Nobody wants their car to break down. To keep your vehicle running well, you need to provide it with regular service. Have the oil changed a few times per year, rotate the tires, and check and replace the brakes as needed. A good auto care service will take care of all these maintenance tasks for you. However, you may still want to know more about the processes they follow, when service is needed, and what other types of services may help your car last longer. We've build this website for people like you — responsible car owners who just want to learn more. Enjoy!
There are many reasons that a car won't start, and often they are related to fuel or spark but determining what is going on can be complicated on newer cars. If your vehicle has an ECU (engine control unit) that controls the fuel and spark, your vehicle needs to go to a car repair shop that can scan the computer and check all the parts that could be causing it not to start.
Fuel Supply
All internal combustion engines that use gasoline require three things to run. First, you need fuel, and if it is in the tank but is not getting to the carburetor or fuel injection system, the engine will not run. There are several reasons that the fuel may not be getting to the engine, including a fuel pump that is failing or a fuel filter that is dirty and blocked.
Fuel starvation inside the engine may let the engine start and then sputter to a stop several times. Without the right amount of fuel, the engine can not sustain proper combustion, and a car repair shop will need to track down the problem and fix it.
Air Flow
It is critical that the internal combustion engine in your car is also getting the proper amount of air to the engine. A dirty air filter can cause a restriction that will reduce the air going into the engine, and the air/fuel mix ratio can be affected enough to cause the engine to run rich or flood with fuel and not run at all.
On fuel-injected engines, the air is often metered through a throttle body, and if even one of the sensors on the throttle body is malfunctioning, the engine will not run correctly. The car repair shop can use a diagnostic computer to check the sensors and replace any that are not working correctly.
Coils and Spark Plugs
The final leg of this symbiotic trio is the spark. The internal combustion engine needs to have a strong spark that is timed properly to ignite the fuel and air in the engine. Without the spark, the engine is not going to run no matter how hard you try.
The coils and the spark plugs work together to generate and deliver the spark when needed to make power inside the engine. The ECU controls the spark on newer engines, and the car repair shop you are working with will need to check the timing and strength of the spark to determine if it is sufficient.
In all of these instances, the hardest part of the repair is diagnosing the problem. A car repair shop has the equipment and the knowledge to do that for you and make the repairs that resolve the issue.
Share23 February 2021
