What Are the Reasons for a Car Not Starting and Making No Sound?
2 Answers
When driving, you may encounter situations where the car fails to start. Below are specific reasons explaining why a car may not start and make no sound: 1. Frozen exhaust pipe: The external characteristics include foggy cylinder pressure, normal fuel and power supply, but the car won't start. This situation is likely to occur in vehicles with very low usage frequency, such as those used for very short distances between home and work, where water vapor from engine combustion freezes in the muffler of the exhaust pipe. Solution: Very simple—place the car in a warm environment, and once the ice melts, the car can start naturally. A thorough solution is to drive at high speed for a while; the heat from the exhaust will completely melt and expel the ice. 2. Valve sticking: In winter, especially after using unclean gasoline, the gum in gasoline that cannot burn will accumulate near the intake and exhaust valves and the combustion chamber, making it difficult to start the car on cold mornings, or even preventing it from starting. Solution: Drip some engine oil into the combustion chamber, and the car can usually start. After starting, go to a service station for a no-disassembly cleaning. In severe cases, the cylinder head may need to be disassembled and cleaned. 3. Poor ignition system performance: On very cold days, due to low intake air temperature, fuel does not atomize well in the cylinder. If combined with insufficient ignition energy, this can lead to cylinder flooding, where excessive fuel accumulates in the cylinder, exceeding the ignition limit concentration and preventing the car from starting. Solution: Remove the spark plugs and wipe off the oil between the electrodes. After reinstalling, the car should start. A thorough solution is to inspect the ignition system and address the causes of low ignition energy, such as spark plug electrode gaps, ignition coil energy, and the condition of high-voltage wires. 4. Fuel flow obstruction: The characteristic symptom is no fuel pressure in the engine's fuel supply pipe. This situation often occurs on very cold mornings due to long-term dirt in the fuel lines. At very low temperatures, water and debris mix and block the fuel lines, preventing the car from starting. Solution: Place the car in a warm environment, and it should start after a while. Alternatively, clean the fuel lines for a thorough solution. 5. Battery depletion: The characteristic symptom is the starter beginning to turn but not fast enough (lacking power), and later the starter only makes noise without turning. Low winter temperatures and forgetting to turn off certain electrical devices can prevent the car from starting, especially with long-term short-distance, low-speed use in winter, which can cause the battery voltage to drop below the rated value, making starting and normal operation impossible. Solution: Call the service station for assistance, jump-start the car, or temporarily start it, but then you must go to the service station to recharge the battery.
I've been driving for over a decade and encountered this no-sound startup issue several times. The most frustrating was one winter morning when turning the key felt like twisting air, with dashboard lights dim as will-o'-the-wisps. Turned out the battery was completely dead - related to the car's age, as batteries typically last 4-5 years. My advice: first check if headlights work; if they won't light up, it's almost certainly a battery issue. Another time, the starter motor was seized - the mechanic said its carbon brushes were worn flat, making jump-starting useless. Actually, oxidized terminals are easily overlooked; too much patina impairs conductivity, but sandpaper cleaning fixes it. I've seen all these problems at my buddy's repair shop - if you can't handle it yourself, better call a tow truck than mess around blindly.
