Okay guys, I have an obd1 b16 in my hatch and I just started having starting issues. Right now, the car barely turns over, but when hooked to a friend's car and receiving a jump, it fires right up and runs smoothly. It also runs smoothly after I push start it. My friend hooked up a multimeter to various points last night and the voltage on the things we tested (battery, alternator, etc.) were a little lower than usual. Also, I have no blown fuses. We discovered that the battery fuse cable was barely connected, and I mean barely, so it's now properly secured again, but without the washer. Any ideas guys?

 

Test battery and alternator since you didn't specify what "various points" were.

 

Battery and alternator were tested. They just weren't putting out the correct voltage. And by "various points" I meant all the wires/cables that connect to the battery, alternator, battery fuse, etc. All had some voltage, just lower than they should be. My friend suggested it might be the voltage regulator in the alternator? And sorry if my answers are vague. I'm not too electrical-savy.

 

How much lower? Who did the testing?

 

I don't remember how much lower, but he definitely said the voltage wasn't correct. The only voltage I remember for sure was lower was the battery voltage. It was in the 11.9 range at one point.

 

11.9 is low, should be arounf 12.6.

Does it slow crank after car is warmed up, shut off and started again? Check the CCA's on your battery.

 

it did crank after the car had idled for a while, but somewhat weak...I tried to start it after my first class today and the problem came back...extremely weak turnover...and CCA?

 

bump

 

CCA is an acronym for Cold Cranking Amps, All automotive batteries are rated with this standed. I believe my civic is has a battery around 450 cca.

Also your battery should read 12.6 with the car off.

And around 14-14.5 v if I remember correctly with the car running.

 

Okay. I'm taking the car to autozone on Thursday to test the battery and alternator, so I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks for the help thus far also.

 

I would suggest reviewing your grounding as well. Bad ground = shitty start up power as well. Clean up your terminal wires as well. Its likely your battery is not getting a correct ground or positive connection via start/main relay.


Grounding is overlooked many times through simple issues, and is a quick remedy as a solution to overlooked issues.

 

it might be worth it to you to pick up a cheap multimeter while you're there, they are indispensable for this type of diagnostic.

 

My friend checked my grounds and connections and he didn't find any corrosion or looseness anywhere. The main problem was the battery fuse cable barely attached which we thought was the culprit, but it wasn't. We'll recheck everything again though.

Buddy has one.

 

Time for a new battery, maybe? How old is it?