Car Won't Start? Find a mechanic near Plymouth

Hopefully our FAQ section has answered some of the questions you may have about getting your car to start. However, if you would like more information, we have the produced the following guide to help you understand the subject in greater detail.

There are a variety of reasons for a car not starting as there are many systems which effect the mechanism for starting an engine.

If your car won’t start it can be extremely irritating as there may be no way of knowing what the problem is. You may have a minor issue that you could resolve with a small amount of maintenance or it could be a major problem that requires a professionally trained mechanic to diagnose and repair.

If your car is not starting the best thing to do is get a mechanic to come out to where you live and take a look at the vehicle which you can do by entering your details in the form above.

If you would like to learn what the problem may be, read on!

No start on a rainy day

If your car seems to be working fine on a dry day but won’t start when it’s raining, it’s likely that the distributer cap has moisture inside. Fortunately, this is not disastrous and will not require a huge amount of repair work from a mechanic. All that is involved in the service is using solvent to evaporate moisture from the unit.

If you think you can carry out this job and know where your distribution cap is, it is essential that you keep the following points in mind.

• Only use a lint free rag
• Only use clean solvent as even a speck of petrol mixed in will cause an explosion within your car.

This is the easiest job to self-diagnose and complete without the help of a mechanic however the following issues should be referred onto a professional should you see these symptoms in your own car.

• The car engine starts but then dies
• The car engine makes a clicking noise and won’t start
• The car cranks over but won’t start
• The car is silent when you turn the key in the ignition
• The car won’t start on cold mornings
• The engine misses while idling
• The engine misses or hesitates during acceleration
• The engine knocks or pings

There is no way of knowing what could be causing you an issue so it is essential that you have a mechanic assess your car asap. If your car battery has died this will be an easier problem to resolve as all that is required is a jump from another vehicle.

If you need to jump start your car due to a dead battery, follow these instructions. However, don’t forget to have your vehicle checked by a local Plymouth based mechanic even if a jump start works.

• Find your jump cables
• Line another car up and park it, leaving both ignitions off
• Remove the caps from each battery
• Connect the cables
• Attach one of the red clips to the positive terminal of your battery (it will have POS or a plus sign on it and it may be bigger than the negative terminal)
• Attach the red clip on the other end to the terminal of the other car.
• Attach one of the black clips to the negative terminal of the working cars battery
• Attach the other end of the black clip to a surface area of unpainted metal on the car that isn’t working (somewhere far away from the carburettor or battery)
• Try to start your engine

If the engine starts, brilliant! Take a drive around Plymouth as this will recharge the battery.

If it doesn’t, go back and make sure the cables are all attached properly and let the other car run for five minutes or so.

If the car still won’t start, then it is likely your car has a major issue that you should get a mechanic to look as soon as possible.

Finding a mechanic you can trust to do a good job and charge a fair price is not always easy. We work with a network of 17,749 mechanics and garages across the UK so we can find a competitive repair deal for you.

To find the best garages available in Plymouth:

• Enter your car registration number
• Give us a few details about your car and your requirements
• We’ll send you a great selection of quotes from mechanics and garages in Plymouth

You can then compare the quotes and read reviews from previous customers to find the best deal in your area, before booking the repair online.