# All good but Car do not start **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** starting, batteries, ignition\ **Created:** [August 13, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580 "2014-08-13T17:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yak\_Attack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ea5d25/32.png) [@Yak\_Attack](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Yak_Attack)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/1 "2014-08-13T17:29:06Z")
Dear Community, I have 2001 Toyota Corolla which has 100k plus miles on it. I have recurrence problem with car not starting. After i jump start, it works. I took it to mechanic to get its battery(2 year old) and alternator checked out. The mechanic looked at it, charged $30, and told me everything is working just fine. He started it and i was able to start it. Problem solved for couple of weeks. However, yesterday getting out from work, It came back. Had to jump start and make it work again. is there something i am not doing correctly? thanks, ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/2 "2014-08-13T18:03:07Z")
Battery has been load tested. Alternator is good. Yet, battery will not crank motor. A jump allows starter to crank motor and engine will run. ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/3 "2014-08-13T18:10:02Z")
Or remove and thoroughly clean both battery terminals…If the clamps are badly corroded, replace them…If that fails, then buy a new battery… ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/4 "2014-08-13T18:12:55Z")
If this is the original battery, replace it and clean all the connections as recommenended… ---
**Author:** ![Yak\_Attack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ea5d25/32.png) [@Yak\_Attack](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Yak_Attack)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/5 "2014-08-13T18:22:20Z")
Thank you all. @Caddyman and @Docnick‌ how do you clean the clamps? This is not original battery. @Cavell‌ car starts with jump start but it does not recharges battery for future ignition. thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/6 "2014-08-13T18:22:58Z")
Is this a manual or automatic? It’s possible that a safety lockout is intermittent. A manual will have one to prevent you from starting the car unless the clutch pedal is depressed, and automatic has one to prevent starting the engine unless the tranny is in P or N. This should be pretty easy for any shop to check out. Or, the next time this happens, try playing with the clutch pedal and/or shifter and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/7 "2014-08-13T18:38:54Z")
If your alternator is not charging the battery, you should get a red dash warning light saying “Bat” or “ALT”… Any auto-parts store will sell you a “Battery post cleaning tool” for a couple of bucks…First, clean up the connections with a toothbrush and a glass of warm water with a couple of tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in it… Rinse off the mess with a hose…Now REMOVE the connectors from the battery posts and use your new tool to clean both the connector and the battery post. Use more baking soda solution as needed…Rinse everything off one more time. Re-install the connectors on the battery, Obtain a cheap multi-meter (a voltmeter) and measure the voltage of the battery with the engine off. It should read 12.2-12.4 volts. Start the engine. the voltage should jump to over 13.0 volts and continue to climb slowly, topping out at 13.8 - 14.0 volts… ---
**Author:** ![andrewRA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@andrewRA](https://community.cartalk.com/u/andrewRA)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/8 "2014-08-13T19:39:57Z")
I had vehicle like this. It turned out to be a poor ground strap to the engine block from battery. Jump starting worked since most people hooked the negative to engine not battery. ---
**Author:** ![knfenimore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9fc348/32.png) [@knfenimore](https://community.cartalk.com/u/knfenimore)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/9 "2014-08-13T20:05:34Z")
My neighbors camry did this and the fix was the starter. I would clean the terminals [first.www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSkbTmtBZUc](http://first.www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSkbTmtBZUc) ---
**Author:** ![enkessler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bb73d2/32.png) [@enkessler](https://community.cartalk.com/u/enkessler)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/10 "2014-08-13T20:56:07Z")
I am having this exact issue with my 2006 RAV4 base model. I had a new battery put in at the end of June , and a week ago tried to start my car: no power (no power door locks, lights, etc) and wouldn’t crank. Jumped it. Next day, same issue. Jumped again, took to shop, they couldn’t figure it out, then took to Toyota, where they charged the battery and fixed nothing and the car started great for a few days. A week later: same issue. No power, no start. Took to local shop, then Toyota. Toyota is telling me the battery is fine, alternator is fine, no indicator lights are coming on, nothing on diagnostic test. They’re mentioning that it might be that the neutral start safety switch needs to be replaced. My question: would the neutral safety switch cause the battery to drain? In what I have read, when the NSSS is preventing the car from starting, the car still has power, just won’t crank, whereas I am getting NO power. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/11 "2014-08-13T21:14:42Z")
It wouldn’t drain the battery, but if it were intermittent it would intermittently cause you to have no power at all to the starter. You might _think_ the battery is drained. ---
**Author:** ![enkessler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bb73d2/32.png) [@enkessler](https://community.cartalk.com/u/enkessler)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/12 "2014-08-13T21:23:52Z")
Interesting. Thank you for your reply!! My next question would be, why would it start when the battery was jumped, if the battery wasn’t actually dead in the first place? Does that also give power back to the starter, allowing the car to start? And is the starter related to the power doors/lights/etc? ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/all-good-but-car-do-not-start/86580/13 "2014-08-14T02:34:47Z")
Intermittent components can present misleading symptoms. Obviously, none of us can diagnose the problem from here. All we can offer is suggested possible causes.