my brothers si wont start. it happens about once every couple of months. the car just wont start. doesn't even try to crank. the key just turns. here is what we have done. bought a starter last year, got the starter checked out yesterday and passed at auto zone, oil change, cam seal change, and that's about it. battery is 1 or 2 years old, alternator COULD be an issue, but the starter doesn't crank and it doesn't seem like the alternator is part of it at all. This happens very rarely, but it does and its annoying. we're thinking wiring problem? any input would be helpful thanks!

 

Check the starter plug on the tranny? Mine has slipped off on it's own before. Everything works fine, engine just doesn't turn on. Fuel pump primes, car beeps, cluster lights up, everything works, but the engine doesn't crank.

 

I'm going to assume you tried changing the battery?

Check the ground from the trans to the chassis.

Are you pushing the clutch all the way down to start it? My GF's floor mat was caught under the clutch pedal and she was freaking out that her car "was broken".

Could be the clutch switch also. Maybe the pedal is not pushing the clutch switch as much as it should.

Could be your ignition switch.

 

The Electrical section in the FAQs sticky has diagrams for testing the ignition switch and showing the location of the rubber stopper that presses on the clutch switch at the top of the clutch pedal.

 

Parasitic drain maybe? I just say this cause my car did this,still have yet to check the fuses but just an idea

 

thats exactly whats happening. the starter plug is fine.
battery is only 1 year old, maybe a little bit more. i will check the chassis ground. clutch is being pushed to the floor, but, the switch is a good suggestion. I will be checking those tomorrow. Ignition switch is also a good one. I'm thinking more-so wiring problem than anything, but those are good things to check out.

thanks a lot If I can't find anything else than I will start hitting the wiring.

eh, maybe. I'm pretty sure the battery and alternator are good and it's just the starter not doing anything at all. I was thinking about fuses though. Maybe. Idk..

thanks everybody for your help. keep the ideas coming. I know there's somebody out there with this exact issue and fixed it! I'm waiting for you!

 

The battery being only 1 year old doesnt mean anything. Also, fuses dont blow intermittently.

 

Yeah its very possible that it's something as simple as the battery going out. i've seen batteries go out after a few months. could easily be a bad battery

 

same thing happened to my GF's FG...I took the starter to autozone to get it checked and it "passed with flying colors" soe I checked EVERYTHING else...but guess what? it was the starter. Thing is, at autozone, the starter is working by itself practically...so ofcourse its going to crank. BUT, when its on the car, its moving the flywheel and all kinds of other stuff. Therefore, if it passes at autozone, its not 100% sure its still good bro. If I was you, I'd buy a new starter at autozone...install it and crank it. IF, it doesnt start, uninstall, clean it and return it and get your money back. Wont kill ya, plus it takes like 15 minutes to take it out.

 

also, make sure the battery has water in it...

 

i was thinking that...

i will check.

thats exactly what i was thinking. maybe its just not working right. i will try that as well.

 

My civic did the same thing. It only did it 2 different times. I checked the wires/plug on the starter and they were fine. Just kept turning the key back and forth till it randomly started. Lol. It was just those 2 times though. After that it was fine.

 

^^haha ya its one of those intermittent problems, but when it happens, its no car till we figure it out . ok so we did an ignition switch test for continuity and there is no continuity on the 7p connector on the ignition switch. it says ofl. so does that mean need an ignition switch?

 

your brushes in the starter are going = new starter 99.9 sure

 

I
agree with all of this i would also add that it may be the key ignition has it ever been messed with (STOLEN) ? to check this out use a Voltmeter to check the starter signal wire under the hood check it when the key turns should be the same as battery voltage

 

This sounds most likely to me. They do funny things sometimes as the get old

 

so we did an ignition switch test for continuity and there is no continuity on the 7p connector on the ignition switch. it says ofl. so does that mean need an ignition switch? still haven't checked the clutch switch yet. i need to do stuff on my car too. so many issues

 

TTT help?

 

ttt

 

ok so we got the new ignition switch and it didnt work so.............we are thinking the ignition switch has been bad and made the starters go bad? because this is our second starter and we had this problem before, but the first time we just replaced the starter and it was fine.