“It will not start” describes at least four different faults, and telling them apart takes about ten seconds. Doing that before you phone anyone decides whether this is a jump start, a locksmith, or a recovery truck.
DK’s Recovery covers Sheffield and South Yorkshire 24 hours a day for jump starts and breakdown recovery. Call 07867 860723.
If nothing on the dashboard makes sense, our guide to what the warning light colours mean may narrow it down.
Turn the key and listen
Four things can happen, and each points somewhere different.
Rapid clicking, dash lights dim
A flat or failing battery. The starter is trying to engage without enough current to turn the engine. This is the most common of the four by a wide margin and usually the cheapest — often a jump start and you are away. See what to do with a flat battery.
One solid clunk, lights stay bright
More likely the starter motor than the battery. There is plenty of power — the motor is not turning. Occasionally tapping the starter frees a stuck one, which is a well-known trick and a temporary one. This generally needs recovering.
Cranks strongly, will not fire
The battery and starter are fine. The engine is turning and not catching, which means fuel, spark or security. A fuel pump that has failed, a crank sensor, or an immobiliser that is not recognising the key. A jump start will do nothing here, and this is the one people most often waste a call-out on.
Nothing at all
Check whether anything works — interior light, dashboard, headlights. All dead means a completely flat battery or a disconnected terminal. Everything else working normally while the engine does nothing points at the starter, the immobiliser, or a safety switch: automatics will not start out of park, and many manuals need the clutch fully to the floor.
The four checks worth doing first
- Gear selector. Park for an automatic, clutch fully down for a manual. Try wiggling the selector.
- The key. Try the spare. A failing fob battery is common, and most keyless cars have a marked spot where a dead fob can be read directly — often the start button itself.
- Battery terminals. If a clamp moves when you nudge it, or there are white or green deposits on it, that alone can stop a healthy car.
- What was left on. Interior light, boot not shut, sidelights. It tells you whether this is a one-off or a battery on the way out.
The security light
Worth knowing what yours looks like. If a car with a picture of a key or a padlock flashing starts and immediately dies, that is the immobiliser cutting the engine rather than a mechanical fault. Try the spare key before anything else — it is the difference between a new fob battery and a trip to a dealer.
What not to do
Do not keep cranking. Ten seconds at a time with a rest between. Continuous cranking overheats the starter and flattens what charge is left.
Do not keep trying if you smell fuel. Repeated cranking on a car that will not fire can flood it, and on a diesel it can put fuel where it should not be.
Do not jump start a swollen, cracked or leaking battery.
When it needs recovering
- It cranks strongly and will not fire.
- It starts and dies, repeatedly.
- A jump start works and it stops again the moment the leads come off — that is the charging system, not the battery.
- The battery warning light stays lit after it starts.
- There is a smell of fuel, or a noise that was not there before.
What to tell us
Describe what happens when you turn the key rather than saying it will not start — clicking, one clunk, cranking-not-firing, or silence. That one sentence decides what the crew brings, and it is the difference between one visit and two.
Common questions
My car makes a rapid clicking noise but will not start. What is that?
Almost always a flat or failing battery. The starter solenoid is trying to engage and there is not enough current to turn the engine, so it chatters instead. Check whether the dashboard lights dim heavily when you turn the key – if they do, it is the battery.
It cranks strongly but will not fire. Is the battery fine?
Yes, the battery is doing its job. Strong cranking with no start points at fuel, spark or the immobiliser instead – a fuel pump, a sensor, or the car not recognising the key. A jump start will not help and it usually needs recovering.
Nothing happens at all when I turn the key. What should I check?
Whether anything else works. If the interior light, dashboard and headlights are all dead, it is a completely flat battery or a disconnected terminal. If everything else works normally and the engine does nothing, look at the starter motor, the immobiliser, or whether the car is properly in park or the clutch fully down.
The car starts then immediately dies. What causes that?
Usually the immobiliser cutting the engine after it fires, or a fuel delivery problem. If the security light flashes as it dies, try the spare key. This is not a battery fault and jump starting will not change it.
Could it just be the key?
More often than people think. A failing fob battery stops the car recognising the key, and most keyless cars have a marked spot – often the start button itself – where you hold a dead fob so it can be read directly. Try the spare key before assuming anything worse.
When does a car that will not start need recovery rather than a jump start?
When it cranks strongly and will not fire, when it starts and dies repeatedly, when there is a smell of fuel, or when a jump start works and it dies again as soon as the leads come off. All of those are faults that cannot be fixed at the kerb.
Car not starting in Sheffield?
Tell us what it does when you turn the key. 07867 860723 — 24 hours a day.
On a modern diesel there is one no-start that is not a fault at all: an empty AdBlue tank, which prevents a restart by design. Our guide to AdBlue and a car that will not restart covers how to clear it.
