92 Accord EX MT

What should I be checking here and in what order?

14-mo old Denso Alternator
14-mo old Battery
3-mo old NGK Plugs

Driving fine up until yesterday lunchtime. Drove into work fine.

At lunch, didn't start on first attempt and sounded kind of like it was a drained battery situation. Barely started on 2nd attempt. Turned off tried again and didn't crank.

Today, swapped in a good battery and it didn't start either with the same symptoms.

Symptoms:

The initial check sequence is all normal but when the key is turned over, all I get is a few clicks directly under the drivers dash and a constant "buzz" from the what seems to be the lower-left under the drivers dash. Nothing at all sounding like anything trying to crank under the hood.

 

id say it sounds like your main relay has decided to go, (check faq's for easy fix.) but from your description there could be other possible culprits.

have you checked your starter to see if you have current making its way up to the solenoid ?

 

No. Haven't checked that yet. Was kind of hoping to kind of put together checklist of possibilities to start working down as it died in an inconvenient place.

I do have essentially two of the same cars. 92 EX MT and 92 EX AT so I can exchange parts for troubleshooting where it makes sense (ie: parts interchangeable and not too difficult to remove). Guessing the Main Relay may qualify in this regard.

 

Bump.

Anything else a possibility besides what's been mentioned before I plan a weekend to haul out there and start troubleshooting?

 

The main relay will not cause a 'no crank' situation. It only powers the fuel pump and injectors. It, and possibly another relay or two, is buzzing because there isn't enough voltage/current available.

Check the battery cables, both pos and neg, at both ends for clean tight connections. Also look for corroded or frayed wires. (The negative cable has a habit of corroding away at the end that attaches to the engine/trans.)