that, I have to shift out of park and back again, THEN turn on the ignition, thereby making it the first car I've ever had to jerk off sometimes to get to start. :)

Comments

[channonyarrow.livejournal.com]

Considering that it's a five hundred dollar car...it's a five hundred dollar car. But when you say the power's fine, what does that mean? Do you get ignition noises, or do you turn the key and just get bupkes? Or does the power mean that the clock comes on, assuming it's digital and you get nothing else?

I cannot resist attempting to diagnose car problems.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, it's a five hundred dollar car, so God knows I'm not expecting much, and I'm getting it in spades. :)

I just turn the key and get everything but the engine. The radio turns on, the dashboard lights come on, but the engine ... nope.

My mother just called and said that the guy who used to own it said sometimes you have to take it out of park and then put it back into park and THEN start it. Which ... HEE, car with quirks.

I'm far too amused by this considering I need this car to get a job. :)

[channonyarrow.livejournal.com]

Hopefully that solves it, with the quirky thing, but it's definitely not your alternator if you've got power. Other than that - it could be anything from the ignition forward, but if you hear a growling, grinding sort of noise when you try to start it, it's not the ignition. Otherwise, it very well could be.

Hurrah quirky cars!

[loesaurus.livejournal.com]

Haahahaah! Oh, that's awesome. Cars that need foreplay!


Ya know...my lawnmower needs foreplay....

[corruptedjasper.livejournal.com]

If you hear nothing, and the motor doesn't turn over, then probably the starter motor relay is not even getting juice (if that fails, you get a fairly hefty clickything from the engine compartment, but the starter motor still doesn't turn). Given that diddling the joystick helps, though, I would assume that there's an electrical switch in the auto tranny[1] that prevents you from attempting to start the car unless the transmission is in Park (I think I remember Click and Clack mentioning that at some point, too), and it's quirky. If it ever fails completely, it should be a 5 minute job to bridge that switch and take it out of the circuit completely. However, that does mean the safety feature vanishes, too. OTOH, actually *fixing* the problem is likely to be so much more expensive it's probably worth the extra attention you'll have to pay. Oh and as a bonus, if your engine conks out and won't restart when you're on a train track intersection, you can attempt to move the car out of the way on the starter motor, just like a car with a manual.



[1] Okay, so, yes, I'm doing that deliberately.