stats: 1988 civic hatchback 1.5 5 speed.

i bought this car about a week ago and im just going through it fixing the things that the previous owner hacked. When i got it the dash lights didnt work so i pull off the bezel around the instrument cluster and i notice that the dimmer switch isnt even pluged in. It also has a connector on one of the wires going to an aftermarket tach. Im guess that is for the light. Anyway i plug it in and the lights work now. When i go to start the car it acts like it isnt getting a very good connection. I have to turn it over a couple of times to get it to actually crank. Anyone heard or had this problem? I never had this problem before i plug the dimmer switch back in.

 

ok so i go out tonight and try to start it. starts up fine first time. i kill it and try again. I hear a click noise coming from under the hood. Sounds like a bad starter. You turn the key over a couple of times and it starts sometimes. Sometimes not. Anyway to check to see if it is actually the starter??

 

sounds liek a sbad starter.
a bad starter that it easyto fix cheaply - most likely it's worn out contacts that are very easyu to replace once it 's out of the car. There is a couple of sellers on eBay selling starter repair kits. The cheaper one should work for you, but if you want, you can buy the one for $25, it has some extra parts (like a plunger) to replace while you're there.

Next time it doesn't start, you can tap the starter with some metal object and see if it helps.

 

thanks i will look into getting a starter

 

don't throw you old one away - most likely it's a cheap fix, as I said.

 

i changed out the starter this morning with a new one from autozone. Still the same deal. Turn the key over and just a click. i dont know where to go now.

 

maybe main relay?

do not go buy a new one, but maybe borrow a replacement one. or first, try banging (hard) on your dash in the area of the coin tray - on the left - and see if it temporarily solves the problem. main relay is located under the dash in that area, and provides power to ecu, fuel pump (and i don't remember - but maybe starter circuit too?). anyway, banging on it is cheap and often helps temporarily.

 

Another big thing - first of all - check all the grounds - if they have a good connection (transmission one, valve cover one and ESPECIALLY thermostat housing)

 

i'll go check this stuff out

 

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

do not go buy a new one, but maybe borrow a replacement one. or first, try banging (hard) on your dash in the area of the coin tray - on the left - and see if it temporarily solves the problem. main relay is located under the dash in that area, and provides power to ecu, fuel pump (and i don't remember - but maybe starter circuit too?). anyway, banging on it is cheap and often helps temporarily.</TD></TR></TABLE>

If it where a main relay, it would crank fine. It just wouldn't start.

 

yeah the fuel pump primes, cel works.

 

went out and cleaned up all the grounds and contact points. Helped alittle but still not starting everytime. When i turn the key over i can hear the fuel pump prime, the main relay click, all the dash lights come on and i turn it over and it clicks. whoever had the car before me did a number on all the wires under the dash. They also took out the clutch starting switch cause it will start w/o the pedal pushed in. Im going to see if it will start with just a wire from the battery to starter. i dont really know where to look now though

 

ran a wire from starter to battery. started right up. somewhere between the key and starter connection its messing up.

 

no clutch switch - it's because it's an 88, they are weird like that.

Congrats on narrowing down the problem.

 

is there any way to tell if the starter relay is bad? other than buying a new one. i dont know if it is though. cause sometimes it will start if you turn the key over enough times. Sometimes it also turns over just alittle and then loses it.

 

Have you checked for continuity between the starter and the ignition?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by andrewsmith85 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is there any way to tell if the starter relay is bad? other than buying a new one. i dont know if it is though. cause sometimes it will start if you turn the key over enough times. Sometimes it also turns over just alittle and then loses it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Im having the same issue,all the black/wht wires have continuity but from the back of the fusebox to the stater i loose the start signal somewhere?
Also Where is the starter relay?

 

mine was the clutch switch bad... switch &gt; me

 

this was solved long ago. bad starter relay