Symptom
Engine will not start
The engine does not run at all. Distinguish carefully between not cranking, which points at battery or starter, and cranking without firing, which points at fuel, spark or crank position signal.
Also described as: won't start, no start, will not start, dead, doesn't start, not starting, no crank no start, ماشین روشن نمیشود, ماشین روشن نمیشه, خودرو روشن نمیشود, استارت نمیخورد, motor no arranca, coche no arranca, carro no arranca, auto no arranca, no quiere arrancar, motor no prende, السيارة لا تشتغل, السيارة ما تشتغل, العربية مش بتشتغل, المحرك لا يدور, السيارة ما تدور, ما بدها تشتغل, سيارتي لا تشتغل, سيارتي ما تشتغل, عربيتي مش شغالة, سيارتي ما تدور
Some causes mean you should stop driving
58 of the 194 codes that produce this symptom indicate a fault where continuing to drive risks damage or is unsafe. If the symptom is sudden or severe, treat it as one of those until a scan says otherwise.
What this usually means
The first question is not why it will not start but whether it cranks, because that one observation splits the fault into two populations with almost nothing in common. A starter that does not turn the engine is a supply problem — battery, cables, solenoid, or a switch refusing permission. A starter that turns it normally means the mechanical and electrical starting system is fine and the engine is not being given what it needs to run.
What it needs is only three things, and every no-start with normal cranking is a failure of one of them: fuel at pressure, a means of ignition, and a crank position signal telling the management when. The third is the one drivers never suspect and the one workshop references in every language name first, because the engine control unit will not fire an injector or a coil at all without it — Japanese diagnostic guidance treats the crankshaft position sensor as the standard early check for exactly this reason, and it is a component that characteristically fails when hot and recovers when cold.
Two timings are diagnostic on their own. An engine that fires and dies after one to three seconds, consistently, is almost always immobiliser authorisation failing — German references give that window specifically, and the mechanism explains it: the module lets the engine start and then decides the key was not valid. And an engine that cranks noticeably faster and more smoothly than usual has probably lost compression across the board, which on a belt-driven engine means the timing belt has jumped or broken. Stop cranking if it sounds like that; on an interference engine, continuing turns a belt failure into bent valves.
Before any of that, listen with the door open as the ignition goes on. A working pump primes for a second or two, and its absence is the cheapest finding available.
Working through it
| What you find | Likely cause | How to confirm it | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| No crank, no dashboard lights, or lights that collapse as you turn the key | Battery flat or a main connection lost — terminal, earth strap or main fuse | Read battery voltage at the posts, then again while cranking: a healthy battery holds above roughly 9.6 V at room temperature. Voltage present at the post but absent at the starter feed puts the fault in the cable. | Charge or replace the battery, clean and remake the terminals, renew the earth strap. Chase why it went flat rather than only fixing the symptom. |
| A single click or a rapid chatter, no rotation | Solenoid pulling in with insufficient current, or engaging without the motor turning | The two sounds mean different things — chatter is current, one firm click is the motor. Voltage-drop test the whole starter circuit under crank rather than replacing on the sound alone. | Depends on the finding: connections and earth first, starter or solenoid only once the supply is proven good. |
| Cranks normally at the usual speed and never fires | Fuel, ignition or crank position signal missing — the three requirements, one absent | Listen for the pump priming at ignition on. Check for spark at a plug. Read live crankshaft speed on a scan tool while cranking: no rpm reading while the engine plainly turns is the crank sensor, and it is a common hot-only failure. | Renew whichever is proven missing. Do not replace a crank sensor on suspicion — the live rpm reading settles it in seconds. |
| Fires for one to three seconds, every time, then dies | Immobiliser authorisation failing — the module permits the start and then withdraws it | Watch the security or immobiliser lamp through the attempt, and try the spare key. Read immobiliser fault codes rather than engine ones. | Renew the key transponder, or repair the reader coil at the ignition barrel, which corrodes. Re-learn the key to the vehicle. |
| Cranks unusually fast, smoothly, with a hollow sound | Compression lost across the engine — a jumped or broken timing belt or chain | Stop cranking first. Check camshaft rotation with the engine turning, or take a compression reading on any two cylinders. On an interference engine, further cranking is what turns a belt fault into a head rebuild. | Recover the vehicle rather than driving it. Belt or chain replacement, with a valve inspection before anything is reassembled. |
| Diesel, only in cold weather, with the glow plug lamp behaving oddly | Glow plug circuit — the plugs themselves, the relay or control module, or their supply | Measure each plug's resistance and compare across the set, and check the relay actually energises. A single failed plug is often tolerated in mild weather and only shows in a hard frost. | Renew the plugs as a set with the relay or control module where that is the fault. |
| Briefly runs on aerosol starting fluid, then stops | Fuel is not reaching the cylinders — pump, relay, filter, pressure regulator or a blocked line | Gauge the fuel rail with the ignition on and while cranking, against the manufacturer's figure. Prove the pump has a supply before condemning it; a relay costs a fraction of a pump. | Repair whichever stage the pressure test names. Replace the filter while the system is open. |
-
No crank, no dashboard lights, or lights that collapse as you turn the key
- Likely cause
- Battery flat or a main connection lost — terminal, earth strap or main fuse
- How to confirm it
- Read battery voltage at the posts, then again while cranking: a healthy battery holds above roughly 9.6 V at room temperature. Voltage present at the post but absent at the starter feed puts the fault in the cable.
- What fixes it
- Charge or replace the battery, clean and remake the terminals, renew the earth strap. Chase why it went flat rather than only fixing the symptom.
-
A single click or a rapid chatter, no rotation
- Likely cause
- Solenoid pulling in with insufficient current, or engaging without the motor turning
- How to confirm it
- The two sounds mean different things — chatter is current, one firm click is the motor. Voltage-drop test the whole starter circuit under crank rather than replacing on the sound alone.
- What fixes it
- Depends on the finding: connections and earth first, starter or solenoid only once the supply is proven good.
-
Cranks normally at the usual speed and never fires
- Likely cause
- Fuel, ignition or crank position signal missing — the three requirements, one absent
- How to confirm it
- Listen for the pump priming at ignition on. Check for spark at a plug. Read live crankshaft speed on a scan tool while cranking: no rpm reading while the engine plainly turns is the crank sensor, and it is a common hot-only failure.
- What fixes it
- Renew whichever is proven missing. Do not replace a crank sensor on suspicion — the live rpm reading settles it in seconds.
-
Fires for one to three seconds, every time, then dies
- Likely cause
- Immobiliser authorisation failing — the module permits the start and then withdraws it
- How to confirm it
- Watch the security or immobiliser lamp through the attempt, and try the spare key. Read immobiliser fault codes rather than engine ones.
- What fixes it
- Renew the key transponder, or repair the reader coil at the ignition barrel, which corrodes. Re-learn the key to the vehicle.
-
Cranks unusually fast, smoothly, with a hollow sound
- Likely cause
- Compression lost across the engine — a jumped or broken timing belt or chain
- How to confirm it
- Stop cranking first. Check camshaft rotation with the engine turning, or take a compression reading on any two cylinders. On an interference engine, further cranking is what turns a belt fault into a head rebuild.
- What fixes it
- Recover the vehicle rather than driving it. Belt or chain replacement, with a valve inspection before anything is reassembled.
-
Diesel, only in cold weather, with the glow plug lamp behaving oddly
- Likely cause
- Glow plug circuit — the plugs themselves, the relay or control module, or their supply
- How to confirm it
- Measure each plug's resistance and compare across the set, and check the relay actually energises. A single failed plug is often tolerated in mild weather and only shows in a hard frost.
- What fixes it
- Renew the plugs as a set with the relay or control module where that is the fault.
-
Briefly runs on aerosol starting fluid, then stops
- Likely cause
- Fuel is not reaching the cylinders — pump, relay, filter, pressure regulator or a blocked line
- How to confirm it
- Gauge the fuel rail with the ignition on and while cranking, against the manufacturer's figure. Prove the pump has a supply before condemning it; a relay costs a fraction of a pump.
- What fixes it
- Repair whichever stage the pressure test names. Replace the filter while the system is open.
Codes that produce this symptom (194)
Listed with the codes that most typically present this way first — the likeliest place to start.
- P0001 Fuel Volume Regulator A Control Circuit/Open Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0003 Fuel Volume Regulator A Control Circuit Low Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0004 Fuel Volume Regulator A Control Circuit High Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0005 Fuel Shutoff Valve A Control Circuit/Open Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0006 Fuel Shutoff Valve A Control Circuit Low Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0007 Fuel Shutoff Valve A Control Circuit High Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0192 Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor Circuit Low Bank 1 Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0193 Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor Circuit High Bank 1 Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0215 Engine Shutoff Solenoid Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0230 Fuel Pump Primary Circuit Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P025A Fuel Pump Module A Control Circuit/Open Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0320 Ignition/Distributor Engine Speed Input Circuit Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0322 Ignition/Distributor Engine Speed Input Circuit No Signal Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0335 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Typical of this code Stop driving Critical
- P0337 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Low Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0338 Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit High Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0512 Starter Request Circuit Typical of this code Moderate
- P0513 Incorrect Immobiliser Key Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P060C Internal Control Module Main Processor Performance Typical of this code Stop driving High
- P0612 Fuel Injector Control Module Relay Control Typical of this code High
- P0615 Starter Relay A Circuit Typical of this code Moderate
- P0617 Starter Relay A Circuit High Typical of this code Moderate
- P0627 Fuel Pump A Control Circuit Open Typical of this code High
- P0629 Fuel Pump A Control Circuit High Typical of this code High
- P0633 Immobiliser Key Not Programmed — Engine Control Module Typical of this code Stop driving High
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Others with this symptom
Be the first to write this up
Nothing posted about this yet. Whatever you found is worth writing down — even a dead end saves someone the same afternoon.
What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
Sign in or create an account to add what you found about Engine will not start.