carreragt

I have a 2002 Accord, 2.3L vtec, 5 speed manual.

The day it broke down, the car initially started right up after sitting on the driveway for more than 24 hours. No hesitation, no drama.
After driving for 10 mins, parked the car. Went back to start the car after 40 mins.
The car doesn't start when ignition is turned. Dash lights turn on, but no cranking or turning over sound, just a dead silent car.

Asked someone to help jump start the car with a running vehicle, but to no avail.
Called AAA, they come in and test the battery, and they say battery charge is still good, over 12.7 volts.
(I have a multimeter and at home and it reads 18V after disconnecting the battery leads, batter is not very old, replaced last year.)
Tow truck guy comes in to supposedly pick up the car, but instead helps me bump start it and it works, I was able to drive home.

Do some research, and checked the battery leads, they seem to be fine.
The car is now on the driveway but still won't start, even though dash light and power locks and windows work.
Removed the starter, took it to autozone, and they run diagnostics 3 times, and I saw it for myself that motor works (spins fast), and solenoid works.

Further research:
I'm reading up online that it could be main relay or ignition switch. Anyway, am I on the right path, should I check for something else? How do I diagnose relay or ignition switch?
I'm strapped for cash right now, so as much as I wish to start replacing parts and see if it works, I am not in that position right now and would prefer to run more diagnostics if possible. Would really appreciate your solutions. Thanks a lot.

holmesnmanny

Do you have an aftermarket alarm ?

carreragt

It's a LX model, no aftermarket alarm, anti-theft, or even ABS really. Just power lock, windows, and mirrors.

Update:

I checked the connection cable that connects between positive terminal of battery and starter motor. I'm getting the same voltage on the starter as the battery by itself.

I disconnected the wire connector on the clutch pedal safety switch, had the car in neutral, and only depressed the brake but did not depress the clutch... still no ignition.
I assume if the safety switch was bad, this should have bypassed it and started the car. Didn't work.

The clutch stop pad (button) was broken, so it was replaced.

Edit:

Ok according to online diagrams, I noticed there are 2 clutch switches?? One with black connector and one yellow. I disconnected the one with yellow connector. Am I supposed to disconnect both or make a jumper connection somewhere to diagnose?

holmesnmanny

you can jumper the connector for the switch with a paperclip to jump it, just be sure your car is in neutral

carreragt

Do I just insert the paperclip into the connector itself, and not connect between something else? Should I disconnect the other clutch switch (black connector) and do the same? Thanks.

carreragt

Update:

Checked the S cable that connects to solenoid connector on starter motor. Used a multimeter to check voltage between the S cable and negative terminal on battery, with the car ignition cranked on.... no voltage reading.

Checked the battery power cable that connects between the positive terminal and starter motor. Used a multimeter to check voltage between the starter cable and negative terminal on battery, with the car ignition cranked on.... slight voltage fluctuation reading when ignition is on. So it is working/supplying power to starter.

SOLVED:

Following suggestion of "holmesnmanny", I stuck a bent paper clip inside clutch safety switch wire connector to close the circuit loop. There are two switches, it's the one the one with yellow connector. Basically, I disconnected from the switch and used the paper clip to close circuit loop and bypass the system.

Annnnnnnnd VROOOM! Back in business! Thank you Holmes!

Man after pulling all the hair out and taking off the battery box, starter, getting it bench tested and almost going crazy, it was something much simpler. I'm glad I didn't replace the starter on first instinct.

Most of the online tutorials said that 80% of the time it's faulty starter/solenoid, ~20% it's the ignition switch or main relay, and less than 1% something else.

I hope this thread helps somebody else out in similar situation, who is not very mechanically inclined like myself.

carreragt

Update 2 post solution:

Ok, so I didn't stop working on this even after taking off the switch. I got to thinking and realized what if this switch is like the other one, the Cruise control clutch safety switch on which I had to replace the stop pad. May be this one has broken stop pad. I tested the clutch safety switch (yellow connector) with a multimeter on resistance setting. And from what I could deduce, once the plunger is pushed in, it closes the circuit, much like the paper clip jumper.

I reattached back to the connector and turned the ignition with the plunger pushed it (used a plier to hold and push) and.... voila! The car starts again.

So I think it's the stop pad behind the clutch safety switch that's not pushing in the plunger when pedal gets depressed. Unfortunately, this stop pad is located in much more difficult area, harder to get to unlike the cruise control stop pad. I'm not sure if I have to take off the pedal assembly.

holmesnmanny

those don't go bad too often but they do go bad, there was actually another instance just recently here of someone else havin an issue with one

there is a thread around here where someone posted a howto for how to replace the stop pad, just try a search

glad you got it fixed 👍

they got the stop pads at oreilly auto

8888

I have almost exactly the same problem as the OP on my one previous owner 2001 Accord LX 5 speed with 135k miles and no aftermarket parts. I drove it to the grocery, it restarted fine after sitting for an hour. Drove 10 minutes to another store and 10 minutes later when I came out, no start.

I get dash lights in accessory position, dash lights out and nothing from the car when the key is in turned to the start position. The only difference I see between mine and the OP's is that my clock reset when the key was turned to start. Also, the wipers were on intermittent when I turned the car off due to rain and came on very slowly with the dash lights dimmed one time I tried to start it.

This tells me I have an electrical problem versus a defective switch preventing it from starting?

Starters and switches usually give some hint of failure and this one was fine.....till it wasn't.

I thought corrosion had developed in the 10 days it sat in my garage after purchase so I opened the hood and twisted on the battery connections and made sure they weren't corroded. I saw nothing wrong, closed the hood, and tried again a few more times. The car finally started and I drove home.

Battery voltage was 12.7 connected, I cleaned the negative ground at the radiator support with a file (it was dull) and reattached after coating with DeOxit. This was sunday, I got sidetracked yesterday and tried to start it this morning. Same problem as sunday...dash lights that go out when key goes to start position and nothing from the car.

I've got no one to help me meter anything at the starter with key on so I plan on cleaning all positive and ground connections I can find and trying again.

As mentioned, the car is a one owner trade in that looks almost new. It was traded in on a new Subaru at the dealership where my buddy is the used car manager. It started fine there and when I drove it home, it sat in the garage for 10 days while I was gone and this developed.

Any suggestions on other places to look beyond electrical connections that may have corroded while sitting?

Thanks

8888

In case anyone looks at this thread in the future, the problem in my case seems to have been marginal contact between the cables to the power box and starter and the clamp at the positive battery terminal. It had one of those battery terminals that has two bolts and a bar clamp that smash the copper core of the cables to create a circuit. It wasn't corroded but the copper was dull so I cut it off and stripped more jacket to create a new contact point and it's been fine since. Hopefully, I didn't just jinx myself. It doesn't seem to run or idle quite as well but I did have the battery disconnected for a while so maybe it's in learning mode. No CEL, which is good.