hey guys, im writing cause my wife's 96 geo prizm (read toyota corolla) isn't turning on.

it's not like my protege that cranked but wouldnt fire up when i fuxored the vaf.

to me it seems like the starter is gone.

basically you (I) turn the key to the ignition and all i hear is a click and a buzzing. sometimes the car actually cranks and fires up, and sometimes it doesnt.

fyi the car is a 5spd manual and yes, the clutch is in all the way. if the clutch isnt in all the way, the click doesnt happen or the buzzing.

i know her car isnt a pro but u guys seem to know alot and cars are fairly similar. thx for the help guys.

oh, and do you all think i could fix it myself? i called meineke and they said if it is the starter, it would cost $400US to fix.

 

Starter. Does it turn over slow? Might be the battery ..Jon

 

check for battery, turn on the interior lights, and crank it over, if the lights dim bad, its most likely your battery.

 

doens't turn over at all. there is no cranking sound or anything.

as for elctronics, it's not the battery cause it was just replaced within 2 years... i'll take a voltmeter to it to double check tho.

any other ideas?

 

might be a starter, try hitting the starter with a hammer, or something like it, maybe your selonoid is froze.

 

that idea sounds a little to crazy for even the likes of me. the engine does fire up sometimes. last i tried, all i got was the buzzing noise. then, i turned the ignition to off, then tried to start again and it worked. so i shut the car off again, and waited a minute. At that point i tried turning the car back on and all i got was the buzzing. So... i switched it back off then tried again and it worked.

im clueless.

 

Sounds like a battery issue to me even though it may be 2 years old.

Turn on the headlights while the car is off and measure the voltage across the battery. What do you measure? I'd say if it's less than 11-11.5V, then it's a battery issue. Headlights place a significant load on the electrical system.

 

yea as soon as i go get my friend's voltmeter i'm goin to check it out with stuff on/off and report back my findings.

 

**** around witht the wires going to the starter after you check the battery

 

get a strip of amp wire and run it from the power on the battery to the power on the starter. If your starter jumps then it is good.
When you jack the car up and crawl under the car you will see the starter. When you look on the starter there will be like a little cap on it, flip it open and there will be a screw in there .. put the power wire on it and see if the starter jumps. Make sure both front tires are off the ground OR the car is in neutral. If it is not that , then you can move on from there
Bruce

 

ok just got home from work and tested the battery using a voltmeter . . . ~15v with everything off, ~14.4v with headlights.

i'm not a seasoned mechanic or anything so im a little timid about trying to jump the starter.

instead, i'll first try to check the wires that lead to it.