Hey guys...

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this... I'm gonna try to keep it short but I want to be through to explain fully everything I've tried.

The issue first of all is that the car wont start... it behaves the way it would if you turned the key without pressing in the clutch pedal. Turn the key everything lights up hear a click from a relay (not sure which) under the dash, but no signal that I can hear goes to the starter at all... zero attempt at cranking.

The car once had a basic alarm which was disconnected by the previous owner, and it ran fine. Though it was 'disconnected' it was still present under the dash so I figured I'd start by removing it. It seemed to only really be tapped into the power door locks and parking lights... I followed all the wires and the only things it were still attached to were t-tapped in no cuts in the wires that I could tell... so removed it completely, and I'm pretty confident it has nothing to do with my problem. (Open to suggestions if I'm wrong here)

Next I attempted to diagnose a potentially faulty iginition switch, I tested it for continuity exactly as described in the svc manual and it seems to be working right.

Next I tried testing the switch on the clutch pedal... according to the method in the svc manual, and it is getting continuity so I assume thats in working order.

I checked the 50Amp fuse underhood and its good, checked the 7.5Amp fuse in the kick panel and ITS good.

I dont know for sure, but I dont think its the MAIN relay because my previous Prelude went through a bad relay and it acted up for weeks before it was shot, and it at least cranked though it wouldn't turn over the motor... This isn't behaving the same way as that.

I checked the starter itself by 'jumping' the battery straight to the starter itself and it did start to crank the motor.

Now I'm not an expert with a multimeter, I have a general idea on how its supposed to work, and so I decided to just try testing random stuff at this point (and by randm I mean not explained in the svc manual) I tested the continuity from the wire in the underhood fuse box, to the wire going into the starter... I thought that this would test the continuity from the fuse box to the starter... the multimeter beeped so i -ASSUME- that that means that my real problem here is between the ignition switch and the under hood fuse box.

So the only thing that I can think of that I haven't fully tested is the Starter Cut Relay in the kick panel fuse box.... So I pulled the relay and with the multimeter I tested continuity between the coil power and coil ground on the relay itself, I dont get the same beep that I get from my multimeter when I test for continuity the way the svc manual says I should... the meter reads '0.62' -- and no beep. I'm no electrician so I dont know exactly what .62 means... is that a good indicator that this is where my problem can be? I can't test the relay fully tonight because i do not have a 12v source... when i go back to the car tomorrow and have access to the battery I will try testing it again.

Theres a whole bunch of other things to test I know in terms of the fuel pump etc... but beacuse the starter isnt even attempting to start I just assumed that thats where my problem is first and foremost. If thats at stupid assumption, please educate me... I'm trying to read everything i can find to figure this out... Been through the service manual.

I am sure someone is going to tell me to check my grounds... I inspected them all visually and they looked okay but I'm pretty sure I need to do more than that, can someone tell me how to though? Can I use the multimeter to figure that out? Other wise what else should I do? Unattach all of them and clean them off and re attach? How do I clean them? Use a bit of sand paper? Sorry if all of these are basic questions but I spent a few hours checking everything I can think of within my skill set, and nothing worked so now I'm out to try to figure out what else I can try.

Again sorry for such a long post but I figure the more info I can provide, the better the help I can hope for. Thanks in advance guys.

 

check the ground wires to your block....my buddy just had this same problem last week and he said it was one of the wires that grounded to his block...it was shitty and needed to be replaced.....now its fine and starts good

 

Any suggestions on how to 'check them'?

I mean visually they look fine... should I remove the wire from teh block/grounding point and test it for continuity?

What should I do to clean the contact leads on it?

Also if the car will start by me putting a jumper wire between the battery and starter, and the starter turns, doesn't it kind of eliminate the possibility of a bad ground?

(seriously asking there, because it seems logical that it would, but I'm not positive and would like clarification)

 

Well I got it started fellas, I'm not exactly sure where the problem is yet though... I tested the clutch switch and it seemed to be fine, I did this by checking for continuity on the switch.

I tested the starter cut off relay and it seemed to be fine... I did this by putting 12v to the A and B prongs, and when doing so there was continuity through C and D.

I said screw it may as well try bypassing that whole circuit and used a jumper wire to bypass the relay... connecting 'C and D' ports in the fuse box and it fired right up!!!!

So I'm not sure if my issue could have been in the wiring between the clutch switch and starter cut off relay or if I tested the switch or starter cut off relay incorrectly.

But its starting at least...