limerence

hey guys, my 94 civic vx wouldnt start yesterday even though my cluster lit up. so i thought it was the starter. i didnt hear any clicking either. then i decided to try to jumpstart it to see if it would start, and it actually did. this led me to believe the battery was bad ( > 5 years old). so i replaced the battery today with an interstate mt-51r and still no go.

any ideas on what it might be or how i would go about troubleshooting what part might be bad?

not a wrencher so laymens terms would be great. merry xmas

Wrona

try hitting the starter while someone cranks it if that doesnt work test the coil in the distributor

does the motor turn over at all? if there is nothing happening could be ignition switch or starter or main relay

limerence

thanks.

motor isnt turning at all.

how would i check if its the ignition switch, starter, or main relay?

Wrona

Like i said to rule out the starter hit it with somethign while someone trys to start your car.. or pull it out and take it autozone

ignition switch you have to go probe with a mulitmeter

i doubt its your main relay cause it doesnt turn over at all could be the part that controlls the ECU but do the starter first cause it is the easiest thing to try

kseriesdreams

Make sure your grounds are good. I forgot to put the one on my valve cover after adjusting my valves and my crx wouldnt start lol. same symptoms as well. just a thought. merry Christmas Honda Tech'ers

limerence

know what... didnt start today and did what some peeps said on the forum, hit the starter with a hammer. it started! is it a bad starter then?

jbpnoman

More than likely, yes.

Wrona

yes the starter Solenoid is bad not the whole starter

limerence

ok. how long would the hammer technique work? I need it to get me through the weekend.

and any good aftermarket brands to get for starters? or should i go oem?

jbpnoman

OEM is usually the best bet. The hammer trick, YMMV. I've used it for two weeks before my starter finally **** itself, but my step brother has been hitting the starter on his VW Transporter for almost a year and a half now.