No Crank, No Start Diagnosis - EricTheCarGuy

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Whenever you have a no start condition when attempting to start your vehicle it's important to make the distinction between "no crank, no start" and "crank, no start" situations as they are treated differently. This video covers what I do when confronted with a 'no crank, no start' situation and in this case it's a worst case scenario so be sure to watch till the end.

Starter diagnosis video

No start basics video

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[lanielane]

Can I just say I am a single mother who knows nothing about cars but the way you explained everything in this video allowed me to understand what you were saying without confusion.

[conscience-commenter]

This is why an honest mechanic is worth his or her weight in gold . The first thing to check is the oil level . If the stick comes back dry, your eyes should start to water . If you try and spin the engine over by hand with no luck, start balling your eyes out because a new or rebuilt engine is the only fix . Always check your oil level and change it on schedule, especially if you have a leak . This video was an extreme case of negligence resulting in a worst case scenario seized engine .Thanks Eric, sorry for your loss .

[fredwarsaw]

Thanks a MILLION brother. I just fixed a "No Crank, No Start" issue on my 1999 Honda Civic with few taps on the starter. I really appreciate you taking time to make these videos for us non-mechanics.

[MyLifeThai]

I have a tip. On Chevy Silverados after you have been driving on snow covered roads on your way to work during the winter. After you get off work the starter won't crank. What happens is the drain hole in the starter housing gets snow and water packed up there into the starter gears. It then freezes and won't let the starter turn over. You need to go under the pickup with a little benzomatic propane torch and warm up the starter to melt the ice. After that I put a dab of door and window caulking over that hole and have had no issues with my pickup starting for the last 4 years now.

[jasonschmidt]

But yeah... Eric is a good mechanic and its awesome that he has chosen to be a great and generous communicator as well.

[Vercus]

This video saved my butt. My Xterra wouldn't start, in fact the ignition wouldn't even turn on. Just heard a relay clicking. Thought it was an electronic problem, but like Eric said, I started at the beginning- the battery terminals. Turned out the ground was just a hair loose, and had a tad of corrosion on it. Cleaned them both, tightened them down, started right up! It's amazing how important good battery connections are.

[Marlene]

This am my ‘01 Tundra had the no start no electronics situation. As a 72 yr old woman alone I can tell you it’s a freak out. Had it not been for you - I don’t know what! I take care of that baby, we’ve been through good times and bad together, so I knew the battery was good. As you say, CHECK. I checked the terminals and she started honking! Noticed the bracket had come loose. I love you. 💕

[MrDesertPunk]

The moment you pulled out the dipstick and saw no oil I died a little on the inside.

[djragnar]

You can see him progressively become more annoyed with how the owner maintains their car lol.

[lindapray]

Eric I love you!!! My 00 Civic worked just fineyesterday but today would not crank over and I just heard a click. Thought it was the starter but then when I looked at your video and you said to check the battery terminal connections....I said to myself....the one terminal was disconnected to reset the radio codes yesrerday and my son apparently did not tighten the terminal connector tight enough. Sure enough I went and could move that terminal and wiggle around the son then tightened up this terminal and I was able to crank on the car. I LOVE YOU!!!! Thank you for all your wonderful videos on Honda Civics. I have 98 and now a 00 Civic and these videos are GOLD.

This was a very easy fix....should have thought about this but yesterday after resetting the radio we were able to take several trips around town and it started right up....now having the car sit overnight in the very wet and cold Ohio night....it apparently backed out enough to be a real PAIN!!!! Have to get some dielectric to stop this from happening again.

[biturboism]

Amazing job on educating, Eric - professional terminology, king tone and not condescending. That's why we love you!
I learnt so much about cars from you and my friends that I don't really need to see any more, but I come back and watch for recreation and pleasure. Your videos have more re-watch value than most blockbusters!

[johnwalsh]

Eric, thanks for tipping me off on what my problem was. It was the alternative alarm system I had installed. The engine wouldn't turn over because of that. I switched to the alarm system provided by Subaru and that resolved the problem. The car started right up.

[Ryzomadman]

to kill one engine is misfortunate to do it a second time is utter stupidity no wonder eric looked slightly pissed off.

[thelawofattractionisnojoke]

Thanks a lot. Hitting the starter worked for me

Saved me at least $250, wouldn't have been able to work tonight

[ThatHondaGuy]

An “oldie but a goodie”, Eric! I bought a 2001 Civic a while back (on the cheap), with this issue: had been run totally out of oil. That engine was locked up and wouldn’t budge, for sure! Either way, I had bought the car for the body, which was in decent shape and it received a heart transplant shortly after and put back on the road. For the record, (never having done an engine swap before), I watched one of EricTheCarGuy’s videos on the subject and said to myself, “I can do that”. Props for always giving us simple, informative videos to follow along with and learn from.

*P.S. Let it be known: adding oil after the fact DOES NOT take back what damage has already been done, folks! Sorry, not sorry 😢

[vanda]

So even after the lesson of the expense of replacing 1 engine from running out of oil they let it happen again? Ignored the valvetrain ticking, ignored the check engine light, ignored the oil light, ignored (I'm sure by now) loud rod knock, ignored the temp guage reading hot by now, ignored the engine getting out of balance, ignored the growing loss of power by every second! Good greif! Someone HATES this car or LOVES eric!!!

[schwags]

I had the same issue with one of my customers.  I went through the same process.  He said it wouldn't start.
Great video, you are really helping people out there.

[karimajohnson]

Dude you saved me. I was steps away from missing work. Thank you for the step by step diagnosis. 

[philipdaniels]

Oh yeah Eric! Forgot to tell you the story on my '97 Honda Accord, No Crank, No Start. 1.) First I removed the Main Relay box under the dash and found it had 2 Cracked Trace connections, on the logic board, 1 possible failing condenser. This made it start and run but, once it came up to temp in the passenger cabin, the main relay box and board got warm, the connections expanded and the engine would start missing. I replaced the Main Relay box (under dash) few bucks from Amazon. 2.) I had 2 spark plug wires grounding out in the spark plug wells, in the valve cover, filled with oil, my bad. Replaced the "O" rings, cleaned the plugs and wires with solvent. 3.)An old connection for driving lights left a fuse corroded, not sending any voltage to the fuel pump. So, no fuel pump, no starter signal, no crank the engine. I also found the timing was off, I had a garage replace the "O" ring around the distributor base some time ago, the oil leak dripping on a heater hose caused a leak. When they got done, they didn't tighten the distributor bolt, timing was retarded. When we finally fixed all the shorts and started it, fuel built up in the exhaust system ignited and popped my resonator apart, haha! Peeled it open like a label on a can. But now it's running like a clock, with the engine check light on because, I still need to do the timing belts and repair the exhaust system. I'd like to make it all stainless, but I can't find the "Ahead pipe" and the short 02 pipe in stainless. I've seen a long collector style header for it, "not stock location" racing only. Not sure if it would solve the problem anyway, unless someone makes me one, $$$$! Thanks for the help, I check back often ...

[FrankieLowlife]

Hey Eric,
Just wanted to say thanks for this super helpful video! Used it to diagnose a click only, no start issue with my 1990 Harley. Turned out to be an old starter relay, and it took me maybe 10 minutes after watching this video. I started watching your old ones back when I had a Honda and they were helpful back then too. Keep it up! 😁