i dont know if its my starter, or its the spark plugs. sometimes when i turn the keys it will start. but if i start my car a lot, sometimes nothing happens. doesnt turn but my lights work so its not the battery. when i roll start it and let it get warm, i turn the keys to see if my plugs spark. sometimes it does and sometimes it doesnt. my friend said something about the autostart could of messed it up but i dont think so. any suggestions?

 

double post

 

I had the same problem with my old '87 T2.. I was thinking it was the starter, but I'm not sure... Does the starter turn over??

 

If the car starts when you bumpstart it.. and then runs fine, I wouldn't think it was your spark plugs. Your starter is hooped I would think

 

what is hooped?

 

no nothing turns. after i roll start it, it would turn every other time the rest of the day. couple of days later, it wont turn at all. well maybe at random times but now i have to roll start it most of the time.

 

do you hear your starter click but nothing happens? take it out and take it to a auto parts store they can tell you if the starter is good or bad. if thats your case. my car did the same, i was to lazy to take of the starter but after a while with my g/f she got all mad so yeah , i would have to push it while she kicked the clutch lol.

 

Have the starter checked. Also, have you ignition lock cylinder checked and see if it is getting good voltage. Try connecting jumper cables from you battery directly to your starter and see if it works then. If it does, you might have corroded wiring between your starter and battery, which isnt uncommon for older cars.

 

It sounds like a starter issue, if that tests out OK, then it could be a faulty nuetral safety switch

 

Oddly, and Simply enough, try jumping it off or using a different battery, or get your battery tested at the parts store. Mine did this exact same thing a few years back. I had a dead cell in the battery and sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I know it sounds far too simple, especially considering the fact that it is intermittent, but it does happen.

Everything above is what I would check next, not first.

Keep in mind, I could listen to the radio for hours off that battery, but the car would not start off of it every time.

 

what kind year/model do you have?

 

I have an 87 my self and it was doing that, only strange thing is that it didnt do it befor i changed the clutch. Afterwards, intermittently worked. I got one off of a 86 at the junk yard im hoping will work better, it seems less worn and has a bosch reman sticker on it.

Is what mine did was id push in the clutch and turn it over except, i would hear a click, and the fuel pump would come on. and that would be it. Hitting the starter sometimes would help, but usually it was a luck of the draw sort of thing. If it still does it i'm going to rewire the starter.

Hope I may have added something to this.

 

I had a similar problem to yours. Kinda. Once in a while I'd go to start my car and the starter wouldn't crank, it would just click. After a while I wound up getting a new bigger battery (Die-Hard, yo!) with a lot more CCA than the previous one. Haven't had a starting problem since.

Also, the previous battery had around 12.3v, which is still good/decent. I guess it was just old and weak.

Like the dude above said, do the easy tests first.

 

i had a couple of problems similar to yours.. check your battery terminals.. if they are loose then that could be it, however you would probably notice that when you hit the starter it usually kills every thing for a second then all lights are a little dimmer... for that matter i would check all wiring connections down to your starter.. then i had an annoying problem with the clutch safety switch.. you might check that

TehMonkay by "Hitting the starter sometimes would help" you mean actually beating on it then i would check the connection at the starter you probably just didnt tighten it enough or the power side is close enough to something where it grounds out so not enough amps get to the starter.. u can check the later easily by looking under the car for sparks while someone hits the starter..