Hey,
I was hoping you guys could help me. I have a '96 Accord LX and when I goto start the car, all I hear is "click". This is an intermittent problem, though. Sometimes it is real bad, sometimes it works fine. I am assuming this is the starter solenoid? Everything still has power, and I took it to Honda, they said it was the battery. I replaced the battery now and am having the same problem. Any suggestions? Thanks!!

 

So what your saying is that sometimes when you turn the key to START all you hear is a "CLICK" and nothing else.

Well that means that the whole first circuit is working. Meaning your Starter Solenoid is getting enough power to move the Plunger Disc into place. And that also tells me a little bit about the Starter. It means that the Starter doesn't have an Open in it. Because the Pull-In Coil was able to find ground and pull back the Plunger. And since you did say that you replaced the battery, I'll have to say that the battery is still good.

So if I were you, the first thing I'd do is clean off the surface charge on the battery and get a voltage reading on it. To clear off the surface charge you must turn on your headlights for one minute and then shut them off. You should have at least 12.4V with 12.6V being ideal..

If you don't have 12.4V or more, you'll need to recharge your battery. It should also tell you that there might be a problem in your charging system. Because why would a new battery not have a full charge after it's been sitting in the car for a day or two?..

Let us assume that your battery is fully charged and still in good condition. Since you brought your car to the dealer and they said that you needed a new battery, let's start there.

The mechanic must've heard the "CLICK" coming from the solenoid and immediately assumed that you had a weak battery. And I'm pretty sure that he probably tested your battery and found it going into sulfation. So he then said to have the battery replaced and it fixed the problem temporarily.

So here's my theory. If I heard a "CLICK" coming from the Solenoid, I too would've went straight to the battery and tested it.. Assuming that the battery tested good, I'd then clean the battery, check the cables for corrosion, and finally put the car on the hoist and clean the terminals at the Starter and Starter Solenoid. Also check that the nuts on the terminals are tight. A loose nut could be causing the lack of power to the Starter.

If all that cleaning didn't help the car start, I would then move on to test the Starting Circuit.

First I would do an Open Circuit Voltage Test on the battery to determine the voltage at the battery. Next I would disconnect the cables going to the Distributor and disconnect the power to the Fuel Injectors if possible. Then I would have someone crank the engine as I checked the voltage at the battery. It should read something like 10.5V or higher.

Next I'd check to see if I had power coming to the "S" terminal on the Solenoid. Power from the "S" terminal would mean that the car is getting power from the battery through the Ignition Switch through the Neutral Safety Switch and to the "S" terminal on the Solenoid. With someone cranking the engine I should be getting the same voltage reading as I did at the battery terminal plus or minus .6V....

Next I would check the voltage coming out of the Solenoid. Again with someone cranking the engine I again check for a reading. I should get the same reading after the Solenoid as I did before the Solenoid, plus or minus .2V.. Nothing more than a 1 volt difference is ok.

But for your particular problem, I would have to assume that your problem is in the Solenoid. You must have high/excessive resistance in your Solenoid. I can assume that the Disc on the Plunger is burnt and not making full contact.. So that means that when you checked for voltage coming out of the Starter Solenoid at the "M" terminal or do a voltage drop test across the Starter Solenoid from the "B" terminal to the "M" terminal, there should've been a big drop and that would've showed you that your Starter Solenoid had excessive resistance in it.

This would explain the reason why Honda told you to get a new battery. The mechanic probably forgot to check and see if the Solenoid had excessive resistance in it.

From what I've learned, that would be my shot in the dark... Hope this helps.. Let me know if you need any other assistance..


----Cliff Notes----
Your problem might be excessive resistance in the Starter Solenoid. Clean the Plunger Disc or replace the Solenoid...


[Modified by PnX-R, 8:34 PM 10/29/2002]

 

WOW! Awesome reply! I will check the starter solenoid...If that doesnt fix it then I will do your in depth voltage testing. Thank you very much for that response!!