Sometimes when I start the car, it chokes a bit for the car to start, like as if the battery is dying. It doesnt happen all the time, only once in awhile. I used to think it was when my gas tank is running low or if its too hot but im not sure about that. Is my battery dying? or my starter not working well? or maybe its the gas pump? I have a 98 civic lx if that matters.

 

chokes for a bit? explain. does the engine slow down while cranking? starts fast then slows? more info please. from the info provided, my guess is battery is going out.

 

Well you know how new cars ignite right away. Most of the time my car ignites right away, but there are a few times where it lags a second or two and seems like its struggling a bit to start.

 

well does it happen when you're low on gas? or just randomly?

 

when you put your key in let the fuel pump get gas to the motor, then start it. An easy way to do this is, generally 96+ hondas have that beeping in your cabin, after three beeps turn it over and it should crank perfectly

 

alright so I shouldnt turn the key as fast.

 

Dumb question but... Have you lost any coolant lately? Just a thought... That would happen to me only because coolant was falling in the cylinder and slowly and barely hydrolocking the engine during cranking... but after a a few seconds it's just fine.

Does it sound like... *crank crank crank crank craaaaaannnnnnk crank crank crank crank start* ?

 

Check to see if the motor turns better hot than when its cold, that could let you know your started may be worn. If it turns just as bad hot as it does cold, have the battery load tested, if its old, that could be the problem.

Check all your starter cables and ensure they have no corrosion on them, many times this will prevent the car from cranking at all, but if you have poor grounds back to the battery, this creates resistance by having a weak/corroded connection, which will reduce the voltage the starter draws because it will require voltage to work to get around the corrosion, reducing your starters performance.

Take a heavy gauge cable and hook it to the transmission case, and then directly to the battery negative, and see if that cures your problems.

Let the fuel pump prime first, this would not slow the starter down, but it will make it take longer to turn the engine over.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slowcivic2k &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Check to see if the motor turns better hot than when its cold, that could let you know your started may be worn. If it turns just as bad hot as it does cold, have the battery load tested, if its old, that could be the problem.

Check all your starter cables and ensure they have no corrosion on them, many times this will prevent the car from cranking at all, but if you have poor grounds back to the battery, this creates resistance by having a weak/corroded connection, which will reduce the voltage the starter draws because it will require voltage to work to get around the corrosion, reducing your starters performance.

Take a heavy gauge cable and hook it to the transmission case, and then directly to the battery negative, and see if that cures your problems.

Let the fuel pump prime first, this would not slow the starter down, but it will make it take longer to turn the engine over.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Who are you and where did you come from? Let's see some ID!

 

lol

Don't worry about that...