Hey guys. I found a nice 92 GS 4 door as a daily driver for a friend of mine.... I talk her into it and it's not wanting to start for her.

I feel bad so I spend my Sunday cleaning up her battery cables/connections and add 2 more ground wires. Car still has trouble starting. I'm really lost as to what the problem could be.

What happens: Get in and turn the key to ACC... all the lights come on, beeepbeepbeep and all. Turn the key to start and boom- nothing. Dash lights cut off like they should and sometimes there is a click sometimes no click. I thought it was the battery connections but I guess I was wrong. This problem usually happens in the mornings. When it's hot and sunny, it cranks just fine..... but takes a second after the key is turned. I'm going to have the battery tested this afternoon. It looks pretty new still so I dunno. Might have to hit up Wally World.

Anyone have Ideas before I do that?

 

It's the alternator, it's not giving enough charge to the battery to start.. that's why you hear a click. Trust me, i've had my share of starting problems and this definitely sounds like the alternator, instead, have the alternator checked instead of the battery. You'll be quite happy to know that you can eliminate the other parts of the car.

 

Ok. What kind of replacement alternators should I be looking for? Will any Bseries alt work?

And do I have to pull it out to test it?


Modified by D50boy at 1:12 PM 5/23/2005

 

test the batterys voltage without the car running, it should be 12.6 approximately. then, after you get it running, test the voltage again. it should be abotu 14.5. if its not, the alt. is shot. otherwise its something else...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by benb18a &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">test the batterys voltage without the car running, it should be 12.6 approximately. then, after you get it running, test the voltage again. it should be abotu 14.5. if its not, the alt. is shot. otherwise its something else...</TD></TR></TABLE>

EXACTLY. Well, i just got a rebuilt one from Autozone b/c it had lifetime warranty... which was great because if my alternator ever does give out on me, BAM! i get a new one!

 

How much did that rebuilt alt run you?

I figured it would have a few bugs with it being a $1500 car.

 

you dont know if its just the alternator. i had the same problem with my DA. the problem might be the
1.alternator
2.starter
3.there probably isnt a spark in the ignition.

 

check your distributor. you might have to rebuild that. its about 70 bucks more or less.

 

Well with the core charge, I forget, maybe 300?

My vote still goes for the alternator. Distributor doesn't seem to fit in his situation.

 

if you can get the car running you can take it to your local garage or auto parts store and they should be able to test the charging system. i know that over here autozone and advance auto parts test everything for free. just a thought. also if you can get the car running, pull the positive battery cable off while its running. if it shuts of, its your alternator, if it stays running its something else.

hope this helps

 

its either:

1. Starter contacts. (They go bad and sometimes you turn the key and it takes a sec for it to start turning over.)

2. Main Relay. ( Very common for Hondas. They get "dry sockets" and can be re-soldered or you can replace it.

3. Altenator. (Not keeping the battery charged.)

4. Battery or connections. (unlikely).

 

Well I went to Vato Zone and had them put their battery scanner on. The battery showed that it was good. The alternator was putting out 13.5V just idling.

The latest theory is that something must be draining the battery slowly so it's hard to start in the morning. How can I test for draw?

 

well my battery puts out 14.5 at idle, are you sure 13.5 is normal? i know its SUPPOSED to be 14.5, but maybe 13.5 is acceptable??

 

I remember someone telling me that it depends on the demand of the system is what it will put out..... like if the battery is low, the alt will crank out more juice.

I'm really not sure if this is correct nor not, hopefully someone can shed some light on that.....

 

an ample charging system should be putting out 13 -15 volts. as far as draws, is there an aftermarket headunit or anything or is it stock?

 

Stock as a rock. The only things not working on it are the cruise control and the door-open-domelight-on position switch on the domelight. Oh yea, the power anntenna unit is missing.

 

i donno if itll help but it might be the same thing as yours like the guy said above about starter connections once in a great while ill turn the key and nothing but lights and beeping then ill get a click so i wiggled the wires by the starter and it started you could try doing that

 

there is a easy way to fix the dome light, just pull it out clean your connections and put di-electric grease on there, i would do both sides... but i'm sure that is the least of your worries... i would check out your starter wiring and the wiring in the ignition.

 

I am starting to think that it is the starter connections. I just had a car that i was working on a (older Buick) and every time you would try to turn it over it would just click so i replaced the selonoid and same thing so i giggled some wires on the starter and it fired it wasn't getting the power needed in the mornings cause of moisture impeading flow of power. so check the connections and if that doesn't work then i would replace the starter and if it helps it helps and if not its one more problem elimated for quite some time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HoUTX98GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its either:

1. Starter contacts. (They go bad and sometimes you turn the key and it takes a sec for it to start turning over.)

2. Main Relay. ( Very common for Hondas. They get "dry sockets" and can be re-soldered or you can replace it.

3. Altenator. (Not keeping the battery charged.)

4. Battery or connections. (unlikely).


i bet its probably the starter contacts

</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

had the same problem with my 90. wasn't the starter, battery relay or anything like that. After about 1 year and half of fustration, I took it into a shop for some other problem. He looked into the starter problem and said it was becuase of my old alarm with a starter kill. He bypassed the wire or something and its been starting good eversince. Best 60 bucks I spent I tell you.

 

on the starter connections where do they go bad and can they be fixed without buying new parts?