got a 88 civic
car wont start
could it be relay or battery?
any other possibilities
im gonna go get a brand new battery and replace the relay
anything esle i should check?

 

My mindreading cap is at the cleaners right now, and my Magic 8-Ball just says... "Need More Info".

Could be any number of things. We have to narrow it down. You have to help us do that. When you say "won't start" - does that mean it cranks (starter engages and turns engine) but won't fire up, or it doesn't even crank over, or it fires up and dies immediately.

DON'T rush out and buy expensive parts before narrowing down the problem area! There's nothing more frustrating than spending $500-$700 that you can't really afford right now, on parts you don't really need right now. Ask me how I know.

Describe the car as completely as you can (year, model, engine, tranmission, etc.). Describe all the symptoms you can, as clearly as you can. Include any recent changes, swaps, modifications, tune-ups, etc., so we can start to get a picture of what the car's problem is, and we can go from there and help you get it running again.

It *could* be relay or battery. Or starter. Or distributor. Or fuel pump. Or timing belt. And so on and so on. But let's not just start throwing money and new parts at it just yet. It could also be a $0.10 fuse!

Believe it or not we really are here to help, not to bust yer *****.

Mike

 

k its a 88 civic hatchback
stock motor stock everything
i bought it 2 months ago.. guy told me the main relay might need to be changed
last month i was playing the stereo while i was cleaning the car (bad move) tried to start the car it wouldnt start.. so i pushed it in the garage
the car is at my moms house i moved to a new place and havent put insurance on the car yet

so anyways today i tried to start it by boosting it and it wouldnt work so i went to crappy tire and bought a new battery still wont start...

i put the key in and the lights go on and i turn the key and it wont crank
i know if its the starter or alternator wouldnt i hearing some cranking?

anyways if u need more info let me know

 

Okay, now we're getting somewhere.

If it were the main relay, it would crank, but wouldn't catch and fire up. You've got a new battery, so we can assume THAT's not the problem... Try hotwiring it - make damn sure the car is in neutral, e-brake set, key in the "run" position, etc., then take a wire with an alligator clip on one end (or both ends - it only really needs one, though). Clip that to the starter, where the smaller wire attaches to the flat "spade" connector on the solenoid. Touch the other end of the wire to the battery, and it should crank over and hopefully start up. If it does, we can rule out the starter as the weak link.

Check all the battery cables for corrosion, make sure they've all got good contact, check all the grounds. We're trying to make sure that there's a way for the battery's juice to get to the starter.

The guy said the main relay *might* need to be changed - and it might. Just not right now. Normally, when the relay is going bad, the car will tend to start when it's cooler outside (morning, evening, night), and NOT start when the weather or the car are hotter - say, you drive to the corner store and come out, and it cranks but won't fire. That's usually a sign of the main relay going bad on you.

Once we can rule out things like the starter, battery, and electrical stuff, we'll have to move on to see what's next. Basically, your engine needs a few simple things to run - air, fuel, spark, and timing. If we rule out the basic electical stuff (bad starter, bad ground connection somewhere, bad battery or loose battery cables, etc.), we'll move on from there. Your car WILL run - it's a Honda; it WANTS to run!

Mike

 

cant i pull out the starter fuse and jump it with wires with the key in run and car in park
we do it all the time at work..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by labatia &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">cant i pull out the starter fuse and jump it with wires with the key in run and car in park
we do it all the time at work..</TD></TR></TABLE>

he was assuming you were a 5 speed.

he also telling you how to chek if the starters good, its best to tap the starter itself, bc the signal from the ignition harness could be the problem.

 

It's probably the distributor. I had the same problem you did last week. Put key in ignition, dash lights come on, headlights worked, but the car wouldn't do ANYTHING when I tried turning it over. Wouldn't crank or anything.

 

update : went to car to try agian

start is already hooked up to battery

put back in relay.. i can hear the relay clicking when i try to turn the key in the ignition

i then hear like a humming sound coming from somewhere that i can specify




Modified by labatia at 5:05 AM 6/5/2005

 

ok check the wires on the starter the small wire will sometimes pop off and they wont crank like the starter isnt there at all mine pops off once in a great wile just check it '

just a small hint

 

i have an extra starter
im gonna try and replace it

 

wow ive been trying to get the bottom 14mm bolt off for 2 hours
its not coming **** sakes

 

k i put the new starter in and when i turn key the starter clicks now


anyone have any suggestions now

 

I have an 88 prelude and I went to Fred Myers today to get milk came out and it wont start. It acts like it wants to start put i put my foo ton the gas and it wont fire. The light and everything work so I know its not the battery but I was only in there for 15 minutes please help.. I have to work tomorrow and I'm freaking out. Did I mention that my car is still sitting in the parking lot! Thanks any help is much appreciated.