Agreed with the above, that both no luck and no response work in this example.
When you write something like no luck, no reply, no reaction, no answer, or no response, you're using a shorter, two-word phrase to stand in for a longer concept. They don't all mean the exact same thing, but the meanings are similar enough that there are times when more than one might fit. In order to decide which shortened phrase works, you need to think about whether or not the longer phrase fits/makes sense in the context of your example.
When you try to start a motor, you're doing something (whether that's pressing a button, turning a key, pulling a cord, etc.) and hoping that the engine will respond. When we talk about motors, engines, and other mechanical things, we use the words "respond" (verb) and "response" (noun) a lot: a responsive (adj.) car is one that is quick to adjust when you press down on the accelerator/gas pedal; if you turn the steering wheel, a truck should respond (verb) by turning in that direction; when you try to start a motor, you're looking for a response (noun); etc. The reason we use respond instead of another word probably has something to do with programming, but it's just one of those combinations you need to learn often go together. If you're talking about something mechanical or technological, and you're talking about what happens after you do something, some form of respond is more often than not going to be the word you're looking for: a touchscreen phone responds to the touch of a finger, and if your computer is frozen, then that means it isn't responding to anything you're doing (pressing keys, clicking on things, moving the mouse).See AlsoWhat Does IGN Mean? | The Word CounterUnderstanding IGN and Its Impact – Slang SenseiNo Response Is a Response - 5 Things It Could Mean - SimplyTogetherNo Response is a Response: A Powerful Communication Art
We don't tend to use the word reaction for things like that. Technically, when you're trying to start a motor, you are looking for some kind of reaction to happen within the motor. However, I think we tend to use the word reaction to refer to specific types of responses that are quick, automatic, or reflexive. If we're talking about a person, we might say a person reacts with anger or reacts to a bright light by blinking. These are quick, thoughtless responses triggered by something else. The word reaction is often used in physics and chemistry, as well: when discussing how rust forms, for example, we might say that iron reacts to oxygen, or that when iron is exposed to oxygen, there is a chemical reaction. This is a specific type of change that a substance may undergo. It would sound a bit unnatural to say something like "you press a button and the machine reacts," and I would expect a native speaker to say responds instead, but the sentence still makes sense as it is. If I heard someone say that in conversation, I probably wouldn't notice.
The words reply and answer are specific types of responses that both suggest a certain amount of personification: these are verbs we use with living things -- most often with people, but also with other living creatures. Both words usually imply a level of thoughtfulness or intention. We say things like John answered the door, or Tracy asked me a question and I replied with a thumbs up. When it comes to communication, reply and respond are sometimes interchangeable: a person may reply to a letter, or they may respond to a letter. However, in both of these situations, the words are referring to an intentional action by a conscious being. If I say something like "I asked my dog if she wanted to go for a walk and she answered with a bark," then I'm attributing something approaching human-like understanding and thought to my dog. That's a fairly common thing people do when talking about pets or other animals. Sometimes, we may do this with nonliving things, usually as an artistic choice (a literary technique called "personification"). The same way we personify nonliving things when we say things like the wind howled or light danced on the surface of the water, we might say I asked for a sign and the universe answered or the universe replied. So, along the same lines, you technically can say that you begged and the motor answered your prayers or something similar, but you would only say something in a very rare situation where you (usually for an artistic reason) want to suggest the motor is person-like.
So, to get back to your original example:
He tried again. No response. is a shortened way of saying: He tried to start the motor again. There was no response. This makes sense and works fine.
He tried again. No reaction. is a shortened way of saying: He tried to start the motor again, but there was no reaction. This makes sense, at least, but sounds awkward. "Response" sounds more natural than "reaction," but since this at least makes sense the way it is -- we understand what it means if the motor reacts -- you could say this and everyone would understand. Some people might think it sounds funny, but others might not notice anything odd about it.
He tried again. No reply. is a shortened way of saying: He tried to start the motor again. There was no reply. ...This
does notmake sense in the context of your example; motors do not "reply" unless you're using personification and speaking figuratively. Now, there are other contexts where this might make sense. Perhaps instead of starting a motor, he's trying to call his mother and she's not picking up. You might say: He tried to call her again. There was no reply. Now, in this context, the word "reply" makes sense. In this same context, the shorter version also makes sense: He tried again. No reply.
He tried again. No answer.
is a shortened way of saying: He tried to start the motor again. There was no answer. For the same reasons as with "reply," this does notmake sense. Motors don't "answer". But again, if we change the context/example to a situation where he's trying to call his mother and she's not picking up the phone, then this does work: He tried to call her again. There was no answer. Or even: He tried to call again, but received no answer. Both make sense, because you do "answer" a phone call. So again, we can shorten this to He tried again. No answer. and it will still make sense, if we're talking about phone calls.
And finally: He tried again. No luck. is a shortened way of saying He tried to start the motor again. He did not have any luck. This makes perfect sense just as it is.