24/7 ServiceStarting problems
A car that is not starting is telling you something specific, and the sound it makes when you turn the key can be a useful clue. Use the symptoms below as a general guide. These are common patterns and possible causes only — they are not a diagnosis, and only a garage can establish what is actually wrong.
Find the description closest to your car. If more than one fits, note both — the combination is often more informative than either alone.
A rapid clicking or chattering from the engine bay as you turn the key. There is enough power to pull in the starter solenoid but not enough to spin the starter motor.
Commonly a discharged battery or a poor battery connection.
A single heavy clunk rather than rapid chattering, then nothing. The behaviour is different from a flat-battery click and points somewhere else.
Can involve the starter motor or solenoid rather than the battery alone.
The engine turns over, but slowly and heavily, sounding like it is dragging. It may eventually catch after several attempts, or not at all.
A weak or ageing battery, often exposed by cold weather.
The dash lights up normally, radio and central locking work, but the engine does nothing when you turn the key.
There can be enough charge for light loads and nowhere near enough for the starter.
Nothing. No warning lights, no interior lamp, no response from the key fob or central locking.
A completely flat battery or a disconnected or corroded terminal.
The starter turns the engine over at a healthy speed, but it never catches and runs.
Cranking suggests there may be enough power to turn the engine; the cause could lie with fuel, ignition or a sensor.
The engine fires for a second or two and then cuts out, sometimes repeatedly.
May point beyond a simple flat battery; worth having checked at a garage.
The car was completely normal yesterday and totally dead this morning, with no obvious cause.
An ageing battery, something left switched on, or a drain while parked.
Perfectly fine most of the year, reluctant or dead on frosty mornings.
A battery in decline, exposed by cold reducing output and thickening oil.
A boost got it going, then it failed again at the next stop or the following morning.
A battery not holding charge, or a charging system not replacing it.
Professional equipment was connected and the engine still would not start.
A jump start may not resolve the problem; a garage or recovery service may be the appropriate next step.
An automatic that refuses to crank in Park but responds in Neutral, or vice versa.
Often a switch or selector issue rather than an electrical supply problem.
Nothing here needs tools, and nothing here involves touching anything live. It's about noticing what's already in front of you.
Do the interior lights, dashboard and central locking work normally? If everything is dead, that points strongly towards the battery or a connection rather than anything else.
Automatics generally only crank in Park or Neutral, and a selector that hasn't fully engaged is a common, easily missed reason for nothing to happen.
Manuals with a safety interlock won't crank unless the clutch pedal is pressed right to the floor. Worth double-checking before assuming a fault.
A key fob with a flat internal battery, or a chip that isn't being read, can leave a car refusing to start even though the 12V battery is perfectly healthy.
If the bonnet is easy and safe to open, a visual check for a terminal that looks loose, corroded or disconnected can be informative. Don't attempt to clean, wiggle or reconnect anything yourself — leave that to whoever attends.
Two minutes of observation makes any call about a car not starting far more productive.
Is the car properly in Park or Neutral? Is the steering lock binding against the key? Is the immobiliser or alarm behaving normally? Is the key fob battery flat? These account for more non-starts than most drivers expect.
Turn the key once and pay attention to exactly what you hear: rapid clicking, one clunk, slow heavy cranking, healthy cranking with no fire, or complete silence. That description is the single most useful thing you can give us.
Do warning lights come on normally, dim as you turn the key, or not appear at all? Does the display reset mid-attempt? Voltage collapsing under load is very visible on the cluster.
Repeated cranking drains a weak battery further and can flood some engines. If two or three attempts have failed, stop and get help rather than making the situation worse.
A jump start solves one category of problem very well and does nothing at all for the others.
If the battery does look like the culprit, the practical detail lives on flat car battery and car jump start.
Some patterns point away from the battery, and in those cases a jump start may not resolve the problem.
In these cases the vehicle may need to be checked at a garage, or recovered to one, rather than a jump start. We provide jump start assistance only, so if a jump start does not resolve the problem the sensible next step is a garage or recovery service.
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