Lately I have had a issue with my car not starting as soon as I turn the key. Usually I insert the key and start in one quick motion. Now i have to pause for at least a half of a second before it will fire up. I was thinking it might be my ignition switch even though I replaced with new aftermarket end of last year.

94 civic vx w/98 gsr swap

 

I have/had something like this with my civic there would be a second or 2 before it would crank turned out to be a dying battery how's yours ?. only other thing that pops to mind is ignition timing could be a bit off. does it crank fast tho and just a pause before it does ANYTHING ?

 

Or it can also be your climate, because I have 94 ej1 with a jdm b16a 2nd gen so I use 93 octane and its starting to get cold out here east, so I have to pause half a sec before it starts early in the morning, which it never did when it was extremly hot before.

 

Does this happen only when the fuel level is 1/4 tank or lower?

 

No with a full tank

 

I was asking the OP.

 

It happens everytime I start the car regardless of fuel level. I originally thought it was due to a low battery since it had been sitting for a month. The battery was low but has been fully charged since. I live in Florida where it has been 90* almost everyday. A lot of rain too but it stays in the garage and usually stays there when it is raining. After the hesitation, everything is normal and fires up like it should.

 

leaking/leaky fuel injector(s) perhaps. What is your fuel economy like? Have you noticed a degradation? The only other thing I can think of which isn't extreme such as leaking fuel rails or whatnot would be the fuel pump is getting old and the check valve is starting to go. The check valve in the pump helps keep the fuel rail primed. Op having to wait a few seconds before cranking the engine would indicate that he is waiting for the fuel pump to prime the fuel lines with pressure.

Otherwise I'd suggest cleaning up your electrical grounds, maybe that will help with various unspecified issues you may be having concurrent with this.

 

I'm confused if this is a crank or start issue? Does it take a second to actually crank or take a second while cranking for it to start?

 

It's a neither issue. OP is concerned because he notices now that he can't just put the key into the ignition and in one swift motion crank and start the engine but instead has to wait a second. I feel for OP as I own multiple vehicles and I remember some of them used to have that sort of "quickness" to them but no longer do while others still retain that. In fact, I have some vehicles now that require an excessive amount of engine cranking to get them going and they're low miles vehicles.

 

Fuel pump is a walbro 255 that I installed about 6 months ago. Grounds are all clean. Injectors are all in good shape. When it does crank, it is has a strong crank. It is just a hesitation from the time I turn the key forward to the time the starter turns the motor over, otherwise everything else is normal.

It's a wierd issue that has me lost.

 

Yup. Clean off the battery cables and follow the large positive cables over to the starter connection. Having the battery disconnected, pull the starter cable off and clean with a metal wire brush and maybe some soap and a tiny bit of water. Dry it good so it doesn't corrode. Also you could use steel wool or fine sand paper if you must.

 

All contacts are clean.

 

Well an aftermarket fuel pump with a bad/weak check valve could possibly cause this. I tend to find that aftermarket parts are of a lower quality than OEM.

 

Am I misunderstanding this issue?

I think OP said the issue is a time delay between when he turns the key to start, and when the starter actually starts turning over. Is that correct?

I still might think the starter cable connections (or maybe engine grounds) are giving a false sense of well-being. However, it is possible the ignition harness (key area) might be an issue. I believe it requires fairly higher current and imagine a bad connection their might cause an issue. Try reseating the electrical plug too.

 

That is correct!!

I will go over connection again just to be sure. I am thinking ignition switch myself or fuel pump. I replace ign switch thinking that was a previous issue and turned out clutch safety switch was the problem. I will try an put the OEM back in.

 

Oh if there is a delay from the time you are in cranking mode at the ignition and the starter starts turning over, then you have an old/sticking solenoid (relay).

 

That's were it gets confusing because if I put the key in, turn to acc, wait a second, then turn to crank. There is no hesitation and it fires up immediately but if I insert key and try to immediately start, there is the hesitation.

That's the reason I am thinking it is the ign switch.

 

youtube video?

 

Did we ever find out this problem. I too having this problem, but on my 93 da. Some days the car starts perfect the other day it delays to turn on, bad days it doesn't start and I have to push start it to get going. Once this happens then it usually starts good for a couple of days and then starts delaying again. delaying 1-5 seconds before it starts.

 

|Not sure if 6 months ago they found their issue.

Your's is a manual transmission so can be push started. So may not be the same issue. I was going to ask the OP if his vehicle was an automatic or a manual. I have a 93 automatic that acts like the OP. It delays before cranking when I turn the key to start. I haven't started investigating it being I haven't been doing anything to the car yet because the list is large and it's darn cold out to mess with it right now.

I also have a 95 manual that won't crank unless I get the clutch pedal in just the right position.

In the manual's case it's the neutral safety switch on the clutch pedal, and could be the same issue on the automatic but it's location is under the shift lever console.

When your's is being stubborn and won't crank, have you tried turning the key to the start position and then push the clutch to the floor? If it starts cranking and even if it stops once you hit the floor, that would indicate a maladjusted neutral safety switch on your clutch pedal. If that trick doesn't change a thing then I would begin looking at your battery and starter. And the last area I think it could be is electrical and that would require testing contacts in the ignition and other areas to isolate. That would be RonJ's area of expertise.

 

Funny thing about the Neutral Safety switch and all the other switches that overtime stop working is that if you remove the switch and just press down the on the switch really fast, multiple times for a long time (like an Hour or so), it will re-clean the internal contacts in the switch, fixing the issue. What happens is the switches get corroded internally overtime so by pressing the switch repeatedly and quickly, it cleans it up.

Most electrical stuff in cars suffers from corrosion due to the usage of DC electricity so finding a way to clean up the electrical connections is the way to go.

 

Yeah the fun part (sarcasm) is finding the problem spot that needs cleaning up though, whether it be corroded contacts or shorting wires or missing grounds.

 

Thinking the same thing.(neutral safety switch)

Starter is good and so is the ignition switch. Going to check that neutral safety switch in the morning. let you guys know what I find out..

 

Mine has the same issue. I have the CEL 8 code which is the top dead center sensor. I read somewhere that my "start up hesitation issue" was related to this cel code.