Car troubles

ayla

nyan nyan percent
O.G.
Oct 19, 2005
25,848
138
So I was going to go fill up last night when I was hit with a really unpleasant surprise - my car no longer starts !!! :mad: !!

It doesn't make any noises, all the lights on the dash go on as per usual and.. that's it. I'm waiting on a tow company to see if it's just a battery problem (hopefully !!!) but does anyone else have any idea what might be going on ?

It's a 97 Volvo 850 for reference.

Thanks !
 
if it was a battery problem then you would have noticed it before or the lights would have attempted to come on. It could be a bad starter or ignition switch. I hope you get it figured out soon.
 
I hope it's just teh battery. It could be, I drive a '04 Lexus SUV and mine was dead for no reason the other day. The lights came on when I opened the door but the thing wouldn't turn over, my girlfriend jumped it and it's been fine since.
good luck!
 
Thanks everyone !!

I really, really hope it's just the battery, otherwise I won't make it home for my little brother's birthday ! :Push:
 
If the lights still work, it is probably not the battery. Has the car's clock been losing time (running slow?) Then it might be the battery. But to me it sounds like the starter. If you turn the ignition and it just goes click, it probably IS the starter. Sometimes if you continue to try to start it you can get it to turn over. You might try again, to save a towing fee.
 
The backlight on the clock has actually stopped working a while ago, so I have no idea since I usually drive at night !! I asked a cabbie last night and he said that it might also have to do with the position of the chains so I should give the car a push, but honestly, the thing is like 3000 lbs and I can't budge it !!

Just sitting on my hands waiting for rescue at this point ! :shame:
 
Aww, car troubles are the wooooorst. Good luck, Ayla, let us know what happens.

I'm not super quick to make generalizations (at least try not to be), but car dealerships will really take you for a ride if they think you're just a single girl who doesn't know what she's doing. I'll never forget having been stuck in SoCal because my car broke down and the dealership charged me for all kinds of crazy stuff. Last summer I had to get my AC fixed and I'm telling you, the price immediately dropped when my dad came in the door half an hour later!
 
Oh I don't think that's a generalization at all.. in terms of dealerships just managing to rip people off ! Volvo dealership would pretty much be last resort for me, I'd rather push my car home first ! :lol:
 
This happened to my boyfriend about a month ago, same thing car wouldn't turn over but all the dash lights would come on. In his case the negative battery terminal was loose and wasn't forming a good connection, after replacing the terminal his car was good to go. Hope that helps :smile:
 
I have no idea, this car was liberated from my parents last year. Anyways, here comes the guy, let's see what the final verdict on this will be !!