Most of the time, our cars won’t start when it’s cold outside, especially if the battery is weak. It’s easier to start the engine after it’s been running for a while. When the car won’t start until it cools down, though, something is wrong and needs to be fixed right away.
In hot weather, why won’t my car start?
It’s most often because the fuel pump or crankshaft or camshaft position indicator is broken and the car won’t start until it cools down. The engine will run fine until you turn it off if the problem is a bad camshaft. When the engine is hot, it will stop and shut off by itself. It won’t start again until it cools down.
But there are other things that could be to blame, like air filters that are clogged, vapour locks, broken starting motors, bad ground connections, and bad battery connections. Let’s take a closer look at how this could be the reason your car won’t start after a long trip.
- The engine and camshaft position sensors are broken.
- Bad fuel pump
- Air filter clogged up
- Loose link to the battery
- Not working starter
- Bad link to the ground
- faulty coolant temperature sensor for the engine
- Vapour lock in fuel
Why does my car turn off when it gets hot and then start again when it gets cool?
![](https://mechanictimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Car-Wont-Start-Until-It-Cools-Down1-768x432-1.jpg)
A bad crankshaft or camshaft position sensor, a bad fuel pump, fuel vapour lock, or a bad engine coolant temperature sensor are the most common reasons for a hot car to stall, misfire, and finally shut off. The car will only start again when it cools down. Lack of spark and PCM problems on EFI cars are two other possible reasons.
How do you make things better?
Getting to the bottom of this problem and fixing or replacing the broken part is the best way to fix it. As a general rule, I start with the most common issue that is also the simplest to fix.
Check the wires for the battery
A bad connection to the battery is not the most usual reason. But it’s the simplest to fix. Check to see if the battery wires are properly tightened by moving them around. If they’re not, make them tighter. That might be all you need to fix the real problem. Look for rust on the battery connection. When the terminals or cords get rusty, use a wire brush and baking soda to clean them.
Clear out the air filter
Take the air filter cover off and look at the filter. If it’s only slightly clogged, blow compressed air through it to clear it out. If it’s totally clogged, though, it’s best to get a new one.
Get a new fuel pump for that bad one
Most of the time, a bad fuel pump is to blame when a car won’t start and then starts again later. Take the fuel pump off and drop the petrol tank. Check the air in the pump to make sure it’s good. That means the fuel pump is broken and needs to be replaced. Pump it back up and put the petrol tank in place.
Change a bad crankshaft or camshaft position sensor
Do a resistance test or a bench test to see if the crankshaft or camshaft position monitor is broken. But use a check tool to figure out what’s wrong with the car before you do any of these tests.
The sensor is not the issue if the scan tool does not show a bad crankshaft or camshaft position sensor code. There is no need to test the sensor. But if it does, do the steps above again to be sure. If the test shows that the CMP sensor is broken, you need to get a new one.
Talk to your mechanic
The next step is to call a neighbourhood mechanic if you can’t fix the problem yourself. After a full diagnosis, the mechanic will suggest a way to fix the main issue.
Last Words
If your car gets too hot before turning off and won’t start until it cools down, the problem and possible solutions I mentioned above are not likely to happen. This piece does not talk about anything that has to do with cars getting too hot
It’s most likely that your car won’t start until it cools down because of a broken camshaft or crankshaft position sensor, a bad fuel pump, a fuel vapour lock, a bad ground, loose battery connections, or a fuel pump that is clogged.