i bought a '89 honda crx si with a '92 motor in it. new battery new starter...worked fine for 2 weeks then starting problems...checked everything...tested starter,battery...replaced some connections...starter not fulling engaging flywheel...if i jump starter from battery turns over like new but turn the key and get grinding/clicking...seems like power issue...any ideas??...ignition cylinder seems a little loose and if wiggled sometimes wont even turn over...just dead air...but battery and starter are new and act new....which connection could it be...battery is in the trunk..

 

you mentioned if you jumped it from the batt to the starter your good yes? I would definetaly check your lines to the batt relocate if this is the case. Your most likely draining back into ground at some point(could even be off the IG lines). If you run the key "on" and jump the starter do you have your engine firing?

 

if i turn the key to the on position and jump the starter it starts instantly...if i try to turn it over with the key it grinds the flywheel and clicks as well....it also occasionally dies for no reason and will crank but not start...then it will be fine in a few minutes...very puzzling...I know it's got to be ignition or a relay...i have checked all fuses and wires so i am getting stumped...what do you mean "IG" lines...the ground on the battery is mounted on the wall at the rear of the car...i think this started after i hit a hard bump in the road and now I am mounting a button to start it till i figure this out to prevent any damage to my starter or flywheel... if ig is ignition then your saying the ground from there is not good?..

 

The starter has an external solenoid. May be your problem... Do this:

 

Are you saying your battery is relocated to the rear of the car? Sorry, didn't catch that when I read your post. My bad. If that's the case, it's almost certain the ground is crappy. Take it loose and hook it to the frame. Make sure to get a clean connection. Bare metal, even if you gotta take a grinder to it first. The body probably isn't good enough to pass the 300 amps or so you need to crank it...

 

thank you i will try that...

 

well the body ground has good contact so you think the "body" itself is not a good enough ground...? I will try grounding it to the frame...

 

Mine is grounded once only at the stru tower, and have had no issues for 4 years now. It could possibly be a ground issue at the motor side, or even a bad connection where the possitive runs up to the fuse box and splits to the starter. Check those connections as well

 

Did you do the starter and solenoid checks I posted above? If you have 12v at the starter with the ignition in the crank position then it's most likely either a bad ground, starter, or solenoid. If not, it's in the ignition circuit somewhere or bad connection to battery positive terminal. Those checks should help you narrow it down to one thing or the other.

 

Btw, if it cranks fine when you jump the starter directly then most likely the ground on the starter end is good or of course it wouldn't start even then. The fact that you hear a clicking and grinding even when it doesn't crank over leads me to believe that there is 12v at the starter more than likely but it is not passing enough current to engage the plunger fully into the flywheel and/or turn the starter over, hence the probability of a bad ground on the battery side.

 

i have checked everything and cannot see the problem...starter and battery are new and test fine...grounds all seem really good as well...the starter not fully kicking out(power loss?) and now my fan doesn't come on with the key "on"...seems like im losing even more power everyday...where could i be losing it from...