Car Transmission

Nothing is more aggravating than walking out to your car Monday morning and finding it won’t start. Instead, all you hear is a click noise when turn the ignition key. What’s the problem?

If you are unfamiliar with how a car works, you might immediately assume the clicking noise means the engine is dead. It is obvious that power is being turned on, so the lack of even a vibration or jerk would indicate the engine is frozen up, right? Fortunately, the answer is no. Instead, you have an equally aggravating problem somewhere in your starter assembly, but the good news is it will cost a lot less to fix.

There could be a myriad of problems when you hear a clicking noise when starting a car. The first step is to start with the easy things. Check to see if your battery has a charge. Next, check the battery cables to make sure the hookups are not corroded. Corrosion can put a damper of the flow of electrical current and can be the entire problem.

If everything looks okay, the problem may be the solenoid. The what?! The solenoid is essentially a switch that turns the starter on and off. When your car is just sitting off in the driveway, the solenoid is receiving a current from the battery, but it does not pass it on to the starter. When you flip the ignition, a small current signals the solenoid to let the current through to the starter. The starter then turns over. When you have a solenoid that is going bad, the switch can get tweaked and not let the current through correctly. Since the electrical current isn’t enough to fire up the starter, the engine doesn’t fire. In some cars, it just makes a clicking noise.

Assuming your solenoid is okay, the problem is most likely going to be your starter. The starter takes a lot of strain when it turns over the car. Sooner or later, it is going to have problems. The starter is usually very sensitive to human emotions. If it senses you need to get somewhere in a hurry, it will usually choose that moment to go bad!

Is there some easy way to tell what the problem is? Well, easy is a relative term, but you can do a bypass test. The idea is to bypass the solenoid with the electrical current from the battery. If the starter terms normally, the solenoid is the problem. If it doesn’t, the starter is the problem.

You’ll notice I didn’t mention anything about testing the ignition switch. It is very rare for them to go bad. If you hear clicking when you turn the ignition on, the problem is not the ignition for the very reason that you are hearing something!

A car that won’t start is a pain in the derriere. That being said, fixing it is usually not expensive, so things could definitely be worse. 

By: Dirk Gibson

Okay, something’s wrong with your car. You know it. It just doesn’t “feel” right.

That may sound lame when you’re talking to your mechanic, but believe me, it’s not something you want to ignore.

Maybe you feel like the car is difficult to handle. Maybe the ride just seems less smooth and stable. Perhaps there’s a vibration that wasn’t there before.

These symptoms almost always indicate a problem.

Is it harder to steer your vehicle? Do you have difficulty steering in a straight line? This might mean your front wheels are misaligned or you have worn steering parts.

Does your car feel like it wants to steer or pull to the right or left? You’ll need to get this checked out. It may only be that your tires aren’t properly inflated. But it could also mean that your front end is misaligned or damaged in some way. That’s nothing to play around with!

Maybe your car feels like it’s vibrating. Your tires may need balancing in this case.

It’s a good idea to check your shock absorbers and struts, too. They might need replacing if the car rides “strangely”.

If you put on your brakes, and your car pulls to one side – that means you need to take in it for repair.

If the brake pedal sinks to the floor when pressure is maintained – same thing. Take it in.

If you hear or feel scraping or grinding when you apply the brake, this indicates a problem that needs to be checked out.

And of course, the no brainer – You need to get your car to a repair shop if the “brake” light on the instrument panel is lit.

Engine trouble is on the menu if you find that your car is hard to start. Other indicators include the check engine light coming on, your car using more than one quart of oil between changes, the car engine running after you remove the key, if the car stalls or idles roughly, and if there’s poor acceleration. Also, getting fewer miles to the gallon is nothing to pooh-pooh. That could mean an engine problem, too.

Say the word “transmission problems” and your wallet being drained of all that’s in it comes to mind. You might have a problem of this nature if there’s a delayed response when shifting from neutral to drive or reverse, if your car doesn’t shift during regular acceleration, or if the engine speeds up, but the car doesn’t respond. If shifting is hard – there could be a problem with transmission, too.

Just for your peace of mind, make sure the mechanic checks to see if it’s just a disconnected hose problem or if maybe the filter is plugged. These repairs are much simpler and cheaper than having your transmission replaced.

When it comes right down to it, you know your car and how it’s supposed to feel when all is well. If something doesn’t quite feel right, get it checked out. You may end up saving money and someone’s life




By: Samuel Murray

Okay, something is wrong with your car. You know it. It just does not feel right.

That may sound lame when you are talking to your mechanic, but believe me, it is not something you want to ignore.

Maybe you feel like the car is difficult to handle. Maybe the ride just seems less smooth and stable. Perhaps there is a vibration that was not there before.

These symptoms almost always indicate a problem.

Is it harder to steer your vehicle? Do you have difficulty steering in a straight line? This might mean your front wheels are misaligned or you have worn steering parts.

Does your car feel like it wants to steer or pull to the right or left? You will need to get this checked out. It may only be that your tires are not properly inflated. But it could also mean that your front end is misaligned or damaged in some way. That is nothing to play around with!

Maybe your car feels like it is vibrating. Your tires may need balancing in this case.

It is a good idea to check your shock absorbers and struts, too. They might need replacing if the car rides strangely.

If you put on your brakes, and your car pulls to one side that means you need to take in it for repair.

If the brake pedal sinks to the floor when pressure is maintained then that means the same thing. Take it in.

If you hear or feel scraping or grinding when you apply the brake, this indicates a problem that needs to be checked out.

And of course the no brainer. You need to get your car to a repair shop if the brake light on the instrument panel is lit.

Engine trouble is on the menu if you find that your car is hard to start. Other indicators include the check engine light coming on, your car using more than one quart of oil between changes, the car engine running after you remove the key, if the car stalls or idles roughly, and if there is poor acceleration. Also, getting fewer miles to the gallon is nothing to pooh pooh. That could mean an engine problem, too.

Say the word transmission problems and your wallet being drained of all that is in it comes to mind. You might have a problem of this nature if there is a delayed response when shifting from neutral to drive or reverse, if your car does not shift during regular acceleration, or if the engine speeds up, but the car does not respond. If shifting is hard there could be a problem with transmission, too.

Just for your peace of mind, make sure the mechanic checks to see if it is just a disconnected hose problem or if maybe the filter is plugged. These repairs are much simpler and cheaper than having your transmission replaced.

When it comes right down to it, you know your car and how it is supposed to feel when all is well. If something does not quite feel right, get it checked out. You may end up saving money and someones life!




By: Terry Parker