Mostly stock engine. Have had this completely random issue with the car not starting.

Happens at completely random times with no warning signs.

Turn the key and nothing happens, no noises, no nothing.

At this point I can either push start the car or jump it and it fires right up, no problems.

This happens 1 in about 20 times, but it's gotten past the point of annoying to me and I need to fix it before it drives me insane.

Any ideas on what this could be? Starter?

 

Most likely starter... When they go bad they will tend to randomly work, but not work about 90% of the time. Sounds exactly like the issue you're having...

Edit:

Just re-read your post and saw that you said no noises. That's weird, and in this case you might want to check for loose grounds and make sure all connectors are hooked up properly. Sometimes this issue can cause things to work 10% of the time, or not at all.

 

Check the rubber stopper (red arrow) at the top of the clutch pedal:

 

I installed one of those after market grounding wire systems thinking that might help too...but what a waste of money that was....

....I've been thinking starter all along too. I might just swap it out soon and go from there.

 

A worn out stopper could cause this you think?

 

It's one of the most common causes for the no-crank problem in 92-95 Civics. If the rubber stopper is damaged or has fallen out, the starter switch won't be activated, which will prevent the starter solenoid from getting battery voltage through the ignition switch.

 

Good to know. Gonna check that out tonight. Thanks!

 

Clutch pedal rubber stop seems perfectly intact to me.....although I did notice that the rubber stop only pushes the 'Clutch Pedal Switch A' pin down maybe 3/4ths or 4/5ths of the way in.

Does it need to be pushing it 100% of the way in?

Could that be it? Maybe a readjustment on the pedal might help?

 

Unplug the 2 wire clip going to the clutch switch. Insert a paperclip inside the clip and tape it off with electrical tape. Then the car will start without having to push the clutch in. See if that solves your problem, then you can replace the switch if you'd like.

Mine has been disabled for years, ever since I installed my remote start.

 

Try this^. If the engine starts by this method, then check whether adjusting the switch position such that it is fully depressed with the pedal pushed. If the engine still won't start, then the switch may be bad. Another possibility is a faulty ignition switch.

 

ok. Good ideas.

So if the paper clip idea works, very possible that the switch is faulty?

I've thought about the ignition switch too, because I did have to replace it back in 06 after my car got stolen and the ignition switch was broken......sucks having 2 sets of keys.

My car has this weird rev'ing thing too after start up, where it will just rev up and down until I let the clutch out some....I wonder if the 2 things are related....

 

Well, I'm back.

Since posting, the problem has been happening less and when it does, I never had time to debug it until today.

It wouldn't start today and I had time to test the clutch switch paper clip method. It didn't work. Still won't start.

I had the starter tested not too long ago and it checked out good too.

So now I'm back to ground zero.

My original post was wrong when I said there are no noises. My main relay is clicking when I turn the key, but that's it.

Could a faulty relay cause this random no start issue?

If not, I think I'll probably have to swap my ignition switch again. Not sure what else it could be.

 

Here's a new kink in the mystery.

Normally, when it doesn't start, I either push start it or jump it.

I was at work this time and so the car has just sat there for about 4 hours. When i went to leave, she started right up on it's own this time.

What could possibly have changed for that to happen.....

 

ttt

 

bad ground?

do you hear your fuel pump prime if you turn the key to the on position(this is related to the main relay question)?

 

is there some reason you haven't checked the battery yet or did i miss that?

 

I do hear the fuel pump kick on.

 

Battery is good.

 

ttt

 

ttt

 

i had this issue on my 96 civic. and i change a lot of the stuff. then didn't want to go anywhere because my car could possibly leave me stranded. it went away after changing the actual fuel pump.

bu i honestly don't remember if mine used to crank or just response from the key turn.

edit: i just say my thread. my car used to crank.

 

ttt

 

ttt

 

Sounds like a bad battery terminal connection. Try to wiggle the connections on the battery if you can.. they are too loose this would cause the starter not to engage randomly. If not could be a bad ignition switch.

 

update: couple of weeks ago, I swapped out my ignition switch again....and so far, no problems [knock on wood]........so at this point it's looking like a janky switch that I had already replaced a while back after the car was stolen....

anyways...hopefully this closes this thread permanently and I never have to post about it again....