Hey, i just bought a 97 ITR and have had it about 2 weeks now and i noticed that on two occasions when i try to start the car, the car will not turn over.
There is power and fuel, but i just hear a click. The previous owner just had the distributor, cap/rotor and spark plugs replaced within the last year. Weird thing is that after several tries, the car would eventually start. There is no hesitation when it does and there have been no other problems with the car starting besides these two incidents.
Could it possibly be a loose/poorly connected ground? it has a compustar alarm/car starter installed but it has never given the previous owner any problems.
just hoping that the community might be able to give me some insight or other ideas

thanks

 

hey guys...did some searching and it seems like another culprit could be the clutch safety switch. ive checked the all the grounds and the battery is good too.

does anyone know what i should be looking for for the clutch safety switch? i know its somewhere along the clutch arm but can someone give a better description of what i should be looking for or possible post a picture?

 

Could be the safety switch, or possibly the main relay (common issue to Honda's in general) Those are the 2 places I'd start if I had fuel and spark.

 

could also be the starter, have someone bang on it while you try starting it and it should turn over, most of the time.

 

If you hear a click, click, when trying to start the car then its not the clutch safety switch. The click click click is from the starter, So the starter is getting juice.

Like said before the starter could be stuck and just needs a bang. But this normally is a sign of a starter going out.

Check for corrsion on any electrical connections including the battery posts and make sure the cables are all tight. I've seen many people have a loose ground on the battery post. The car works for a while until corrision starts to build from the loose connection. Eventually the car will have trouble starting from the lack of contact on the battery post.

 

its not a continuous clicking. its just a single click.

ive checked the battery connections are they are all tight and there is little to no corrosion. i'll take a look into both the clutch safety switch and the main relay.


Modified by wrinkly at 12:38 PM 8/13/2008

 

Congrats on the pickup Hope you get that resolved without much headache.

What's heR badge #? Post some pics!

 

my brother and I are having the same issues on our cars. im gonna try a new starter for now.

 

thanks..she is caR 97-452...used to be fuko's old caR

DC_2...have you checked into the clutch safety switch or the main relay?

 

Have you tried jumping power directly to the starter? If it starts right up, its more than likely your main relay

 

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Nice! I love that 97, so clean

 

Canadian 97 R

slightly OT question; if there is too much corrosion on the battery contacts, what is the best way to clean them?

 

That's a common problem with Integra starters...mine has just started doing it in the last week or so. You can replace the entire starter, or if you'd rather you can buy a rebuild kit from Toyota (go figure) that replaces the contact points inside the starter and almost always fixes the problem. Team-Integra has a writeup about rebuilding it. I can get the part numbers for you if you'd like, or just search T-I for the thread ("DIY Starter Rebuild")

 

hey..thanks for the info AltimaXX...but i think i might have determined the problem.

im pretty sure that its the clutch/neutral safety switch. the problem happened again after work today but after turning the key and modulating the clutch the car started. so im thinking when i was working the clutch, it closed the circuit on the safety switch and allowed the car to start.

gonna go to the dealership and get that rubber grommet and see if that solves my problem.

 

Take it to a shop.

 

i swapped starters and loose ground on the battery,now its starts fine. no clicking or anything. starts on the first try every time.

 

I have the same problem with my car didn't know it was so common