about to buy a 1990 honda civic.

problem is it would not start. it cranked like once or twice then did not crank anymore after that. the lights and everything were pretty bright.

i got my friend to jump it and it started. ran for about 10 minutes then i shut it off. and me not thinking did not turn check to see if it would start again.

i decided to buy it as it was cheap and i like the 5 speed civics. but before i drive it home i wanna make sure the alternator isn't ****ed cause then it will die on me on the way home. if it is the battery or starter i can drive it home and fix it at home.

any advice would be great, thanks

 

Did you hear a clicking sound after it didnt crank over anymore? Is the battery just dead? Has the car sat for awhile?

If anything is wrong with the charging system more than likely the battery light on the dash will come on. Make sure the alternator isnt frozen up like most ef's I'v encountered. You said the lights were bright so I would put my money on a starter especially if you heard a rapid clicking sound. Next time you go there, make sure the wire is on the starter solenoid. I am a victim of putting that wire on but not hitting the connecter.

 

the started did not make a clicking sound at all, just turned over once or twice then stopped. and did nothing at all while i was trying to turn the car on until i jumped it then it turned over about 3-4 times and started up.

the car was apparently sitting for a while and the battery turminal connections were not too tight but like i said before the lights were working good

thanks

 

get the battery checked out at autozone or partsource or wherever...
could just be a bad connection. tighten up the terminals.

 

Ef's as you might know are very notorious for bad terminals. My CRX has done it to me many of times. Even honda recommends you replace the Negitive battery terminal to something other than the stock one because it comes loose alot.

 

i'll try tightening and cleaning the connections first, see if she starts if not i'll take the battery home and get it checked out. i'll post back when i find the results of this

 

put a good battery in it. take a volts meter and check it. if the volts continue to drop. its the alternator

 

well i went and payed for it. it cranked a couple times did not start, but i jumped it and it started up really nice. i ran it for a while, put the high beams on, radio up load and heater full blast. the light did not fade at all so i now know the alternator is good. and i shut it of breifly and started it up again. (started up ok kinda struggled though cause the batter was bad)

so come to the conclusion it either needs a new battery or it needs a good charge.



other things wrong with it were the steering wheel was 180 degrees off (WTF) anyone know if it is hard to correct this.

also it made a weird blah type noise when i pulled up the clutch in neutral

 

pop the H logo off the center of the steering wheel and use a 19mm socket w an extension or a lug wrench to unscrew the steering wheel bolt. should come right off. the blah noise you speak of... does it sound like a constant griding noise? could be a bad throwout bearing.

 

lol i dont think this one is in the right thread either...

its ok dude i did that earlier.

 

if the car started with the jump and continued running with the jumper cables off, the car should get you home I doubt the alt is bad.

 

Something that might be worth checking out is the main relay. I had a problem really similar to yours and it turned out to be my main relay. Almost everything you described matched what I did. After I changed my main relay it runs great now.

And if you started it, it should run fine without dying. I drove my car like that for months before I figured out the problem. If it dies, then you will know that it is your battery or alt. if it doesn't die then check elsewhere.