Kyle H
I recently had a new drive belt put in my 2001 toyota celica. A few days later my car didn't start in the morning. It doesn't seem to be the battery as when I just have the battery on it's fine. But when I go to crank it it hesitates or kind of coughs and then finally the engine turns. Could it be my starter or what? I've had so much money dumped into this car, way more than it's worth and it's just one problem right after the other.
To answer some questions... the guy called it a drive belt and listed that way on my receipts, I'm not sure which belt it is but he said if it snaps then my car will stop and I'll have to get it towed so it's very imporant, I'm thinking the serpentine. I've had a check engine light on forever that they supposedly fixed but 4 days later it came back on and it still hasn't been fixed b/c of 2 shops and a dealership and tons of money laer the damn light still pops on. Occassionally I smell a slight smell of gas when i get out of my car esp. when I have to drive on the freeway. My batter is about 2 years old. THey also suggested before along with the drive belt to get the timing tensioner chain fixed. The lights get a little dimmer when the car is cranking then go back to normal afer it cranks. When I rev it the headlights stay the same brightness. It seems though that day by day it starts to crank a lot easier.
Answer
You need to supply more accurate info. Your "kind of coughs" throws everyone into a "fuel, compression, backfire, spark timing, spark leak, valve timing" mode that just confuses the issue.
If you mean a '(valve) timing belt' when you said 'drive belt' those are kind of hard to screw up, but it's possible on some cars (adjust ignition timing when finished - some cars have automatic timing features). If it's installed wrong, it usually won't start at all. If it's worn out, cranking will be erratic. No crank, slow crank, fast crank, slow again, starts by running rough, then runs fine -- or not. Your problem may be that you have a worn timing belt, and it just happened to act up just after you had some work done (if you didn't get a new timing belt). Timing belts are not an easy fix, figure a few hundred dollars, especially on your sporty car.
When you say, "I just have the battery on" I think you mean "when I just have the radio on without the engine running." Do the horn and radio die and headlights go out or very dim when you crank the engine, or it cranks slower with the headlights on (or run a power roof)? That's caused by a low battery, old battery, or corroded terminals. Not enough current (amps) available.
If it has the original battery, it's too old. You should get a new battery, even if you just temporarily swap one from another car to test. If it's a replacement battery, did you ever run it down (leave the lights on)? Again, swap to test. Be careful, take your time, have good lighting, don't smoke (seriously - batteries can give off explosive gas; exploding a sulfuric acid-filled battery can really ruin your day) and check polarity at every step. You can cause a <lot> of damage to your car - and injury to people - by mishandling a car battery or its polarity. See link below for instructions.
If you start the car, but cannot disconnect the battery connection without it stalling immediately, the alternator's not charging, or may only charge at high rpm's. Loose belt is a cheap fix.
If it already has a newer battery . . .
You may have corrosion around the battery terminals. Outside temperature and humidity can affect cranking speed (one hour it's fine, the next, it's completely dead, then later, works fine again). If that's the case, this paragraph may help. Have someone else start the car while you <carefully> wedge a sharp edge of metal (short flathead screwdriver, fingernail file, etc.) between the battery post and its clamp (then try the other post/clamp) to create a good temporary connection. If it cranks normally now, each post and clamp must be cleaned. If any of these connections have ever been replaced (new battery clamp, for example) that's always the first place to look. If that didn't help, follow both large battery cables (ignore smaller ones) to the next connections if you can, and see if they look corroded or odd. Ditto for the large cable on the starter motor. The terminals affected are battery positive post and bolt, clamp, cable, other end of cable, clamp, starter terminal, solenoid terminal, solenoid armature (switch part), connection to starter motor brush, carbon brush, starter armature, starter brush, brush connection to ground, ground connection of starter, chassis, clamp and bolt, chassis ground cable, other end of cable, battery clamp, post, ground side of battery. The ignition switch is not part of the high-amperage circuit; your key merely powers the windings on the solenoid, which then does the high-current switching. Any of these can corrode and cause the starter to crank slowly or not at all. Eyeball as many as you can and clean any that look odd or you can reach. Always securely disconnect the ground (minus) terminal at the battery FIRST before doing any electrical work. You'll have to reset the clock and radio stations when you're all done. Clean with a wire brush or toothbrush, baking soda in water, wear goggles or glasses and old clothes. Corrosion flicking off the brush in your eye will send you to a doctor. On your clothes; well, that's not too pretty, either.
If the engine cranks slowly, but then fires and runs normally, your new belt may be the one that turns the alternator to charge the battery. It's a good sign if it looks 'flat' while the engine is running. If it looks 'blurry' it's loose or stretched from being used (that's what new belts do shortly after being installed - don't get new belts just before that cross-country trip) and the battery isn't being charged properly because the alternator belt is slipping. Go back to the same place and have it adjusted (it'd better be free). If the belt is a 'serpentine' belt, it may be self-adjusting, but ask the mechanic.
The alternator is a round box, flat on the front and back sides, around 6" round and 6" deep, usually grey, may have little fan blades right behind the pulley. It may be easy or difficult to spot, but it's always turned by a belt, and those are always on the 'front' of the engine (which may be on the side of the engine compartment).
If that's not it, and you have over 100,000 miles on it, (actually related to how many times you've started the engine than actual miles on the vehicle) you may need new carbon brushes for the starter motor. This failure will be easy to spot because it's predictable -- one minute the engine cranks fine, then later, won't crank at all. Waiting 1/2 hour or tapping on the starter motor (or heating it in the winter with a light bulb) will cause it to work fine again (I've owned two cars that had this problem). Brushes are designed to wear out, but may (or may not) be easy to replace, depending on the car (working on your sporty Celica might be ugly, but it is a Toyota . . . ). If you're handy with tools, you may be able to find starter motor brushes for $10 at an auto electric shop and do the work yourself. Take photos and notes as you disassemble pieces if you're squeamish. Disconnect the ground (-) terminal on the battery before doing this work. The alternative is to replace the starter motor - figure $125 if you do it, twice that if you have someone else do it. Get a Haynes manual for your model and save a lot of $$$.
Starters have a starter solenoid (I don't believe your car has a starter relay -- those are found on larger US cars). If the solenoid gets flaky, you'll only hear a 'click' when you twist the key. Holding the key will just burn out the solenoid windings. 'Clicking' it over and over again may finally get it to crank and start normally. It will get worse and soon fail. If so, solenoids are not expensive. Getting to it (that big blob sticking out of the side of the starter motor) may or may not be easy, depending on the car.
If you're going to work on your car, get a Haynes manual. The rest are either far too expensive or won't be much help for anything more complicated than changing lamps.
Change Toyota Corrola headlights?
rapidshare
I'm having a hard time taking out the headlights.
It is a 1990 Toyota Corrola 4 door sedan, but I don't need to anymore I just changed em.
Answer
all depends on what year the car is need more info
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