So ive been having weird issues with starting my car lately and i have done a few things that i thought would help but it doesnt seem to work. I have a 1998 RS and i have bought a new battery recently as well as sand down the paint of the chassis so the gound has better contact to the metal for the main ground wire from the transmission to the chassis. I changed the terminals as well and put a new ground wire from the battery to the chassis. i also took out the main relay and checked to see if any of the solder joints were cracked and they were fine and i can hear the fuel prime from the pump in the back of the car every time. The problem doesnt occur all the time but probably about once or twice a day. When it is cold outside the problem seems to happen more frequently.

When i turn the key into the start position it doesnt crank at all, not even a clicking sound but everything else works. About 2/3rd's of the time, when it doesnt start right away have to hold they key in the start position for a bout 3-7 seconds and it randomly starts up out of nowhere. Sometimes it doesnt start at all, but if i sit there and and play with the ignition (taking my key out, put it back in over and over) sometimes this works. Usually when i cant get it to start after 5 minutes of "playing with the ignition" i just push start it and that works every time. i have found a couple of other threads online but no real answer to this particular problem. Im thinking its an electrical connection somewhere but i really have no idea. On some of the other threads ive found ive heard that a starter can have a "bad spot", im not sure if this is my problem but again i have no idea.

I recently swapped my car from auto to manual, so the starter was replaced with a used one. Could this be the problem? And if it is could i just rebuild the starter by replacing the contact points from THIS THREAD? ive heard that something like this could also be a bad ground somewhere. Im not sure what it could be and this problem doesnt happen every time, only usually.Any help is appreciated

 

Did you install the clutch interlock switch above the clutch pedal? If so, it may be misadjusted.

Try stepping REALLY hard on the clutch pedal when starting. If that does not help, unplug the wires from the clutch interlock switch and short them together. Will it start then?

 

Next time it will not start, [crank] try a bypass jump... https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...cm+bypass+jump

If engine cranks when you do a bypass jump then the starter is not the problem. try the starter circuit test, also in link.

Because "messing" with the ign. will get it to crank I would check the ign. switch...
http://techauto.awardspace.com/ignitionswitch.html

I would also like to know how the wired the starter circuit.

Is it still the automatic dash harness, did you just jump the A/T gear position switch plug?

Did you install the CIS and a starter relay? 94

 

Thanks for the info fcm. i havent tested the circuit yet but i plan on doing your write up tomorrow. I am still using the auto dash harness. The only wiring done from the auto dash harness is hooking up the starter wires from the auto shifter plug to the clutch pedal switch, which are the two fatter wires at the top of this picture. NO other wiring has been done.



And im guessing CIS means clutch interlock switch? Im guessing this is the switch connected to the clutch pedal? If so then yes but that is all, this is what i mentioned above the pic i posted. I dont think a starter relay was installed during the conversion.. Are you talking about the main relay? im still using the same main relay that was used when my car was auto

 

The CIS, [clutch switch] is used to supply a ground to a starter relay, [in a standard], starter power does not go through the CIS, and if that is what you have done then that may be your problem, the CIS will not designed to handle the current of the starter lead, it is a low current switch.

What you should do is install a relay on the two starter leads at the A/T gear position switch plug, the input side, [coming from the ign. switch] would go to #30 and #85 of the relay, the output starter lead from the A/Tgear position switch plugwould go to #87 of the relay, then one side of CIS would go to ground, the other side to #86 of the relay. 94

 

I just drew this up on paint really quick, i just wanted to make sure i know how to wire the relay from the info you have given me. The diagram should be like this right?



Thanks for helping me fcm, i think this might solve my problem because it makes sense that the switch is meant for low voltage and cant handle all the current that is meant to go to the starter from the ignition.

 

Looks like the wiring is correct, although if the CIS was the problem, the switch is propbably N/G now. 94

 

So i think you were right about the clutch switch being the problem. i still did a bypass jump like you said in your writeup and everything worked fine. SO i got under the dash, cut the wires and just connected them without the switch and it starts up every time without hesitation.

I also think that switch is probably toast now because of the power that ran through it already did its damage but should i just replace the switch? Its as easy as going to the junkyard and finding any an acura/honda that was made around the same time or should i just order a new one from the dealer? Would it be alright to test the switch i already have and use it if it works? Thanks again fcm you solved my problem, im glad it was a simple and easy fix.

 

It was me who originally suggested the clutch switch, not FCM.

As I suggested in my original post, the switch may simply be misadjusted. This is common when the factory setup is disturbed.

It is beyond me why you would cut the wires instead of simply disconnecting the connector.

 

The problem was not that the CIS was misadjusted, the problem was that he had run the starter power through the switch, remember this is an auto to manual swap, there was no starter relay.

Also there is no adjustment on the CIS. 94

 

Yes there is. Check your manuals. It's adjusted in exactly the same way as the brake pedal switch, with screw threads and a locknut.

Both the pedal height and clutch interlock switch must be adjusted together. The problem is that the interlock switch is WAY up there under the dash and is hard to get at -- if people see it at all -- so it tends to get ignored.

If adjustment gets messed up enough, the car will not start. This normally never happens unless somebody's been under there doing things to the factory setup.

 

Still not the problem, as mentioned the problem was because starter power was run through the CIS and the switch was not designed to handel that kind of current.

Also I just checked the CIS on my 94 and it is not adjustable, it just goes through the hole and the shaft nut holds it in place, maybe CDM Integras are diff., although I can't see why they would be, but stranger things have happened. 94

 

ALL of them are adjustable regardless of market or year.

Get a small extensible mirror and take a look at the backside of the switch's mount bracket (it is very difficult to see). There's a nut welded-on back there. When you install the CIS, you screw it into that nut, then use the locknut to secure it in place. It's exactly like the brake-light switch. Adjustment requires that you unplug the electrical connector, otherwise you can't rotate the switch to adjust it.

Your particular installation may be such that none of the threads on the switch are visible.

 

As I said, I checked there is no nut welded to the bracket, just a spacer, my CIS just slides in the hole, a nut threads on to it to hold it in place, pulled it right out and checked to see if it was just stripped out, it was not.

When I replace the MC cylinder I will take a pic and post it.

I assumed all where like mine, I see no need to adjust it as clutch pedal has to move far enough to disengage the clutch completely before switch is closed anyway.

I have adjusted my clutch pedal more then a few times and replaced the CIS once.

I also checked my Haynes manual and it does indeed state that the CIS is adjustable, maybe they ran out of nuts the day my clutch pedal bracket was being built, as I said this is not a nut that was stripped out it is just a spacer, [thick washer] unlike the one for the brake switch, which is a nut welded to the bracket and is adjustable and would have to be. 94

 

That would be nice. I've never seen a non-adjustable one.

I have a bunch of factory manuals, plus all the Integras from 1990 to 2001. Every single one shows an adjustable CIS.

 

I checked a friends 94 LS and it is adjustable, if I did not know better I would think mine was switched, but I got the car brand spanking new in 93 and I know I never changed it. 94

 

U might have a bad ignition switch. Just a guess.

 

Problem was solved...
"So i think you were right about the clutch switch being the problem. i still did a bypass jump like you said in your writeup and everything worked fine. SO i got under the dash, cut the wires and just connected them without the switch and it starts up every time without hesitation" 94