Engine stalled or won't start

Sooner or later, every motorist is faced with a situation where a car that yesterday seemed perfectly serviceable suddenly stops starting or suddenly stalls on the road.

More than 50% of such cases are caused by electrical equipment malfunctions. In addition, most of the malfunctions usually occur in winter in areas with a temperate and cold climate.

The information in this chapter will help you quickly and correctly identify the problem and solve it.

Security measures

A car stopped on the road poses a serious threat to traffic safety, so if your engine stalls on the way, you must first remove the car from the road to a safe place, and if for some reason this is not possible, make it as visible to other road users as possible.

If you feel that the engine stops, try immediately, disengaging the gear and using the momentum of the moving car, snuggle up to the sidewalk, pull over to the side of the road or, in extreme cases, to the median strip (if it is wide enough). If this fails, be sure to move the vehicle out of the middle of the road first by any means necessary to protect yourself, passengers, and the vehicle.

Immediately, as soon as you feel a malfunction, turn on the emergency alarm to warn other road users.

At night, do not turn off the side lights and hazard warning lights so that the car standing on the road is clearly visible. Install an emergency stop sign on the road, which must be in the car at all times. Do not open the doors on the left side and move carefully next to the car - remember that you are hard to see.

What is the reason?

After you have ensured the safety of yourself and others, try to find out the cause of the malfunction. Without succumbing to panic, carefully remember in what order the symptoms of a malfunction appeared - this will help to suggest the most likely cause. For example, if the engine suddenly stalls, then an electrical failure is most likely, while fuel system failures are usually accompanied by a gradual decrease in power and interruptions in the operation of the engine.

In any case, troubleshooting is best done in a strict logical sequence. These pages provide a troubleshooting chart to help you quickly and correctly test. Of course, a malfunction can be caused by any system that is not related to the engine (for example, a short circuit in the headlights or the wiper motor). In this case, refer to chapters "ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT" And "ENGINE ELECTRICAL".