When you crank the engine, do you hear a light click which could be the starter relay or do you hear a loud single "clunk" each time you turn the key? That would be the solenoid on the starter motor doing what it's supposed to do. A common problem is worn solenoid contacts. It's an easy inexpensive repair to replace them, but they never fail completely at first. If you hear this loud clunk, keep cycling the key to the crank position. Eventually it will crank. This problem will get worse over time until, as in the case of my mother's van, it did finally start, but she lost count after 700 attempts and a blister on her thumb!
If you don't hear a loud clunk, turn on the headlights and try starting it again. If you see the headlights get very dim while trying to crank the engine, the battery is discharged, has a shorted cell, or the cables are loose or have corrosion between them and the battery posts.
I'm not a transmission expert, but I do know chattering and shuttering can be caused by using the wrong transmission fluid.
caradiodoc
Mar 20, 2009 at 10:39 AM
