Checklist for car not starting

If your car won't start use the checklists in this thread to diagnose the problem.

Flat battery - do they lights dim to a faint glow when the starter motor cuts in?

Starter motor - does the starter motor relay click into place, is the starter motor actually spinning and turning over the engine. Sometimes you lose some teeth on the starter ring so there is no contact with the starter motor, putting the car in gear and rocking it backwards and forwards is usually enough to rotate the starter ring slightly and make contact.​

Please suggest other things to check in the event of a non starting car in this thread.
 
- No fuel
- Corroded battery terminals
- If auto is it not in PARK
- Drive belt loose and not charging battery
- Blown fuse
- Faulty fuel pump
- Wet ignition connections
- Collapsed cell in battery = dead battery
- Badly worn ignition key ( has happened to me )
 
Obi it's rare that teeth off the ring gear is a problem but sometimes it can be a faulty commutator that is not fully engaging the starters drive gear onto the ring gear.
This has happened to me :mad:

PS for the non mechanically minded the ring gear is fitted to the outside circumference of the flywheel and the starter motor engages the ring gear to turn the motor over to start when the ignition key is turned :)
 
I suppose it is quite rare, although it did happen to me on two high mileage cars, both Vauxhalls incidentally.
 

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