I have a 94 civic ex coupe. It has been starting fine , then when to clicking a few times then it would start slowly. No it just makes a clicking noise coming from the starter. I went ahead and replaced the start with a known good one but still no luck. I also cleaned the battery terminals and posts with no luck either. Any ideas what I should check next? Having to jump the starter with a screw driver is kinda lame =(



Thanks in advance H-T

 

Check voltage at the battery while cranking and check voltage at the starter while cranking.
Then report back with the numbers and someone will be able to help you.

 

Ya that Was gonna be next on the list. Forgot my multimeter at work.

But would it start fine by jumping the starter terminal even if the battery is on it's way out?

 

Probably not. A bad battery is gonna cause a slow crank whether you use the key or jump it.
If the starter activates with the key, then you can presume the signal wire is good(the small wire that goes to the solenoid)
Have you checked all your grounds? I just had a loose ground wire cause almost the same thing as your describing..

 

Checked most of the grounds(removed them and cleaned them) with no luck. And ya the starter plunges making a click. An when I jump it, it starts no problem.

 

You really need to check voltages before we start getting ahead of ourselves.
Check for a voltage drop to the starter while cranking, then check the starter casing to ground resistance.
Its either the power/ground going to the starter, or the starter itself. It sounds like the signal wire is OK, but you might as well check it too.
Make sure the main ground coming from the battery is secure and clean. I think its the one that goes straight to the trans.

 

OK. I checked the voltage drop while turning the key it dropped down to 11.9 volts. Checked the voltage from the signal wire and that was around 12.0 volts. Checks all grounds. recleaned and re tightened them all. Resistance from starter case to ground was ver minimal. im just gonna snag a starter tomorrow and let you guys know what the deal is. Other then it being that i have ran out of ideas.

 

I've had pretty good luck actually rebuilding starters. Take it all apart, clean the armature and brushes with a little bit of scotchbrite, and clean everything really well with a can of brake cleaner/electrical contact cleaner.
Most of the time when you hear the "click", the contact where the solenoid plunger portion meets the starter motor contact has some buildup from arcing (carbon tracks?).
Jut about every single one I've done this too, I've had successful results...
Good luck!

 

your alternator is most likely shot
if your alternator is broken it wont
charge the battery which will result
in that clicking noise from the starter
your talking about.

 

True, but he said his battery was at 11.9 volts while cranking, which indicates a good battery. Around 10.5 volts is the lowest I like to see while cranking..

 

does is battery charge when car was started?

 

Battery voltage has little to do with cranking a motor. I have batteries that have been sitting outside in the yard for four years that will still read 11.7 volts. Getting the batteries amperage to the starter is what is needed. After the motor is running is when one needs at least 13'5 volts to be applied to the battery from the alternator. If you have a known good battery and a known good starter, put a jumper cable between the positive post and positive terminal on the starter and see if the key will start it up. I have had several of these bolt on replacement battery terminals go bad where the cable bolts to the terminal. These things are coming in from China, and will get corrosion dang near weekly. You can clean them , but they will not last.

I drive manual cars and have had the rubber clutch switch bumper to rot and fall out. For this and other problems, I keep a wire that will slip on on the starter terminal and reach the positive terminal of the battery in every car........it may just get you home from an out on the road problem........

 

Do you realize the starter takes alot of power from the battery to turn the motor? And your saying volts got nothing to do with it? HA! A starter while cranking the motor could do almost 12v. A good battery is 12.6v. Thats alot of freaking volts going to that starter. So volts DO have ALOT to do with cranking a motor.

Kev

 

check the ground wires

 

amperage is the main factor when powering a starter.

12.6v means nothing on its own, its when you load the battery with the starter. if the voltage drops below 10.9v i believe, thats what indicates if your battery doesnt ha enough amperage to deliver CONSTANT 10.9-12.6v to the starter

a battery can show 12.6v alone and still not have enough amperage to spin a starter

-an alternator has nothing to do with the starting system, it powers the vehicle and maintains the battery only after the car is started

- clean your transmission grounds and check the health of the trans ground cable, resistance in these cables and posts can appear when you attempt to send high amounts of amperage through them

 

Well put sir

Kev