# Why won't my car start?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-wont-my-car-start/47658>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** accord, honda\
**Created:** [April 18, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-wont-my-car-start/47658 "2010-04-18T22:44:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![nbhagwat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/258eb7/32.png) [@nbhagwat](https://community.cartalk.com/u/nbhagwat)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-wont-my-car-start/47658/1 "2010-04-18T22:44:01Z")

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I rearended a car yesterday. It cracked my front fender and bent my hood, but nothing was leaking and the car was still running soundly. But once I turned it off, it refused to start back up. From the gap created by the bent hood (I can’t open the hood; it’s jammed shut) I can see that everything inside looks intact. But when I turn the ignition, the engine will only crank weakly and I get a fluttering sound with flashing of all lights on my dashboard. I was hoping to get it started tomorrow so that I can take it to my mechanic without having to tow. Any advice? Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Carveaholic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Carveaholic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Carveaholic)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-wont-my-car-start/47658/2 "2010-04-18T22:51:52Z")

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Sounds to me like you damaged your battery in the accident, or knocked one of the contacts loose.

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**Author:** ![nbhagwat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/258eb7/32.png) [@nbhagwat](https://community.cartalk.com/u/nbhagwat)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-wont-my-car-start/47658/3 "2010-04-18T22:56:03Z")

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The contacts look okay. The battery is not leaking. Could it still be damaged on the inside?

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**Author:** ![art1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/77aa72/32.png) [@art1966](https://community.cartalk.com/u/art1966)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-wont-my-car-start/47658/4 "2010-04-18T23:00:57Z")

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Yes, it can be damaged internally. But how sure are you that it is not leaking? I suspect that it might even have some external damage that you can not see w/o opening the hood and looking at the “back” side of the battery.

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**Author:** ![nbhagwat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/258eb7/32.png) [@nbhagwat](https://community.cartalk.com/u/nbhagwat)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-wont-my-car-start/47658/5 "2010-04-18T23:04:27Z")

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Agreed. No way to know without opening the hood. Thanks both of you for your help. I guess I’ll try to jump start it tomorrow and see what happens.

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**Author:** ![art1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/77aa72/32.png) [@art1966](https://community.cartalk.com/u/art1966)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-wont-my-car-start/47658/6 "2010-04-19T02:23:47Z")

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I think I would NOT try a jump start if the battery is damaged. I’d be concerned that the damaged btty might hurt the donor car’s battery or alternator (excessive load from shorted cell/s). If you can get the hood open to hook up jumper cables, maybe you can: 1) clean and re-tighten the terminal connectors, and try to start the car; 2) if that does not work, remove the battery and have it tested.