Hei H-T i am having a really confusing staring problem with my 91civic d16y8 swap. The car always has been working fine until i had a small incident that turned out a big headache. I had turned my car on and had gotten distracted doing something else and while the car was already on i attempted to turn the car on again (idk what was i thinking) but you already know you get that griding sound and well my car turned off. I tried turnin it back on but it wouldnt. 5 minutes later i tried it again and the car turned on and made it home. I whent out again the car turned on with no problems. Whent to the store shut the car off, now i tried turnin the car on and i got nothing. I pop started the car so that worked out.
I troubledshoot as far from the best of my knowledge and did my research and still nothing.
I would like to put out that NO it is not the starter, NO it is not the main relay. No it is no fuses, and i am sure my grounding all are working out fine. To cut my story short because there is more but please if someone could help me i would most deff apriciate i need my car on as soon as possible i need to get to work.

 

Does it crank?

 

No but the starter clicks. I left my batterys ground disconnected over night and the ecu. I had a p28 pluged in b 4 but this morning I pluged in a p06 I then connected my ground and attempted to start it and plessing the cluth pedal but I would not get anything my blinkers would turn on and my gas needle goes above the f. I then just pressed the cluth with my finger not using the pedal and some how it miracly turned on. I took the ecu p06 off and put my p28 back on and tried turning it back on and nope back to the same problem. Then took off the p28 and put the p06 and it still wont turn on again.

 

What makes you believe it is not the starter?

If it clicks but doesn't engage, it's probably the starter.

Have you tried bypassing the solenoid on the starter with a metal object to see if it engages?

 

its the starter

 

Yea I by passed the starter. I have two starters both work. I took them to autozone and they passed.

 

Is the power wire for the starter making a good clean connection? Is your battery charged?

 

Yea the battery is good they terminals are clean and really tight. I made sure I bypassed the starter the right way. AUTOZONE cheked my starter and passes it.

 

Alright so correct me if I am wrong or missing something.

Everything is good and gravy. Then one day you accidentally abuse your starter. btw don't feel bad, who hasn't done that once or twice? (which may or may not have damaged it). Now you are having an INTERMITTENT starting problem.

"But the guy at Vatozone tested it"
He probably did not test it correctly (ie. under load etc.) but let's forget that for the moment.

INTERMITTENT is the key here. It works sometimes, so testing the starter when it happens to be working will tell you nothing. You have to test the starter when you are experiencing the problem in order to rule it out.

Basically if it was ignition, main relay, or fuel related that shouldn't matter because the starter should always crank - not clickity click.
clickity click = battery, ground cables, starter, ignition switch.

 

The starter circuit is pretty simple, so if it isn't cranking, there are very few things it can be.

The starter gets power from the battery, so make sure the battery is charged and the wire from the battery to the starter is making a good connection and isn't damaged(check continuity). It is grounded through the block, so make sure you have good grounds from the motor to the chassis. Also make sure the surface the starter mounts to isn't covered in gunk.

Next, verify that the ignition switch is working. See if you get 12V at the starter solenoid connector when the key is turned to start. Make sure that the quick connect is pushed on correctly. I have seen where they feel tight, but are not making a proper connection. If you are getting 12v there, then it probably is the starter.

I have a starter on my chump car that tested good at Oreilly's, but has intermittent problems. I just hit it with a mallet and it works fine. So just because it tests OK doesn't mean it is.

 

X2

 

gringo but why did it start on me again then i changed my ecu back to the p28 then it whent back to the same problem. now after so many diffrent attempts now when i press the clutch pedal slightly no all the way in the main relay clicks, when i attempt to try to start it a few many times i am getting bad smelly smoke something is burnin that is coming from the clutch pedal. i removes my fuse box to chek behind. there is a spring on the clutch pedal right. and that spring is getting so hot i mean really hot i burned my self on it. i am sure thats not normal is it ?? i have still not managed to turn the car on today

 

Come on man. You mess with the starter. Then the car literally "stops starting" and somehow you think it's the clutch cable and the ECU???? I admit the pedal assembly being hot does not sound good, but one thing at a time.

Cant make it simpler than this.

Is the car cranking? Y/N

Yes >>>>> check if it is getting: spark, fuel, timing, main relay etc.

No >>>>>> check: battery, fuses, ground cables, starter, ignition switch


(These tests assume healthy battery, good cables, and solid grounds.)
To test starter, jump a wire from the main power wire on starter to the starter solenoid (small black/yellow wire) and see if the starter cranks or clicks. Assuming the battery and all cables are good, it should crank every time. yes, every time. If it clicks, Bad Starter or seized engine (which we can usually rule out).

To test under load, Remove the spark plugs, so there will be no compression and then try to start the car. If the starter can spin the engine (without any load) but it cannot spin the engine with the spark plugs installed (under load), then you will know the starter is bad.

Another common problem is that with age, the starters wear down and get stuck internally. Try to tap on the casing of the starter with a hammer while someone is holding the key in the cranking position. Start lightly and increase force to whatever level is needed. This may free it up and allow it to work for a while until it gets stuck again.

Only other thing I can think of is the clutch bypass switch, so jump the wires together to bypass it, and rule that out as a possibility.

http://www.hondatuningmagazine.com/t.../photo_19.html

 

No it does not crank. I have another starter that is brand new and it still. Doing the same thing. I by passed the interlock clutch switch but for some reason I still have to press the clutch pedal in a bit so that the main relay turns on now. And when I try to ignite it like I said the starter just clicks clicks clanks and does not try to grab the flywheel to atleast get the car cranking. After truning the ignition switch to acc 3 many times I start to get a burning smell and smoke coming from somewhere underneath the diverside dash around the clutch pedal behind the fuse box..

 

burning smell? check under your dash for burnt wires.

are you absolutely positive that ALL your grounds are on?

 

Time to inspect all the wiring in that area and post pics of what you find. You might have to crank it for a bit and let the stuff under the dash heat up so you can identify exactly what is getting hot etc. good luck

 

I will post up with pictures then. Im just affraid that the wiring might catch fire. I still sm so confused tho of how could this have happened over re cranking the car while it was already on.

 

i had this happen on my hatch ...it was smoking from the instrument cluster and it turned out to be the main block ground if you have smoke its definitely a ground issue because the power is feeding back through other circuits trying to find a path to ground

 

When I had this issue, it ended up being a loose transmission ground.

 

So this is becoming a wiring issue, agreed if all "clickity clack" connections are in order, then move on to your harness and trace that burning.

 

Hei guys ok afther checking all my wires now and trying to figure out exactly where the problem was at now the story changes. So I started checking wires and wiggled a few grounds from the tranny. Ok I am no longer getting the smokey burning problem for now idk what I did but it stopped. I still am getting the clinckity clanks from the starter but now it also has now started to drain my battery rapidly. What now could it be guyz please help ?? Thankkkx.

 

do more than wiggle your grounds if you can wiggle them they need cleaned and tightened...the quick battery drain has to be a short somewhere ....disconnect the negative terminal of your battery and run a test light between the ground lead and the negative battery terminal ...if there is a short the test light will light up ...if this is the case start pulling fuses until the light goes out ...the fuse that shuts the test light off will indicate the circuit with the short ....from there trace all wiring in that circuit and repair the short ...problem solved

 

Ok so I cleaned the ground that hooks up to the tranny and that sorta helped the starter want to crank. All im getting is like a little pull and thats is. I held the ignition switch a little longer to see if the starter will crank after the small pull I am getting. So holding the ignition switch for a bit causes now the positive on the starter to smoke up and burn. Wth now ???

 

test your ignition switch and wires like FSRslug already said.. i feel like your over-looking the whole problem. you already know that it has to do with the wiring, hence the burn ups, theres a short, in the ignition system. search google for the correct voltage of all the wires and go test them. i suggest listening to TearSDMF89dx and test it that way to find out what circuit the short is on.

question for you, how many grounds do you have hooked up? how do you have the negative terminal ground hooked up?

 

Thank guyz I just really don't know about electrical problems. I didn't go to school for automotive but with the help of you wich I so much appreciate I can get my car back on the road. I have the tranny grounded, the vavle cover ground. the ground goes to the body and den to the tranny that's coming from the battery.