integrainside

I am having a very strange starter issue that I have never encountered before. I turn the key and the starter just clicks, but wont actually turn the motor over. I have taken the following steps so far...

1. Cleaned battery posts/connections and fully charged battery (Optima Yellow Top)

2. Tried with the carger connected on 50 amp jump start.

3. Turned the motor over several times with a breaker bar.

4. Removed the starter and solenoind assembly and brought it to Pep Boys to be tested. Tested good in all areas. Even got the little print out with the test results, all good.

5. Cleaned the starter assembly and all the contacts, reinstalled. Tripple checked connections to make sure all is tight and secure.

6. Checked ground between starter and chassis, 0.1 ohms resistance, good ground.

7. Checked the switch on the cluch pedal with a meter, switch is good.

I'm at a loss and dont even know what to check next. Of note: I have recently had the transmission out and know without doubt that the flywheel and clutch assembly are in good working order. Really hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Thanks!

purgat0ry

iTrader: (3)

Check allll of your grounds, not just the ones between.

Otherwise, fancy battery doesn't mean its charged enough, have that tested as well.

integrainside

I will go back over all the grounds again. I put a meter on the body of the starter and tested continuity to several grounding points on the chassis around the engine compartment and always got 0.1-0.2 ohms of resistance. Shouldnt this indicate that I have good ground?

With the battery, you mean have it checked for some sort of internal problem, like a dead cell or something?

purgat0ry

iTrader: (3)

Yea, pop it out, take it to a parts store, ask they test it.

I've had similar issues due to my battery not being charged properly.

98-6BTA

The contacts in the solenoid go bad, the brushes rarely wear out. I'd start there.

integrainside

purgat0ry:
I had the battery tested at Pep Boys and it did great. They told me it performed like a brand new battery.

98-6BTA:
Pep Boys tested the starter and it passed in every area. If the contacts in the Solenoid were bad, wouldnt it have been detected in the test?

tony_2018

The starter will always pass at those shops. But to be sure you should check the starter cut relay that sits near the indash fusebox.

axis11

Does the car start by pushing it?. You might as well test for resistance between starter body and negative battery terminal. Also test for voltage on the fat wire bolted to the starter.

integrainside

What do you mean? If starters always pass the test at those shops, they wouldn't sell very many starters, lol.

Can you tell me a little bit more about this starter cut relay? Where exactly I can find it and what it looks like? Thanks!

Former User

Are you sure the click noise comes from the starter solenoid?

If you run two hot wires directly from the battery + post to the starter motor and solenoid terminals, does the starter crank the engine?

integrainside

Yes, I am sure that the clicking noise is coming from the starter solenoid. It is a sort of quiter click though. By that I mean it is not the louder clank like the piston shooting out to meet the flywheel, it sounds more like just the contacts moving inside the solenoid.

I have not tried the two hot wire method yet, but I plan to give it a shot tonight after I get off work. I am in the middle of making new, and larger gauge grounding cables right now just to be sure that base is covered.

Jjbaehr

Silly question but does you engine turn over?!? It's not seized up right lol! We did check right? haha

integrainside

Not a silly question, I thought that myself. The motor does turn freely with a breaker bar on the crankshaft bolt.

speedjunkie_g35

I was dealing with corrosion on the wire that runs from the battery to the started
R today causing it not to turn over and just click.

integrainside

So after some work tonight, here is where we are. I made brand new grounds from the starter out of 4ga wire just to be safe. Still no crank. So I try sending a 12v hot wire to the signal wire like RonJ suggested, and still no crank. To me it seems like all roads point to a bad starter, but it was tested and passed. I talked to a mechanic from Pep Boys and he assured me that the test they run is fully comprehensive and if it passes their test it is no doubt good to go. Again very frustrated and not sure where to look next. When you look at the wiring diagram for the starter circuit, it is very simple, which seems to add to my frustration on this topic. I'm really at a loss.

Former User

What resistance (Ohms) do you measure between starter motor body and (-) battery post?

Route two separate wires from the (+) battery post to the starter motor terminal and the stater solenoid terminal. Does the starter crank the engine?

integrainside

The resistance between the starter motor body and the (-) Battery post is 0.1 ohms.

I routed two separate wires from the (+) battery post to the starter motor and the starter did crank the engine. So I hooked a voltmeter to the signal wire that goes to the starter and turned the ignition and I got 12V at the signal wire. Seems like everything is working like it should. I hooked the signal wire back up to the starter and tried to start the car again and it just clicks.

integrainside

I had a couple of people suggest I look into the alternator. I didn't think the alternator could be interfering with any of this, but I did see in the wiring diagram that the alternator is connected to the starting system, but its way down the line. Since I am pretty much out of ideas, I decided to look into it. Pulled the alternator out of the car and brought it to Pep Boys to be tested, and it tested good. I cleaned all the connectors really well and installed it back into the car. No change in my problem.

mrchouayang

damn i am having the same problems.. i replaced the starter, battery, and + battery terminal to starter wire.. i don't know what the problem is!!

integrainside

I started checking under the dash for the signal wire. I jumped the connector at the clutch pedal and it still didn't start. I kept going down the line to the starter cut relay. I removed the relay and Googled the numbers to see where to find a new one. I decided to put the relay back in and tried again, and it started with no problem! I bolted the relay back where it belongs and tried to start the car several times and it starts every time. There was no corrosion or anything, but somehow it works now. All I did was unplug the relay and put it back in and it works now.

Is this an indication of the relay on its last leg, or was it just a coincidence? Maybe I should go ahead and order a new relay just in case? Anyway, its working now!

integrainside

Also wanted to add that I went down this road because of a post I found on another forum by RonJ. You can see that post here... http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=182369
Thanks RonJ, you were a life saver!

shortlid

Yep, I am having a proble with this. Battery at 100% alternator output at 100% however Autozone tested starter in the car stated it failed. It will start the car no probel some times other times hot or cold just one click and no spinning?? Got a remaned from Pep Boys $70? How hard of a job is this to put in?

JarvisW

This is common for Honda Starter Relays. Take it out then apart, and resolder the connections. They were kinda sloppy and had lots of cold solders that eventually go bad.

Good luck

instrument

a starter is three bolts.

B_Ray

Had the same issue, mine was the signal wire was junk, running a new wire this weekend and I should be good. Very temperamental, some days it starts and some days it does not.... thats why I keep a jumper wire in the glovebox lol