WD40, you magnificent bastard!
A few weeks ago, my car learned a new trick: If it’s cold out, and the dolt in the driver’s seat turns the key, don’t start the engine for like three seconds, it’ll be great!
Sadly, the dolt in the driver’s seat didn’t think it was as hilarious as the car clearly did. At first I thought it was the battery, as the last battery purchase made by the vehicle’s owner was in October of 2000, but a new battery did little to ameliorate the problem. I did a little research on ignition systems, and all signs pointed towards the starter solenoid being stuck and not firing the starter motor. This made sense, as when the starter motor finally decided to turn on, the engine started without complaint. Well okay, starter solenoids are cheap ($50), I can deal with this…oh wait, it so happens that the starter motor assembly is nearly completely inaccessible from the top of the car, and it’s cold out and getting dark ridiculously early! What’s a man sans garage to do?
It turns out that I didn’t need to jack up the car, drop out the starter motor, or any other godawful procedure. A fine gentleman on the Something Awful automotive forum said that the problem could be water or some other liquid causing the starter solenoid to get gummed up in cold temperatures, so I should hose it down with WD40 before anything else. I did so – sure enough, the solenoid was grimy as hell thanks to a small oil leak – and problem solved! It started up without any hesitation on this brisk, 22 degree November morn’.
Cheapest fix to a car I’ve ever made 
