My 2003 Toyota Corolla LE Automatic Transmission is not starting or cranking and there is no clicking noise. I had this problem a few days ago and I found out it was because the gear shift bushing/belt broke off so I replaced that and my car started fine. After I finished replacing I reconnected the connections underneath the gear shifter which connects to cig lighter and not sure what else but I accidentally connected it while the car was running and I saw a spark and it smelled like something was burning then I noticed my dashboard doesn’t light up anymore and my cd rom doesn’t work on my radio. My car still started that day until a day later when I went to a grocery store and when I came out my car didn’t start, crank or click yet all the light work. (Radio works besides cd rom ) dash warning signs, head lights, tail lights, AC, turn signals, etc all work) What could be the cause? Please help me!!! Please let me know if I left any details out.
The first thing I would do is check all the fuses and go from there. Possibly one of the wires burned up due to the short, but likely also caused a fuse to blow.
I checked all the fuses in engine fuse box. I will check the fuses under the dashboard tomorrow. Is there any other things I should be checking? If a fuse did blow, how come my car still worked the rest of that day and the following day until late that night? I will check anyway but what else could it be?
It sounds like you have worn contacts in the starter solenoid and messing around in the center console may have blown a fuse. Is the wiring harness chopped/modified to accommodate the “CD Rom”?
well, it could be an inline fuse as well, but I am not familiar with that car and have no idea where they are. I would start hunting down wiring diagrams and start testing for voltage, starting with the wiring you fooled around with. It’s a tedious task.
That could happen if a wire is only partially burned, but as you were driving the car the burned wires were unable to maintain the voltage/amps and burned out completely. Wouldn’t surprise me if you find the problem in the area where you saw the sparks
Yes I believe it is modified to accommodate the CD Rom. Do you have a Toyota Corolla aswell? I am buying a multimeter and I am going to test battery/alternator for the hell of it. I am very new to this stuff. I have only changed fuses/battery terminals/gear shift cables. Can I test my starter with a multimeter? Also, I think it might be my battery connection. Could I find out if it’s that by testing voltage with a multimeter?
Sure, make sure the connections are very tight. You can use a multimeter to test for voltage across the battery terminals. It should show somewhere between 11.5-14 volts. Anything less and the starter probably won’t even attempt to kick in.
If your Corolla is an automatic, you have a range control/neutral safety switch. If you have a manual transmission , you have a clutch safety switch. Either of them will prevent power to the starter if they are bad or unplugged. Unplug whichever one you have and jump the wires in the plug, if it starts , you can replace the switch.