ok, im not going to get all complicated, its very simple, i have a 1990 crx si with dohc zc motor, been running great for a long time.

my car starts sometimes and other times does'nt and i hear a click and no crank, but then i hit the starter with something and go back and instantly it starts right up, except one time we had to push-start it and it worked doing that.

i heard that usually if you are getting the car to start by hitting the starter with something like a hammer that it most likely means you need a new starter and its going out, would you say that is probably what i need???

it seems like an obvious thing, since you are hitting and pinpointing one particular object (the starter) and knocking something inside it to move in a different spot, then it works, cause if it was the battery or other compenent then the stuff would'nt work even after hitting the starter, right??

i'm just trying to get a last opinion and advise before taking the starter out,
my plan was to either buy a used/rebuilt starter exactly like the one i have or take the starter to a place and have them rebuild my starter since its the right one.

the reason i feel better having the same starter i have rebuilt is because one year ago i had this same random-not-starting problem and i put a new/rebuilt starter from autozone in and it didnt work, then i got one from o'reilly's and still didi'nt work, then confused i ended up putting the old one back in and it worked and started up, so i never understood why those 2 different new starters did'nt work even though i had them installed by the book nice and tight and they fit good too, so i just feel better having my same old one rebuilt or get one just like it.

i am really not sure if the starter is the original starter from the car or not, cause i had a shop swap my d16 engine for a ZC dohc back in 2003 and i wonder if they used the starter that came with the ZC ?? they could of done that and i would'nt know? the starter label and words are worn and i can't read it or anything or see what model it is to compare or anything.

any advise or direction??? so far i was going to take my starter out sunday night, then early monday morning get a rental car and take it to this starter specialist place called AUtoStart and they can rebuild my old one for 100 bucks in one day (maybe more time if they need to order any parts), then i would pick it up and put in the car and hope to god it is finally fixed.

i'll just get a cheap rental and hopefully not have it more than 2 days, say it cost 25 a day, then starter would be 100 for rebuild plus rental = $150 approx?? i would say its worth it cause i don't want to go through headache of putting in starters from auto stores and not working, instead i would have better piece of mind knowing its the same starter that was in there to begin with.

so again, any thoughts???

 

u need a starter

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ej8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">u need a starter </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

X3 - u need a new one.

 

get a new one here in la theres tons of small lil shope i pay 25 for one. Good luck

 

thanks for replies, just to update i dropped original starter off at a specialized shop called Advanced Starter Services and they rebuilt it for 100 bucks so it should be like new, i put it in (only using one mounting bolt since could'nt find other one) and it worked instantly and has been starting every single time without any intermittent problems for couple weeks now, so i think its safe to say the problem has been solved.

thanks
- Jon

 

As everyone has said having to hit it with a hammer = bad solenoid or frozen solenoid on the starter. Cheaper and easier to rebuilt the starter or replace it.

 

wow, i got here late lol most probable cause of this happening is probably cause it is OLD or just to much of the start, stop, turn off, start stop turn off driving.

 

What you really need is a 2nd EF so you don't have to rent a car ever...

 

Not entirely true...
I have 5 of them and still manage to get caught out sometimes.

 

Yeah I agree, just get a new starter. I did a d15b vtec swap, and I just bought a new starter for peace of mind. No telling how old the other one was. I got a new one for about 90 bucks I think.

Ahh, my bad, you rebuilt it, that works too lol

 

lmao that true

i have 5 cars and i've been stuck getting rides a few times too

 

Bearing in the starter needed to be replaced. When the bearing goes bad it causes the windings to sag in the housing and touch the case causing the electrical current to run directly from the windings through the case causing it to ground out. About a 5 dollar replacement bearing would have done the trick.