Chevrolet - Cobalt :: 2008 - Engine Will Not Turn Over When Turn The Key
Aug 13, 2012
Car clicks when I turn the key , all lights and electrical come on but the engine will not turn over....
View 2 RepliesCar clicks when I turn the key , all lights and electrical come on but the engine will not turn over....
View 2 RepliesI am having an electrical problem with my front right turn signal I have not been able to chase down.
The symptoms are when the headlights are on, either manually or automatically from the daylight sensor, the front right turn signal will not flash, and I get the double speed clicking as if there were a burned out bulb. However, when it is daylight out and the headlights are in daytime running light mode, the turn signal works fine, 95% of the time. Occasionally when the headlights are off the turn signal will not work either.
I have replaced the headlights casing and bulbs, and tried rebuilding the pig tail harness as well.
I have a 2006 Chevy Cobalt... I can smell gasoline ONLY when I turn the heater or a/c on. I have taken the car to TWO different auto shops and no one knows WHAT is causing this. The check engine light came on recently after a radiator flush and the first auto shop said it was a thermostat switch and bring it back the next day. I was leery of this and went to the second auto shop who told me they never heard of a thermostat switch and to bring it back whenever the check engine light comes on again. Meantime, I will not turn on the heat or air because the gas smell gives me a headache. What this could be?
View 3 RepliesFor a little over a month now, the front left turn signal has gone out at least once a week. I have been continuing to buy new bulbs for it, and it would run for a few days, then quit on me again. Just today, it happened again, I replaced the bulb, but this time it still isn't working. Ive tried clearing some of the crud off of the inside of the socket, but nothing seems to be working, and now im down a turn signal.
View 1 RepliesMy daughters car won't start. My husband took out the starter and had it tested and it is fine. Then he took the battery out of my car and put it in the Cobalt, still doesn't start. The starter is turning but the engine doesn't engage. The fly wheel looks good. My daughter is using my car to get to work and to soccer practice for a team she is coaching, I miss my car!
View 11 RepliesRan my battery down on my car when I left my lights on and proceeded to work an 8-hour shift.
Came out and stuck my key in the ignition. Nothing happened, which is when I realized my plight. The dang ignition wouldn't release my key! This meant I couldn't get into the trunk by key. I pressed the (stupidly electric) remote trunk lock. That's where the jumper cables are! Did I mention it was below freezing and I wasn't dressed for sustained outdoor shenanigans?
Fortunately, I was able to flag down co-workers with jumper cables, after a time. We opened the hood--praises, they actually left a cable-actuated device on the car!--and got going. None the less, it was a close scare.
1) Why does the ignition "grab" the key without battery power?
2) How does one defeat 1)?
3) Is it necessary to store my jumper cables INSIDE the car?
4) What mental giant decided a trunk latch that's INOP with a dead battery was a good idea?
I have a decent working understanding of a lock cylinder--6 or so spring-loaded wafers that retract into the cylinder body, allowing it to turn--but I don't see how that requires current flow to work. If it's a "safety" feature, how do I disable it, permanently?
2008 Chevy Cobalt
The fan for my A/c and heat does not turn on anymore. The A/c and heating systems themselves do work because if I put my hand right up against the vent I can feel it. When I switch on the fan, there is no noise, no humming either. This happened over the course of two days where first the fan worked fine, then it took a little while to turn on, then it would only turn on if I put it on high and waited a long time, then it didn't turn on at all.
Since then I have not tried to turn the fan on for more than a few minutes to see if I can get it to work again because I'm concerned that the trapped heat or A/c might damage something inside (am I correct?).
Keys get stuck in ignition lose all power have replaced ignition and shifter?
View 1 RepliesI have an '08 Chevy Cobalt with manual transmission with 55,000 miles on it. The clutch is beginning to slip, and is probably going out. What is the life expectancy of a clutch, I thought this seemed kind of short.
View 6 RepliesOk everytime I am stopped at a light or even when my car is in park, my speedometer begins to jump up and down, usually it will jus eventually stop, yesterday the engine started to rev then the car just shut off while I'm just sitting at a light, then my headlights began darken right before it shuts off. What could the problem. 2008 Chevy Cobalt
View 7 RepliesI've got an '08 Cobalt. There is a large leak in my coolant system. The plastic reservoir is empty and if I add coolant and start the engine it all gushes out of a hole in a piece of plastic on the side of the radiator. Can I drive it to the shop if I watch the engine temperature or should I have it towed? Is the engine temperature measurement affected by the lack of coolant?
View 6 RepliesMake: Chevy Model: Cobalt LS Year: 2005 Mileage: 120000
So I'm having this problem with my engine stalling at low RPM. The RPM goes to 0 and the engine shuts off.
This only happens when traveling at low speeds (e.g. slowly accelerating from a stop, braking, moving in stop and go traffic)
This NEVER happens when I'm traveling above 10 mph (e.g. if I'm coasting at 40 and let my foot off the gas, the RPM can go to 500 RPM but it will never stall in this case).
After the stall, I can always put the car in park, turn the ignition and it will turn back on again.
I have not noticed any electrical problems that occur when this happens (the radio stays on during the stall and the lights don't dim).
My car was part of that Chevy ignition switch recall, but I took it to the dealership which (hopefully) repaired it.
I drive an 05 Chevy Classic (that's an '04 Malibu made in '05), and it's never given me problems (though I've only had it about 2 years). This morning, I can't get it going. The engine turns over when I turn the key (though some of the time it takes several moments), but then as soon as I let go of the key, the engine dies. I tried giving it gas, but this doesn't seem to make a difference. After a couple of tries I noticed that the dashboard lights weren't coming on. They usually all light up while the starter runs, and I can at least get them to light most of the time when the key is turned to "on". None of this works. The power windows will open and close when I have the key turned to on, so the electrical system works somewhat.
View 8 RepliesI have a 2000 Chevy S10 (4-cylinder, rear wheel drive, the most basic model). A few months ago, the truck wouldn't start. The starter clicked a single time when I turned the key, and the lights on the radio came on, but nothing else happened. Several hours later, I attempted to start the truck again, and it started just fine. I disconnected the battery and found some corrosion on the positive connection (not that bad), and I assumed it was because of a bad connection.
I cleaned it and haven't had any problems since....until last night. The truck once again wouldn't start at a gas station. One click from the starter but nothing else happened. I cleaned out the battery connection again, and the positive terminal was again slightly corroded, but it wasn't that bad. The truck started after I cleaned out the connection and it got me home, but wouldn't start again after I shut it off. Can a bad battery cause repeated corrosion or possibly be the problem? I'm hoping it's just the battery, but I don't want to get a new one until I'm sure...
I've been having my 'service engine soon' light turn on in my 1999 Chevy Blazer. It has an automatic transmission and 60,000 miles. I first disconnected the battery to turn off the light and to see if it would turn on again. It turned on again so I took it to AutoZone for an obd2 scan and got codes P0300 and P0442. I replaced the spark plugs and spark plug cables and the light turned off, but then turned back on after a week. I'm starting to think the problem is something simple like the gas cap.
The rubber film around the cap has a few tears, but are the tears significant enough to cause the light to turn on?
I've got a 2001 Chevy Prizm (160,000 miles) Starts right up-after I drive for awhile and turn the engine off. It won't restart at times - I have to wait anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes till the engine will start again. The engine cranks - so it's not the starter or the battery.
View 4 RepliesFuel Pump and Fuel Pump Relay replaced after 115,000 miles. On occasion, engine will turn over but not crank ... wait 10 minutes and the engine will start. No security light (passlock) or engine trouble codes displayed or recorded. Once the engine starts, it runs smoothly and normally. Problem of starting did not occur until the fuel pump and relay were replaced.
View 4 RepliesA year ago, I had a problem starting my car (a 2004 Chevrolet Impala, about 120,000 miles). When I put the key in the ignition, the engine wouldn't turn. I knew there wasn't a problem with the battery because my lights, radio, etc. were still operating fine. Instead, I got a bright flashing "SECURITY" message on the front panel of the car. After a few minutes pacing around the parking lot, I returned to my car and it started without a problem. I checked online, and several car forums and articles claimed that this was a common problem in 2004 Chevrolet Impalas: some faulty wiring in the security system would stop the car from turning on because it thought you were trying to hot-wire the vehicle.
After the first incident, I didn't encounter this problem again until recently. Within the last 2 weeks, this problem has become more frequent, occurring maybe 2-3 times per week. The car won't start and I'll get a flashing "SECURITY" message. If I wait a while (between 5 to 30 minutes), the car will eventually start. I finally decided to take my car into a Chevrolet dealership to get the problem fixed. I described the problem to the mechanic; she guessed that the cause was associated with the ignition cylinder....
I have a 2009 Chevy Equinox with a little over 50,000 miles. About a year ago the key began sporadically getting stuck in the AUX position when I attempt to turn the engine off (no problems when starting engine). The dealer installed a new ignition cylinder (which cost me $1,000) but the problem continues. When the key sticks I re-start, re-shift and re-brake and I can remove the key and turn off the engine on the first or second try. The dealer suggested that I take my foot off the brake when I remove the key but I usually have to FLOOR the brake to remove the key.
View 3 RepliesI have an 1999 Cavalier that I got inspected in July so I'm good until next July. I had a small welding job done on the frame so it would get the inspection sticker for this year, but I'm thinking that by next year, I'll have paid enough off of my Liberty and be able to take on another car payment. In the meantime, the Cavalier has 214,000 miles on it and has something weird happening. Occasionally, I will get into the car and turn the key to start it and it makes a sound in what I think is the engine compartment.
It almost seems as if there is a small explosion in the engine and the car doesn't start. Then, I turn the key again and it starts up without a problem, no boom. This actually happened again yesterday and I'm writing now so I don't forget "how" it happened. I stopped at the school to pick up my son and shut off the car to go in. I picked him up, got in the car and that is when it happened. I had just come from my house which is a mile away, so it was a short drive to get him. I keep thinking that maybe one of the cylinders has some gas in it that is igniting when I try to start it, but not sure what could cause that. It doesn't happen all the time though, just once every couple of weeks.
Also, this car has over 200,000 miles on it and I do not believe I have ever changed the antifreeze in it. It is the orange kind that is supposed to be good up to 100,000 miles and, yes, I should have had it changed a long time ago, but I have never had any problems with it overheating or starting in the winter time so I didn't worry about it. Again, this is only once a month or maybe every few weeks, but I'll see the coolant light come on. I don't want to take this to the shop and pay them to replace the coolant, so I'm thinking I'll either do it myself. My question is...should I drain it and replace with orange coolant, green coolant, or just top it off with water?
My 2002 F150 Screw has been giving me issues when trying to start it for the last month. Sometimes it will start sometimes it won't. When I turn the ignition on the gauges all seem normal, the theft light turns solid then goes out, but engine will turn over but not start. Sometimes it will start if I leave the ignition on for 20 seconds then pull the key and try again. (this doesn't always work). I have disconnected the battery for about 2 minutes this usually works but not always.
Sometimes it will start first time with no issues. Once the the engine fires it runs fine. Another symptom is when I shut the engine off, pull the key and open the door, the chime telling me that the key is still in the ignition sounds. (but the key is in my hand)
I put a new battery in yesterday to rule that out and because the old one seemed to be getting weak. (starting issues didn't go away). I don't want to put 300+ into a fuel pump without being sure that's the problem.