Whats up guys Ive done some searching didn't get any ideas I work as a mechanic and I am completely stumped....

96 civic hatch
OBD1 LS swap (been up and running over a year)


No Crank No start

1. Brand new OEM Honda battery

2. Tried a different starter, still nothing

3. Had the original starter bench tested PASSED

4. 12.6 V at the positive connection voltage drop from battery 0.0V

5. Tested the signal wire to the solenoid with jumper wires and a headlight bulb,it lights up bright, It also measured 12.6 V when attempting to start the car.

6. Used a jumper wire from the positive battery terminal to the starter solenoid, it clicks but wont crank.

7. measured resistance from the ground on the trans to the negative battery terminal 44 ohms, which i though seemed suspect, but voltage drop of 0.01 V



Any one have any ideas....I didnt check the clutch saftey switch but didn't think I would have a signal to the sloenoid wire if the switch was bad.

 

check your grounds. i had this problem had good battery power i would hear a click but no cranking. i could hear the fuel pump prime, changed out the starter i had laying around. i fixed a main ground on the motor and chassis and it fired right up. so check and clean grounds.

 

I will tomorrow....The battery was making me wonder...bought it two days ago but that doesn't mean that its good....I took it to work today and put it on the midtronics tester...it tested to 533 CCA...not bad considering its rated at 500.

I'm gonna clean the bolts, eyelets, and hope fully my resistance from the trans ground to the negative battery post will change.....the only thing thats makes me wonder is that there is pretty much no voltage drop....the resistance does seem higher than normal... but it really makes me wonder.

 

So I got some sandpaper, cleaned up the eyelets on the groundwire from the trans to the chassis. cleaned up the connection on the transmission bracket and the connection at the chassis. Installed the ground and resistance tested it. It was 44 ohm before, now is .5 ohms. And it fired up.

The other day when the problem occured, I had a homemade ground on the car which had been on for over a year. I had an oem one laying around and changed it but it still wouldnt fire.

So it was either the connection at the trans bracket or the connection at the chassis.

Just makes me wonder why either one would cause problems now. neither were rusty or corroded looking and neither were loose.

 

I have a 96 honda accord 5 spd vtek that gets juice to all the lights, horn, radio, ac, etc but when I turn the key there is nothing. I am thinking it is the ignition system but would like some input.

 

khmdesign, it could be from a whole bunch of possibilities. Just do a google search like "won't start or turn over radio lights work" something along those lines. And then you do some more diagnosing using the symptoms each part could cause and match it up to your car's symptoms.