Sometimes my car alarm will go off for absolutely no reason.  A couple of times, it has gone off in the middle of the night and woken me up.  At first I thought I was being targeted by a thief, but once I was around when it went off, and there wasn’t anything around to cause it.  What do you think?

-Tamara B., MN

Tamara,

I’ve heard of a similar situation happening before.  In this particular case, the problem was a faulty door ajar switch.  For seemingly no reason at all, the door ajar switch would flick on and off, making the alarm system think somebody was trying to open the door!

Check all of the latches on your doors to see if they are sticking as well.  You can also try to access the door ajar switch itself by looking in your car manual and see if it’s sticky.

- Ken the Car Guy

When I turn the key to start my car, the key feels different than normal, and the starter won’t turn.  Normally, the key would turn to the “start” position, and then spring back to the “on” position, but now it doesn’t feel springy at all.  The car is at a friend’s now.  How do I fix this, and is there a way to get the car to start so I can move it?

-Vanessa B., WA

Vanessa,

Your description makes me think that the lock cylinder needs to be replaced.  This shouldn’t be a very expensive job, but depending on the model of car you have, replacing it on your own may be a bit of a hassle.  You’ll have to check your manual, or contact the dealer to figure out how to access the lock cylinder.

To get the car started, you should be able to jump it, though not in the way you normally would jump a car.  With the key turned to the “on” position, use a jumper cable to connect the positive terminal on the battery with the starter relay.  You may need to check your manual again to figure out where the starter relay is.  Since the key is in the ignition and set to “on” this should start the car immediately.  You’ll be able to drive it home or to a mechanic no problem.

- Ken the Car Guy

This is a problem that has slowly been getting worse and worse.  When I shift the car from park into drive or reverse, nothing will happen for several seconds before I hear the gears engage.  The delay used to be much shorter, but is getting much longer.  Any ideas?

-Patrick W., NY

Patrick,

I’m willing to bet that this problem is caused by low or dirty transmission fluid.  The fix should be pretty easy, unless damage has been caused by the lack of fluid.  Simply drain the existing fluid from the transmission, and replace it with new fluid.

For best results, I’d recommend changing the fluid again after a week or so just to make sure any dirty fluid is completely flushed out.

If the problem still persists, you’ve likely got a much more serious problem on your hands and will have to get the entire transmission checked out.

- Ken the Car Guy

I bought my car new, and ever since I brought it home, if I let it sit for more than 2 days or so, the battery dies completely.  The battery is brand new (obviously), so what could be the problem?

-Daniel P., MO

Daniel,

Since the battery is brand new, let’s assume it’s still in good shape.  If this is the case, you must have something drawing a lot of power when the car is off.  To determine the cause of this, open up the hood and take a look at the battery.  Use a multimeter to check the amperage between the positive and negative terminals.  The draw should be a small fraction of an amp, but will vary depending on the model.  To determine what is pulling all the power, open up the fuse box and continue to check the draw on the battery while disconnecting fuses.  If you pull a fuse and the draw drops dramatically, you’ve found your problem.

Most cars should be able to sit for several weeks without losing too much battery charge.

- Ken the Car Guy

Recently, my car doesn’t seem to accelerate when I press the gas pedal down.  It doesn’t matter if the car is on a flat road, or going up a hill.  It feels like the engine simply doesn’t want to go over a certain RPM.  Any ideas?

-Sylvie O., SD

Sylvie,

If I had to make I guess, I would think that you’ve got a leak in your air lines.  This leak can cause the air/fuel mixture to be out of whack, which may explain the engine staying below a certain RPM.  Usually, this problem also causes the engine to run pretty rough.

To find the leak, take a spray bottle and fill it with gasoline.  Get the engine running, and let it idle.  Take the spray bottle and spray it on the air lines.  If you notice the engine speeding up a bit, you know you’ve found your leak and can try to fix it.

- Ken the Car Guy

With my diesel, the glow plug warning light has been going on for a few months now, but the engine would still start.  Now the engine is having a really hard time starting.  Is it possible all of my glowplugs failed?

-Mel D., FL

Mel,

While it’s unlikely that all of your glowplugs failed, it sounds like one or more of them have.  I would guess that the glow plug warning light started coming on after one glow plug failed, and that others have gone out since then, making it harder to start your engine.

To test, you’ll have to remove each glow plug and test it to see if it lights.  To do this, you can remove the plug, and jump it with battery cables.  Touch the ground cable to the base of the plug, and the red cable to the tip of the glow plug.  You’ll be able to tell if it’s working.

Changing the offending glow plugs should solve your problem.

- Ken the Car Guy

My turn signals suddenly started flashing irregularly.  The light on the dash flashes erratically as well.  Is there something wrong with the headlights?

-Hank D., MA

Hank,

Whenever turn signals start flashing like that, there is usually either something wrong with the headlights or the turn signal flasher relay.

If both the front and back turn signals are actually flashing, your problem is most likely with the relay.  If both the turn signals don’t actually flash, then the relay is probably sensing the fault in the headlight, and the headlights may need to be replaced.

- Ken the Car Guy

My car will stop running after a few hours of driving, and won’t restart unless I let it sit for several minutes.  The dealer told me this is a fuel pump issue, and wants $550 to replace it, but I didn’t think fuel pumps need to cool down to work.  What should I do?

-Stephan E., ND

Stephan,

The dealer’s diagnosis sounds legitimate to me.  When fuel pumps go bad, they have a tendency to malfunction when they heat up, and this would explain why it’s having trouble starting.

The next time this happens, try spraying some starting fluid in the air intake.  If this helps the engine start, it’s definitely a fuel issue.

The $550 seems a bit high to me.  I would suggest buying the fuel pump yourself and having an independent mechanic replace it.

- Ken the Car Guy

My husband and I have got an old van.  Most of the time, the engine will turn over without starting.  If I keep the key turned for 10 seconds or so, it will stop turning over and all the lights will go off on the dash.  When I turn off the key and try again, it usually starts.  What could be happening?

-Dana R., WA

Dana,

It seems like you might be having a couple problems.  One problem is that the engine doesn’t seem to be starting even after several seconds.  This could be caused by poor compression, a misfire, or a problem with the fuel system.  The most important problem however seems to be that your power system is shutting down.  It seems like the vibration caused by starting the engine, or the power draw from using the starter is causing wiring to your battery to fail.  I would check through all your battery connections to make sure the wiring isn’t failing before trying to diagnose the prolonged starting issue.

- Ken the Car Guy

I’ve got a 97 Honda Accord.  It was having a hard time shifting in and out of 1st gear, so I had the transmission redone, but still seem to be having the same issue.  Do you have any idea what the problem could be?

-Andy P., CA

Andy,

If the transmission was redone properly, and you’re still having the same issue, then I think you might be dealing with a faulty transmission sensor.  If the sensor is off, it will try shifting gears at the wrong time, which could be causing your problems.  It’s entirely possible that the transmission didn’t need to be redone in the first place, so if I were you, I’d talk to the mechanic and see if they can’t cut you a deal since they charged you for a rebuild when it wasn’t necessary.

- Ken the Car Guy