We have a 1998 Chevey (Geo) Metro that won’t start. It has a new battery, spark plugs, a distributor cap, rotor, and wiring harness. After all this it STILL refuses to start. My guess is the starter has a “dead” spot on it but I am unable to determine how to get it out for replacement. Are there any free shop manuals available for download? Money here is extremely tight currently.
Define “won’t start” - you say that you think the starter has a dead spot but you’re talking plugs & cap & etc. These would be relevant only if the starter will crank the motor over. So does it crank or not?
If you go to Autozone’s website, register, and plug in the car’s info there are online repair manuals there - very bare ones but better than nothing. A Haynes manual is only $20 at an auto parts store. You can also try the local library.
To make a long story short, The car wouldn’t start when dry but ran wet and cold. We took the car to the garage they changed the rotor, cap and wiring harness. When we tried in the morning it was dead … no life at all, no clicks, no hums, nothing. The battery checks out to have a charge. We cannot get it towed back to the garage because of money. So I have to do the job they should have done the first time.
Ok - but when you say “The car wouldn’t start when dry but ran wet and cold” what do you mean by wouldn’t start - would it crank but not fire up? Or not crank over at all?
If it is sitting now with a no crank but you know the battery is charged (how did you check it for charge?) then start by just cleaning the battery terminals and cables.
Is it an automatic or manual trans?
If it went to the shop for cranking but not starting then this is a different kind of problem from no crank at all. I wouldn’t assume that the shop failed to do what it was supposed to.
Describe how does the car not start. Does it crank at normal speed and just never achieve any combustion? Does it want to start but never get there? Does it ever backfire? Does it turn over very easily but never come even close to trying to start?
When dry the car would crank but not start, but when it was wet and cold it started ok. The car is a 4 speed manual shift. Testing the battery was with a meter also my charger (50 amp.) has it’s own meter but got hot when trying to give it a “boost” charge which by passes the battery. Terminals were clean and I believe everything was done that a garage would have done.
There is a switch under the clutch pedal that won’t allow power to the starter unless the clutch is depressed. Check that switch.
Do you have a good library system where you live? The library is a great free source for information. They have quite a few repair manuals.
The libraries here also have a subscription to ALLDATA, a computer database with excellent info about how to fix cars. AllData could tell you exactly how to remove your starter, step by step.
First you’d want to determine that electrical power is getting to your starter and solenoid when the key is turned on.
It’s probably a wise investment to buy a Haynes manual. Look online at Amazon or Ebay, maybe you can even get a used manual cheap.