Car won’t start and the cd player ejected a cd without me touching it. What’s going on?
Hello, this morning when I got to work I tried to crank my car and it wouldn't turn over. When I tried to crank it again the cd player ejected a cd, the time went to 00:00. Right now on the display it says battery saver active, service power steering, and service battery charging system. The check engine light is on and a little red battery light is on. Right now I have 10.1 volts and it usually holds around that. A guy put a box on it and when he did it went up to around 12 but still couldn't crank. What do you think it could be?
My car has 30327 miles.
My car has an automatic t
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hi and thanks for contacting Your Mechanic. You had mentioned that your battery had 10.1 volts at the time and said that is what the battery usually has. A fully charged battery will have 12.6 volts, a 75% charged battery will have 12.4 volts, a 50% charged battery will have 12.2 volts, and a 25 % charged battery will have 12.0 volts. Any thing under 12.0 volts is considered a dead battery (a battery without a charge). This will cause lots of problems with the vehicle. The computer in vehicles of 2009 and newer require a minimum of 11.5 volts to make the computer function. A computer will keep its memory with a minimum of 9.6 volts, but it will not function. I recommend replacing charging the battery to a full charge and rechecking your symptoms that are occurring. Now, if the vehicle was driven around with a low charged battery, it is possible that the battery could have a bad burned cell which will cause the battery to drain back down fast. In this case, the battery should be replaced. Check the alternator for operation when the engine is running and see if there is a voltage of 13.5 to 14.7. Then turn on the head lights with the brights on and operate all of the windows at the same time. Check to see if the lights dim out. If the lights dim out, then the alternator may not be producing enough amperage and it may need to be replaced. If you need further assistance troubleshooting your vehicle, then seek out a technician, such as one from Your Mechanic, that can assist you with your low voltage battery and electrical issue within the cab.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
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This is commonly caused by dirty or damaged tracks on the disc. Before assuming that the problem is with the player, test a few newer CDs and see if the skipping behavior continues. If it doesn`t, the the problem is the disc and you`ll need to look into cleaning or repairing the disc so that it can play normally again.
Clean your discs – Grime and dirt can make it hard for the drive laser to read small groves located on your disc. If the disc is dirty, you can try cleaning it with filter water and a clean cloth; or better yet, a specialized disc cleaning solution and cloth can be purchased in most electronic stores.
If your car won`t start but the battery is good, the most common cause is a faulty starter – though it could also be to do with your fuel. You may have insufficient fuel to get the car going.
A burned CD might not work in your car`s CD player for a few reasons, all related to the media type (for example, CD-R, CD-RW, or DVD-R), music format, burn method, and the head unit`s capabilities. Some head units are touchier than others, and some recognize a limited set of file types.
Hold the power and eject buttons simultaneously
Most car audio systems have a reset feature of sorts for their CD drive. Start by turning your car on, and then turning it off. With the car off, hold the stereo power button and the eject button simultaneously for at least 10 seconds.
Some CD players are designed to only playback commercially-produced CDs. Depending on the type of recordable CD media that you are using (such as CD-R or CD-RW discs), not all CD players will support the playback of the different types or recordable discs available.
Audio CDs always contain uncompressed PCM stereo audio at 44100 Hz sample rate, 16-bit sample format. So to burn an audio CD, export the file(s) you want to burn as a 44100 Hz 16-bit stereo WAV or AIFF file. To configure Audacity for this: In Audio Settings Preferences, set the Project Rate to 44100 Hz.
When you attempt to start the vehicle, is there a clicking sound, but it won`t turn over? That may be a good sign. If a jump gets the car running, but won`t turn over again once it`s shut off, a dead battery is likely the cause.
If you`ve replaced your battery but the engine still won`t start, it could actually be an engine problem. A seized engine won`t turn over, and that often resembles a bad starter or dead battery. If you suspect that your problem stems from an engine issue, it could take hours to diagnose and repair.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
Car won’t start and the cd player ejected a cd without me touching it. What’s going on?
ANSWER : Hi and thanks for contacting Your Mechanic. You had mentioned that your battery had 10.1 volts at the time and said that is what the battery usually has. A fully charged battery will have 12.6 volts, a 75% charged battery will have 12.4 volts, a 50% charged battery will have 12.2 volts, and a 25 % charged battery will have 12.0 volts. Any thing under 12.0 volts is considered a dead battery (a battery without a charge). This will cause lots of problems with the vehicle. The computer in vehicles of 2009 and newer require a minimum of 11.5 volts to make the computer function. A computer will keep its memory with a minimum of 9.6 volts, but it will not function. I recommend replacing charging the battery to a full charge and rechecking your symptoms that are occurring. Now, if the vehicle was driven around with a low charged battery, it is possible that the battery could have a bad burned cell which will cause the battery to drain back down fast. In this case, the battery should be replaced. Check the alternator for operation when the engine is running and see if there is a voltage of 13.5 to 14.7. Then turn on the head lights with the brights on and operate all of the windows at the same time. Check to see if the lights dim out. If the lights dim out, then the alternator may not be producing enough amperage and it may need to be replaced. If you need further assistance troubleshooting your vehicle, then seek out a technician, such as one from Your Mechanic, that can assist you with your low voltage battery and electrical issue within the cab.
My car will not start Intermittently. I purchased a new battery 2 weeks ago and yesterday the car wouldn’t start. Got a jump and
ANSWER : The issue you are having is probably due to an intermittent fault in the starter motor itself or a deficiency in the starter electrical circuit, for example a large voltage drop due to a poor ground or a high resistance connection. These issues can be readily diagnosed and resolved on a mobile basis if you request a hard starting diagnostic. If you request that diagnostic, the responding certified mechanic will get this resolved for you promptly. Based on Toyota’s Factory Service Manual, the battery should not be disconnected if the vehicle engine is running. The battery acts as a large resistive voltage sink and consequently taking the battery out of the circuit, while the alternator is still running, can create a voltage spike on the car’s electrical system which is not good for voltage sensitive components such as the engine computer. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.
The car crank but won’t start
ANSWER : Hi there. This does sound like an issue with the wiring. If the check engine light is coming on every now and then this means that when it does not come on there is no power to the computer. This can be the wiring harness issue or an ignition switch problem. I would have to test for voltage to the computer when the problem is occurring to be able to find where the issue lies. If you need assistance, a certified YourMechanic technician can be dispatched to your location to inspect your vehicle’s non-start issue and suggest any necessary repairs.
Car won’t start. The check engine light, battery light, and oil change light are coming on. I tried jumping the car and nothing happened. Why won’t my car start?
ANSWER : Hi and thanks for contacting Your Mechanic. If sometimes your vehicle will start with the new alternator and sometimes it won’t, then there is a loose connection in your charging system. Check all of the wires to the alternator and to the battery. Make sure that the battery cables are clean and tight. Make sure that the wires to the starter are clean and tight. A loose ground to the ignition system will cause the vehicle to not crank over. Check all of the ground wires from the battery to the starter. Make sure that they are clean and tight. If you need further assistance troubleshooting your no start situation, then seek out a technician, such as one from Your Mechanic, that can assist you.
Map sensor car won’t start up good ?
ANSWER : Your MAP sensor is an important input for your computer. It helps determine the load on the engine to calculate the correct amount of fuel to inject. It sometimes takes a few seconds for the vehicle to realize that the sensor is not producing a good signal.
At that point, it will use other methods to determine the fuel rate, such as pre-programmed fuel maps, throttle position, etc. I would suggest replacing the MAP sensor and retesting. If you would like to have it checked first, a certified technician from YourMechanic will be able to scan your vehicle and test components to determine the root cause of your starting issue before making a repair.
Vehicle won’t start, once it’s jump started it only stays running until you turn it off, then it work start again without jumping.
ANSWER : Hi there. There could be two problems here. It is possible that your battery is bad and will not take a charge from your alternator while driving. In that case every time you shut your car off you will not have enough juice to start it again. Inspect your battery – it should have at least 12.5 to 13 volts to start your car, if it doesn’t you will need to replace the battery. The second problem could be that your alternator is bad and not charging your battery, in this case you will need to replace your alternator. Both the battery and the alternator can be tested in your car. If you would like to have the car checked for you, a certified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to diagnose the starting problem and proceed with repairs.
What do I do when the car won’t crank and shows ‘check starting system’? But after a couple of trials it starts without any issues
ANSWER : Hello. The first thing to understand is that the check starting system light illuminates for several reasons. The starting light will give you a diagnostic troubleshooting code when the vehicle is scanned with the light on. Due to the fact the car eventually started without any issues, its likely the actual starter and battery (main components) are working just fine. Your issue is probably a bad connection or a fuse. One of the fuses is located under the drivers fuse box under the dash. Check the diagram on the panel for the exact fuse number. Also make sure the connections are all secure. There are some electrical tests that you can perform, but you need to replicated the no start situation before we can do that. If you seek professional help, it will be the exact same situation, and this can lead to hours of diagnostic work and hefty bill. Unfortunately this means the you will want to wait until the vehicle wont start, and then test for available voltage at the starter.
My car wouldn’t start after battery was just replaced my car cd player is running after I turn the car off
ANSWER : Your CD player definitely should not be running after the key is off and out of the car. It will certainly drain your battery. So the good news is you can be reasonably certain about what is killing your battery. I would remove any CD’s from the player and see if it still spins with the key out of the car. If you need to go a step further, you will need to disconnect the power wire to the stereo. It is located at the back of the stereo and this will require some dash disassembly to access the rear of the radio.
You will want to disconnect the stereo overnight to see if the battery dies. A quicker more accurate way of testing for a draw, which is what this is called, is to use an amp meter at the battery to confirm the stereo is the source of the draw. Most multimeters have amp settings that can be used up to a ten amp draw. You will need to connect the leads of the multimeter inline with the positive battery cable. Do not turn the key on while the multimeter is inline with the battery. The current will blow the fuse in the multimeter then you won’t be able to complete the test. Also, you will need to wait somewhere between ten minutes and an hour for all the modules in the car to go to sleep. Modules that are on will draw current until they go to sleep. You are looking for a draw of more than a half of an amp continuous.
With the multimeter connected, disconnect the radio connector and see if the draw goes away. You will see this reflected in the multimeter amperage reading. This draw test can be used to locate any draw that may be occurring. If you find the radio is not the culprit, you should then begin removing fused one at a time to see what is causing the draw. When the draw goes away after removing a fuse, something on that fused circuit is causing the draw.From there you will need to study a wiring diagram to see what is on that circuit.
Of course, all this takes an understanding of electricity to do these test. If you should need assistance with this, I recommend the following inspection; Battery is dead inspection from a certified technician from YourMechanic.
Good luck!
