98 Corolla Wont Start

[ansarvehicleservices]

Hello

98 Corolla 1.3 non vvti

Went shops, parked up on a slight kerb, came back car would not start, could hear relay clicks inside car but nothing in engine bay, later tapped the alternator and it started, next day same thing would not start, tapped alternator it ran for a few seconds then stopped, wont start again, checked alternator fuse 100a looks blown,

Any tips?

[TomdeGuerre]

Are you sure it was the alternator you tapped and not the starter? It’s quite often the case that a sticky starter can be coaxed back into life by striking the motor casing.

[Wayne2015]

Used to have a car with a sticky starter motor.

It tried to turn, but wouldn't start a few times...the following 2 usually works:

1. Whack the starter motor with a long spanner or

2. Wait 5-10 minutes

If not that , some say it could be dry soldering in the ignition PCB boards - where old soldering has come lose from the contacts on the board...

U Mentioned a blown fuse....at least get that replaced to see fix whatelse is not working...

If it is the starter motor

Either buy a refurbed one (or get yours refurbed for about £50 in 2-3 days)....

[ansarvehicleservices]

Definitely the alternator, it starts when someone taps on it whilst you turn the key, but if you switch it off, it wont start again by itself, i got a second opinion on the fuse and it looks fine, just the plastic cover is missing, i also checked the alternator with the simple test of turning on interior light and turning on accessories it did not dim drastically, there are no clicking whirring noises or obvious signs so its making me go nuts

[TomdeGuerre]

Can't say I've ever encountered this before. Without getting into the theory of how an alternator works and all the rest of it, have you tried simply disconnecting the alternator to see if that makes any difference? ie whether the engine starts ok once the alternator is disconnected. Obviously if it did start you wouldn't want to rev it too high.

[oldcodger]

Assume all your references to 'starting' mean just the turning of the Starter Motor and not the engine actually running; when you say " it ran for a few seconds"

Would think the alternator could only stop the Starter Motor running if it somehow shorted out the electrical system, which I would have thought would blow the fuse or cause a burning smell.

One of the most common random starting problems is a faulty starter switch on the end of the ignition barrel, that can make poor contact, so sometimes causing the relay to chatter as it makes and breaks its switch connection.

Could also be a faulty relay or less likey faulty wiring - have you checked the wiring connections on the starter motor, usually well protected, but someone might have been messing ..?

Assume from your name you are a garage , so expect you know to disconnect the Battery before checking those power leads/ connections,don't want you blaming me for burning your fingers off !

[ansarvehicleservices]

Hi

Yes checked and cleaned Battery terminals, checked wires cannot see any tampering!

The first time it would not start, it started after connecting jump leads and then tapping/hitting alternator, then drove it around for a while turned it off, it started on its own.

The next day, came to car it started again, drove for a short while switched off, would not start, so tapped alternator it started.

It started again with jump leads and tapping on alternator.

The problem is there are no obvious signs, it could be Battery, wiring, barrel, alternator or starter, its such a pesky problem!

I dont want to have to spend £££'s on it so im trying to isolate the fault

Battery shows good voltage, wires dont look tampered with, alternator works fine when car is running, starter works fine too when it does start.

Arrrghh!, ill try making a video and putting it up

[oldcodger]

Would test /replace the easy /cheap things first.

Have not done it on the Corolla, though have seen others post the same problem /cure with their corollas; believe its exactly the same as my old Avensis where the ignition barrel / starter switch section was failing; all you need to do is either test its contacts with an ohm meter , or as I did, splice in two wires and add in a manual switch to bypass /parallel the orignal contacts.

If thats ok, then swap or replace the starter relay incase its faulty; checking its plug in contacts are clean /good.

[ansarvehicleservices]

Its not even throwing up fault code never seen a car just refuse to start, good advice ill report back if i find out what caused it, its been a reliable car for past year, saying that i recently got it MOTED, and noticed the air temp sensor on the airbox was unplugged

[ansarvehicleservices]

changing the starter motor, it was sticking so fingers crossed should be sorted

[ansarvehicleservices]

It was the starter, now seems good, i thought these cars do 500k miles with no probs, ha
its been a good runner so ill forgive it

thanks for the help

[Wayne2015]

It was the starter, now seems good, i thought these cars do 500k miles with no probs, ha

its been a good runner so ill forgive it

thanks for the help

Well done, u!