Q: Car won't start

asked by on September 14, 2016

The vehicle suddenly wouldn't start about a month ago. AAA said the battery was good, that I had a problem with the starter. I replaced the starter, battery, spark plugs, air filter, PCV hose (since it was disintegrating). The car still won't start. Any ideas what could be the problem?

My car has 140000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hello there, thank you for asking about your Saturn. Check to see if you have fuel getting to the spark plugs. When you replaced the old plugs after cranking the car, were they wet with fuel? If so, then you know you don’t have a fuel delivery issue. Also, check to be sure the spark plugs are actually getting spark to them. This can be done (carefully) by pulling the plug out and cranking the car while the plug is attached to the wire and laying it on the side of the cylinder head away from the hole. Have someone just quickly bump the starter and you should see a small spark coming from the gap on the plug. If so, you know you have spark. If you do not have spark, you will need to start working your way back from the spark plugs, testing things to see where the power fails. I would recommend having an expert from Your Mechanic come to your home to diagnose your starting problem and replace the spark plugs if necessary.

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