ham

i turn the key and all i get is a BIG CLICK! i know its drawing current because the lights dim. all it does is click.... its a loud click, not the click like when your battery is going dead.

i hit it with a hammer a few times and it didnt work so i changed it out. put the new starter in.... SAME THING. everything mechanically is fine as far as engine and tranny.

any ideas? everything electrical and mechanical checks out ok!


Modified by ham at 7:33 AM 12/20/2005

damnraz

check your battery post to see if they're loose and make sure you're terminals aren't corroded, if they are clean it up w/ a wire brush or scotch brite would work fine, if it's not that, check if you're battery's cranking amps is right where it's supposed to be, most likely it'll be your battery posts being loose.

ham

ok ill check that out but i think its something a little more complicated. i arced the starter with a wire and it nearly melted it, so the starter is trying to work, its just not grabbing the flywheel.

Good ol' Screwtape

You tried it with a brand new starter and it did the same thing? Or did you try a used one? Can you crank the motor by hand?

ham

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Screwtape. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You tried it with a brand new starter and it did the same thing? Or did you try a used one? Can you crank the motor by hand?</TD></TR></TABLE>

its another starter i had that i know is good. ive never had honda starter problems before. pretty big coincidence if it happened to 2 starters. i tried cranking the motor by hand and it was fine.

young noob

put the car in neutral, have someone push it, and then turn on the ignition, same exact thing happened to me 2 days ago, simple trick

PurEvl

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by young noob &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">put the car in neutral, have someone push it, and then turn on the ignition, same exact thing happened to me 2 days ago, simple trick</TD></TR></TABLE>

wtf???

kyden

i think he means to pop start it to see if its actually the starter thats the problem.

99CivicSiBrian

yah if you have battery power, just get it moving like 5+mph and drop the clutch. Make sure to start in 1st before you start moving or it will be hard to enter the gate. Make sure the starter is getting enough ground - double check ground connections in all areas. Make sure they're tight and not nasty.
B

ham

i didnt want to get this complicated, but i did a swap in this process. stock (blown) motor did the clicking.... swapped the motor and used the old starter and it did it again, then changed the starter and it still did it.

this is a different click, its LOUD, more like a BAM! sounds like the starter gear is smacking the flywheel.

ham

crap

hatchi

when you swapped did you take off flywheel/clutch and reinstalled it?? is it possible that there is a loose bolt or you left a tool in there?? So you jumped the starter to + terminal on the battery?? did you try this while the starter was out also? The solenoid might be sticking.

PurEvl

that sound is probably the starter poping...
all fuses good? grounds? starter connections?

young noob

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

wtf??? </TD></TR></TABLE>

ham

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hatchi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when you swapped did you take off flywheel/clutch and reinstalled it?? is it possible that there is a loose bolt or you left a tool in there?? So you jumped the starter to + terminal on the battery?? did you try this while the starter was out also? The solenoid might be sticking. </TD></TR></TABLE>

new motor/flywheel, starter, new clutch, reused tranny, and of course reused wiring/battery. the motor turns over freely and i can see the flywheel spinning when i crank it by hand. its gotta be the starter alignment, starter or something very odd in the wiring. ill come back with more info in a lil bit.

vtakvtrak

check main relay?

ham

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

it wont CRANK, but thanks for trying to help

ham

turns out the starter i used had the same exact problem as the old one. what a coincidence! ive never had that problem before and it was on 2 starters in a row!