Car wouldn't start today. It's weird... When I tried to start, it ONLY clicks once and so I don't think it's the battery. And the alternator's been changed around 10,000 miles ago... what do you guys think? Could it be the alternator,battery, or possibly the starter? I really don't think it's the battery... The weird thing is that it only makes that single click and that's it... Any peeps in Downey, CA who have any monkey wrenching ability and kind enuff to help a poor folk out, it's REaLLY appreciated.

 

i had the same problem... will it eventually start if you keep trying?

You need to change the .

 

you need to change the starter motor. sorry

 

If it's not the battery, then try replacing the starter.

 

yea, exactly, sometimes i had this problem and next thing ya kno, it'd werk again. So i figured it was a fluke or sumpn. But i guess it is the starter motor. Any idea how much it'll be to have it replaced???

 

$50-75 if you do it yourself. Very easy.

 

really??? where can i find out how to do it??? and where in the heck can i get the part? dealer?

 

Might allso be the coil, same symptoms.

Rob

 

if its frozen (no in the cold way) get a sledge hammer..that usually works, but its just a 2 min fix, once u shut off the car, ur back where u started.

 

hmm.. if your car is stick.. you can jus do the "pop start" method.. jus put the car in neutral... push your car.. pick up speed. then put it in to first and pop the clutch.. then quickly put it back into neutral.. i had to do this with my friends 86 corolla.. man was it embarrasing infront of the ladies

 

damn... so i can't even be sure its the starter now? oh btw its an automatic 94 LS
if that helps any

 

anybody got anymore suggestions? I'm so frustrated, car trouble sucks! My girlfriend lives like 2 blocks from the acura dealer and i called and got a quote for cost of part & labor for install of the starter and they quoted me $361!!!! Please help!

I dont even kno wat the Hell a starter looks like!!


[Modified by pdcdragon, 10:44 AM 10/28/2002]

 

Use the hammer idea. Once you figure out where the starter is, beat the **** outta it!

Its real easy to replace though, like 2 wires and 2 bolts.

 

can anyone show me in a picture what it is exactly i should be attempting to hit and where i should hit the damn thing???

Also AcuraAutomotiveParts.net lists a new OEM starter (Denso) as $213!!! Hey how did you guys do it for only 50-75????

 

Instead of guessing like everyone else is.. I'll help take you through your problem with a technical approach.. If I remember correctly, the Integra's Starter is like a GM starter. It doesn't have a Starter Relay, correct me if I'm wrong. But if that's the case and all it has is a Starter Solenoid and Starter, then I can point you in the right direction.

First of all.. You said that when you try and start the car, all you get is one click.. Well according to class, I would do a Specific Gravity Test on the battery to determine the state of charge. If I can't do that because it's a Maintenance Free battery, I would get out my trusty multimeter and do an Open Circuit Voltage Test on it. To do this, you must first clear off the surface charge. Start by turning on the headlights and leaving them on for a minute and then shut them off.. This should get rid of the surface charge. Next take a multimeter and put one lead on the positive post and the other lead on the negative post and measure the voltage of the battery. You should have something like 12.4V or higher with 12.6V being the preferred.

If you have at less than 12.4V, try the 3 minute charge test and charge the battery at 40amps for 3 minutes. The amperage should not stay the same or go up and the voltage should not exceed 15.5V. Next fully charge the battery. If it does exceed 15.5V, you've got a sulfated or sulfating battery and it should be dealt with. Meaning you'll need to replace the battery sooner or later.

But, if have at least 12.4V, you want to do a Starter Draw Test. To do this you'll need a VAT-40, which means you'll have to take the battery or the whole car to a shop like AutoZone.. This tells you how many amps are being pulled out of your battery to turn the starter. You'll probably read somewhere from 110amps to 125amps with the voltage dropping to 10.5V... Next you should do a Load Test. Now what you need to do is load the battery down to about 125amps, which is close to what the Starter Draw of the Teg is. And you should have at least 9.6V with 10.5V being the ideal. Next double the Starter Draw and make sure you've got enough juice if you ever need to start the car at 0 degrees farenheit. But if you don't live where it's cold, you don't need to do it. But anyways, you should still be sitting at around or above 9.6V... If not, you'll want to replace your battery...

But enough about that.. I though I'd just throw that in since you might want to know that for future reference..

---WAIT--- First thing to check is make sure that the terminals on the Starter Solenoid are clean that the battery terminals are clean. ---WAIT---

Before you go and buy yourself a brand new starter.. Here's what you should do at home..
1... Make sure that the battery is fully charged and that the engine still doesn't crank over...
2... That click that you hear is from your solenoid.. Just because there's a click doesn't mean that the engine is going to turn over.. What it does mean is that solenoid is doing what it's suppose to be doing. I'd love to tell you how the starter and solenoid works but maybe some other time.
3... Now with your trusty multimeter, go to the starter and do a voltage test on the "B" terminal. It's the terminal on top. Not the one with a wire from the starter connecting to it. It's the one with the big battery cable/wire coming to it. It should have a reading of 10.5V or higher. Now check the "M" terminal. It's the one under the starter. It has a wire coming to it from the starter. You should have the same reading plus or minus .5v.... If not then your problem is high resistance in the Starter Solenoid. And all you have to do is open it up and you should see that the plunger disc is dirty and so are the points.
4... But if your solenoid is working correctly you should have the same reading on the "M" terminal.. Now check the ground side of the Starter. To do this, touch the Ground wire coming out of the Starter and touch it to the battery's negative post. You should have a very little reading like less than a volt or zero volts. This tells you that the Starter is properly ground and should be able to take the amperage it's drawing and send it back to the battery.
5... Now that you know that there's sufficent power to and out of the Starter, you check the Starter. Open it up and I can tell you that you'll find the Brushes that are touching the Commutator are worn down and not touching. And you'll also see that the Commutator is a little burnt and needs to be cleaned. And after you replace the Brushes if possible and clean the Commutator, your Starter will work like new. And if you're wondering what the Brushes and Commutator look like, simple.. The Commutator is the surface that looks like it has a bunch of brass bars on it and the Brushes are the black pieces that are suppose to be rubbing on it.

Hope that helps.. You see, I took you through a complete test of the Starting Circuit. At home you probably won't be able to do this.. So I'll leave a Cliff-Note..

---Cliff~Notes---
I can assume that the Starter Solenoid works and that the Brushes inside the Starter are worn out and arching across to the Commutator.. So to solve the problem, you'll have to clean the Commutator and put in new Brushes..