Sense-A

My first post here. hope you guys can help.

I have a 1991 Honda Accord LX manual 5 speed with about 200k miles.

My car has lots of problems. But for right now lets just try to get it started.

For a couple weeks I was intermittently experiencing problems starting my car. I would turn the key as normal to start it and nothing would happen. If i waited about 15-30 seconds and try again it'd start but perhaps taking a longer time to crank before it fired up.

Now when I turn the key, nothing happens. Waiting 30 seconds doesn't work anymore. No cranking. So far I pulled the starter and tested it in my workshop. I can get the starter to work by itself with a 12volt battery. I changed the spark plugs. The old ones were oily and a bit grey by the gaps.

Today I think I should replace the wires in case some oil is up in them.

When i attempt to start it, i don't even hear a click.

At this point I'm suspecting the distributor, the coil, the igniter....

So we have new spark plugs and a starter that works by itself. How can i start eliminating other possibilities? What do you guys recommend? I got to get this car running! Then we can start solving some of the more minor problems i have with this car.

Any help is greatly appreciated! I'm willing to post pictures or provide as much information as needed.

Sense-A

I'm not sure if this is related to my issue, but my car has been idling irregularly low. Sometimes when i come to a stop sign it just cuts off. This is why i was starting my car more often because it was always cutting off at stops. could have just been the oil on the spark plugs. I don't know...

gianinline

I'm not sure if the 91 LX has an internal or external coil for the distributor, but i'd check that and also check the igniter of the distributor. Check resistance and also, apply a quick test to find out if the coil is working or not, and if the igniter is working or not.
I'm adding a link for you to see and do it on your car. Be sure to do it safely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K78X...eature=channel
Good luck.

Sense-A

Coil, igniter, distributor. I will run checks on all those this evening and return with results/questions.

If I were to just buy a whole new distributor, i guess it'd run me about $150?

I did read somewhere that there was a recall on the 91 honda distributor...not sure what the details were about.

I'm also using www.tegger.com as a reference in diagnosing this problem.

Sense-A

Someone told me that if my distributor was bad, My car would at least crank when i turned the key. However I am getting nothing at all. I can't even hear a click. Should i replace my distributor anyways?

I believe that the coil and the igniter are INSIDE the distributor on the 1991 model accords. So replacing the entire distributor is better than replacing the coil and igniter separately. Do you agree? Looks like a new distributor will cost me $150-$200. However, given the statement above, I am unsure whether or not it will solve my problem.

Damnit I hate electrical problems!

Sense-A

After some research I think that the reason it won't crank or even "click" is because:

bad ignition switch? (unlikely since oil and brake dash lights work normally)
bad fuse (possible. I haven't checked all the fuses yet)
bad solenoid (yet I am able to manually get the starter to power up with a 12v battery)
bad starter (even though I manually get it to work it won't work in the car?)
bad main relay (i guess its possible)

I'm going in circles here. Diagnosis is the hardest part when it comes to mechanics. Replacing the defective part once you target it is the easy part.

clip8907

mines is actually doing the same thing, but i have a 96 ex... i'm not sure what to check anymore. when i attempt to crank it, i just get a single *click*.. i haven't really thought about checking the fuses, b/c i'm assuming that they are all ok if since it starts occationally. i'm just assuming that its the starter..

overboostin

ok most like its the safty switch cuz u dont here even a click when starting... look at your clutch peadel all the way to the top you will see two switches the first one you see is the cruse control shut off switch, the one at the very very top is the starter cut out switch , there is a small rubber button that rotts and fall apart on the peadel that is used to depress that switch to start the car. if its missing you could just use a 10mm bolt and nut to replace the rottin rubber button and it will never happen again.

or you could just cut out the safty switch and bypass but thats up to u .

Sense-A

To check you starter... I pulled the starter out (took about 15 minutes). 2 bolts attaching it to the transmission bellhouse, and another bolt attaching the (+) power cable and the thin remote wire that snaps on/off. Now with your starter removed, take a 12 volt battery and jumper cables. First take the black jumper cable and connect it to the starter chassis as a ground. Take the positive and connect it to where the positive power cable used to attach. Now take a short piece of speaker wire or copper wire and jump the (+) to where the thin remote wire used to attach. The starter should push out and spin. If it does nothing, then there is something wrong with solenoid/starter. Mine popped out and spun so i knew it was working and bolted it back in the car.

Sense-A

This is possible considering the slave cylinder went bad a few months back and the pedal was going all the way to the floor until i replaced it. I will check and post results. I hope you are right though....

If i can't get this thing to start by the end of memorial day weekend, I am either parting this car out or taking a sledge hammer to it to release my frustration.

clip8907

thanx.. i'll give that a try

Sense-A

Update: I removed my battery and starter to allow advanced auto to test them. Tested okay. All the basic fuses are in tact.

So right now i can only fathom that it is a:

bad clutch starter switch ($55 replacement) how do i test?
Bad key cylinder switch? how would i know besides the car not starting?
bad main relay (wouldn't this cause other problems?)

Any other ideas guys? Right now i have a huge paperweight that does nothing when i turn the key.

poorman212

Ok, please don't get mad about the questions. Do you have full voltage at the main battery cable on the back of starter (bad cable connection somewhere between Bat and Starter)? Do you get anything at the small wire on the solenoid when the key is turned, I once had a loose connection there.
Check the clutch switch, not sure if it "completes" the circut (number of wires going to it?). If you have a tester, you can check the switch with the plunger in and out. If it is like I think, when the plunger is out (pedal pushed) it would want to start.
From there I'd have to get the manual out and start tracing the power back.

One final question, have all of the fuses been checked (underhood and underdash).

Targa250R

A no-crank situation can be caused by these items:

- clutch switch (manual transmission)
- shifter position sensor (automatic transmission)
- ignition switch contact assembly
- starter motor
- battery cable terminals
- battery charge
- main battery fuse

A problem with the main relay or distributor will still allow the engine to crank.

The symptoms you hasve described are characteristic of a sticking clutch switch or a bad ignition switch contact assembly. The ignition switch has several contact points that can wear out; the position III contacts can be faulty while the position II contacts are fine, meaning that everything will power on normally but the engine will not crank.

Sense-A

I will attempt to test my clutch switch. Perhaps by jumping it with a paperclip. I will also test to see if the solenoid is getting a remote power when someone attempts starting the car.

If i replace the clutch switch and still no crank, then I've narrowed it down to a faulty ignition switch.

It looks like replacing the clutch switch and ignition switch costs me about $50 each. $100 is money well spent if it fixes the problem. If not, I've run out of ideas.

I will keep you guys posted so that anyone with similar problems can use this as reference. Thanks for the input so far guys.

Sense-A

I SOLVED IT!

Thanks to the help of everyone here, i narrowed it down to the Clutch switch. Not the bottom one for the cruise control. The top one that tells the car's electrical system whether or not the clutch is pushed in. I disconnected the harness, stuck a paperclip to jump both sides of the harness, and got a reading on the voltometer! So then i got excited, ran the remote wire back to the solenoid, and VROOOOOOM the car started right up!

I feel relief and pride at the same time. Now do i blow $50 on a new switch? Or do I just keep a paperclip jammed in there until something else goes wrong with the car? I will probably just replace the switch. Now i can move on to some of the other things that don't work in this car which I will make threads about later. For the time being, at least i can drive places!

This forum was very helpful thanks to all the responses. Again, my gratitude to all of you who replied.

Senior Taco

50 bucks is a bit steep.
Paper clip it till you can go pull one from the dump for like 5$

poorman212

I agree, keep the clip until you can find one in a bone yard. Only thing to remember, it will try to start in gear now