donut.

whats up homeslices

i just picked up this beater not to long ago (99 civic EX) that is pretty much bad luck. one problem after another but the subject problem takes the cake.

my car wont start!

ive exercised my resources and done as much as i could to the best of my knowledge and now it is time to ask honda-tech for help.

this car will randomly not start (mind of its own i tell ya). the starter will click but wont turn and the only way i can start it is if i push start it OR get a jump. not only embarrassing but it really gets tiring pushing my car all the time.

well, i started the process of elimination. the starter is fine because it is brand new and has been tested. the battery terminals are tight and the battery is brand new. The alternator is also brand new.

I thought the problem would be my Viper alarm that came with the car because it seems fairly old (not to mention, the wiring is pretty hagard) so i thought, it could be killing the ignition randomly. so what i did was bypass the ignition wire. i unpluged the ignition wire from the starter and let that dangle while i connected a piece of wire from the (+) terminal of the battery to the ignition port on the starter. nothing but a click. if the alarm was in fact killing the ignition, my bypass shindig shoulda worked, right? so i ask, what the expletive is wrong with my car? why is it randomly not starting? im racking my brain on this one and ive taken it to 2 mechanics that basically said, in so many words, they dont know wtf they're doing. ive explained the above to the last mechanic and he's pretty much sold on it being an alarm problem but, i figure ill get more suggestions before i waste more money

btw: there IS a cel but its for the TPS only




Modified by donut. at 6:51 PM 1/24/2008

donut.

im stumped

CGW13

i had the same problem with my car that i had before...i could push start it whenever it randomly decided not to start..

i had new battery cables on it, but it turned out that the positive cable was bad from the start. i never had any problem after i changed that again.

nicks-eg6

check your spark plugs and rotor button. also your your fuel delivery. it happened to me and it turned out to be my timing and i was flooding my cylinders but start there...gl

Luserkid

I believe there was a recall out recently (within a year ish) thats for the ignition switch goes bad. Check those. Could also be that your not getting a good enough ground to the starter. Try cleaning the transmission housing around the starter.

Another thing that i have seen before...... the little black/wht wire that connects to the starter could be loose. Check that wire as well all the way back.

donut.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CGW13 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i had the same problem with my car that i had before...i could push start it whenever it randomly decided not to start..

i had new battery cables on it, but it turned out that the positive cable was bad from the start. i never had any problem after i changed that again.</TD></TR></TABLE>

but the that positive cable connects to the solenoid on the started and the solenoid is clicking which means its getting power so i dunno. thanks though, ill keep that in mind

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nicks-eg6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">check your spark plugs and rotor button. also your your fuel delivery. it happened to me and it turned out to be my timing and i was flooding my cylinders but start there...gl </TD></TR></TABLE>

i dont know how that could be a problem cause the car isn't cranking.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Luserkid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I believe there was a recall out recently (within a year ish) thats for the ignition switch goes bad. Check those. Could also be that your not getting a good enough ground to the starter. Try cleaning the transmission housing around the starter.

Another thing that i have seen before...... the little black/wht wire that connects to the starter could be loose. Check that wire as well all the way back. </TD></TR></TABLE>

ignition switch?

also, the little black/wht wire is the ignition wire i speak of. i bypassed that and it should have worked but no go

Luserkid

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by donut. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

but the that positive cable connects to the solenoid on the started and the solenoid is clicking which means its getting power so i dunno. thanks though, ill keep that in mind </TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
ignition switch?

also, the little black/wht wire is the ignition wire i speak of. i bypassed that and it should have worked but no go</TD></TR></TABLE>

Just because its getting power doesnt mean its getting enough power. If the batt. pos. wire is fried you wont get enough power and if the black/wht wire is fried you wont get your power. Another thing could be that you bought a new crappy starter. It doesnt take alot to start the starter.

Also what is your voltage when you try to crank over the starter, Also whats the voltage when you put a load on the motor? Take a look at those grounds (batt. and trans)

donut.

interesting point

the starter seems to be okay cause everytime i get it tested, it passes. maybe ill exchange it just in case.

the voltage im putting out is around 14+ which is the optimum range?

austinkli

Yo, next time you go out to your car, get underneath the steering wheel.
Follow the clutch pedal up to the safety starter switch. For some stupid *** reason honda uses a little degradable piece of plastic or rubber that pushes in on the starter switch. if it's degraded away, sometimes there won't be enough plastic in the way to push the button, and you'll have to push start it, especially on a cold day when it's brittle and contracts. If that is the problem pretty soon it's going to be completely gone and you're always going to have to push start it. I don't know if that is your problem or not, but it takes a total of two minutes to check. so go for it.

donut.

i know exactly what you're talking about and ive had that problem before with another car. when i bypass the ignition wire, its bypassing the clutch as well, it should still start w/out pressing in the clutch but it didn't

austinkli

i gotcha, in that case, make sure all your grounds are makin good connection, no corrosion on them, no loose ends. There are7 to 9 grounds on the car. That could cause it, though i doubt it. if you bybassed the ignition wire idk what else it could be. sounds like it's not getting enough power.

bmiller17

when you turn the key and it clicks, do you lose all power completely?

donut.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by austinkli &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i gotcha, in that case, make sure all your grounds are makin good connection, no corrosion on them, no loose ends. There are7 to 9 grounds on the car. That could cause it, though i doubt it. if you bybassed the ignition wire idk what else it could be. sounds like it's not getting enough power. </TD></TR></TABLE>

ill def look into replacing the positive cable/terminal. fairly cheap

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bmiller17 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when you turn the key and it clicks, do you lose all power completely?</TD></TR></TABLE>

im not sure, cause if were working correctly, the lights/radio do dim or shut off until the motor is started. thats what its doing. my cluster will go wild if it clicks. forgot to mention that

austinkli

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by donut. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

ill def look into replacing the positive cable/terminal. fairly cheap

im not sure, cause if were working correctly, the lights/radio do dim or shut off until the motor is started. thats what its doing. my cluster will go wild if it clicks. forgot to mention that
</TD></TR></TABLE>

it's really cheap if you do what i did and use some thick *** speaker wire, lol ghetto style. If the cluster goes wild i'd say it's definately a wiring problem. I added an extra ground to mine. made my own. works great.

bmiller17

i had a similar problem.. it was my negative terminal on my battery. When i turned the key on i had lights, radio..ect, ect...Then when i turned the key to start the car it would click and everything would turn off. I just moved the negative cable connector a little on the battery and it would start up fine.

donut.

cool, im getting excited. maybe it really IS my battery cables/terminals. ill replace those and let u guys know what happens. but for now, ima take the car to the alarm shop and have them check if its wired correctly

bmiller17

GL, let us know what you find out

austinkli

if it was that wouldn't he always have the problem then? not knockin your idea, you could be right, but he said it happens sometimes and sometimes it works.

bmiller17

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by austinkli &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if it was that wouldn't he always have the problem then? not knockin your idea, you could be right, but he said it happens sometimes and sometimes it works.</TD></TR></TABLE>

you would really think so but on mine it only happened every once in a while...

donut.

yeah its weird, thats why its so hard to know if its been fixed. it will happen out of nowhere and then it'll go back to normal. fuuuuuuckin waaaack! lol

dubzz24

+1 for the battery terminals. Had the EXACT same problem with my ex's old EF civic. It would start about 50% of the time, the other 50% I'd have to clamp the terminals with vice grips to get a good connection, which was weird since the terminals were tight and didn't have any corrosion or anything on them. The times that it wouldn't start all the accessories and lights would still work.

donut.

alright, i got my alarm checked out and its wired up correctly.

i exchanged my starter with a different one just in case and popped it in. I tried starting it up and it did start. i turned off the car and tried starting it up again and i get a click.

so, i decided to replace the terminals and + battery cable. did that, tried starting it again, and it started, but i turned off the car after that and tried to start it agian, and it just clicked.

the starter doesn't click after i keep trying to start it a couple times

ive done everything. i dont know what it is.

donut.

this is the most amazing car

newby_j

Try taking your jumper cables and running them from a good grounding spot on the block to the - terminal on the battery. This will tell you if you have a grounding issue(which i am almost positive of)

donut.

ill try that. any other takers