Hi all,

Looking for some assistance here---

I have a rarely driven 96 manual EX and I had problem starting it up when the battery died (from sitting too long). I jumped started it, and decide to take the car out to make sure everything was working properly (and to charge up the battery). I took it out for about 2 hours, about a 30 miles trip, with multiple stops along the way but left the car idling.

When I returned home, I shut the car off in the driveway. I have a digital voltmeter that plugs in the cigarette adapter. When I turned the car off, the meter read 12+ volts. I thought, okay, that charged the battery back up. But when I tried to crank again, there was NOTHING. The car didn't attempt to start up or turn over. At first I thought the battery was bad again, so I tried to jump start it. Again, NOTHING. Not a click, no crank, just dead silence. The lights and radio still worked.

JUST to eliminate the battery, I took it to the local auto store, they put it on a charger for 2 days, then called me to tell me the battery tested good. I brought it home, and just as expected, hooked it up to the car and tried to start with the same dead result.

What should I look at next? I see that there's a switch (much like the brake) that the clutch engages, but the button does depress and pop back out. Could that be the issue? Or should I expect it to be the starter or alternator?

Thanks for any and all help.

.

 

The clutch pedal has two switches. You are most likely looking at the lower cruise control switch. Look higher up and you'll see an upper starter switch. Did its stopper fall out?

 

THAT was the culprit right there. Thanks very much RonJ@HT for jumping in so quickly and figuring it out. Both of those stoppers were perished and pretty much disintegrated.

It was a challenge to get a rubber cushion/stopper up on that top section.... But I'm glad it was a cheap (and almost fast) fix.

Thanks again RonJ