No Start Diagnosis at Johnny's Automotive

Everything starts with one question: does the engine turn over? That single fork splits a no start into two completely different investigations, and getting it right in the first thirty seconds saves a lot of wasted work.

If it doesn't crank, we follow the path that carries power to the starter and the signal that tells it to run: battery condition and terminals, cables and grounds, the ignition switch, the neutral safety or clutch switch, the relay, and the starter circuit itself. Voltage drop testing along that path shows where the power is disappearing rather than which part looks oldest. Battery testing and starter behavior each have their own page on this site. What this page owns is deciding which of them you're actually dealing with.

If it cranks but never fires, the engine is missing one of three things: fuel, spark, or compression. We check fuel pressure and whether the injectors are being commanded, look for spark, and run a cranking compression test if the first two check out. A timing belt or chain that has jumped shows up here as well. Security and immobilizer faults get ruled out early, because a car that cranks strong and won't fire is sometimes just a key the car stopped recognizing.

On getting it here: if it won't crank at all, tow it. If it's starting sometimes, driving it in is a gamble, and a car that dies in a left turn lane costs more than the tow did. Call the closest of our six shops first and describe exactly what it does when you turn the key. What we hear on the phone sometimes changes the answer.

At the end you get the named cause and a written quote. The repair decision stays yours.