My car is an H22 swapped EJ1, its had this engine for over 8 years now but now I am having an issue with starting most of the time, occaisionally it will turn over and if I roll start it runs fine.
things I have tried/tested:
1, tested battery- 12.6 volts
2, battery terminals are clean and connectors are clean and tight
3, tested the battery power to starter 12.6v
4, apply power to the 2 starter terminals, it cranks the engine and starts consistently if i have the key switched to run. I bought another starter anyways and same results
5, i tested all the wires on my ignition switch and they all show 12.x V when in the correct key position, except the starter wire only shows 10.5 volts at the ig switch when I turn the key. Ill also add that one time when I turned the key it started but still showed the same 10.5v at the starter wire on the ig switch.
6, i plugged in a spare IG switch from my RHD clip and it has the same results.
7, at the in cabin fuse box I only get 9.x V (fuse is good) when I turn the key and at the spade terminal on the starter I get 7.x when turning the key.
8, in the engine bay fuse box I have a constant 12.6 (fuse is good)
9, I checked that all of my engine bay grounds were clean and tight. I have 2 going to valve cover studs, 1 from the starter to the passenger frame rail and then 1 on the engine harness that is bolted to the trans.

The fact that I have only 10.5v at the IG switch and then less and less on down the path to the starter is troubling, im not sure where to go from here. Can somebody shed some of their expert knowledge on me?

 

I forgot to add that I had a neutral safety switch issue 2 years ago so I bypassed it. I did check there again to make sure the bypass hadn't come loose, then again the starter wouldn't be clicking when i turn the key and giving me the voltage drops down the line.
im assuming it has to be somewhere between the engine bay fuse box and my ignition switch? I have no idea where to even be looking next.

 

So everybody on H-T would just give up and send their car to scrap at this point?? Come on y'all thry obvious is install a push to start but I want to fix this the correct way

 

Pull out the FSM and look for the starter circuit....

 

Im not sure what an FSM is in complete honesty. But I do have an update. I learned that our EGs have a starter relay because of the clutch interlock switch. So i unplugged the starter relay to test the wires on it plug (major bitch to unplug and plug this back in btw) and i tested continuity on the little blue/black wire and that was good so that means my bypas on the switch is working, next i tested the 2 black/white wires on the relay plug and both recieve 12v when i turn the key to start.
For some reason I decided to test the black/white again on the IG switch while I had the starter relay still unplugged and it gave me 12v where previously i only got 10.5v there. I tested a couple more times and still 12v consistently. So i plugged the starter relay back in and tested the black/white on the IG switch once more and it was back down to 10.5
This all means the starter relay itself has gone bad correct?

 

what does this mean? Fsm?
another update, i can hear the starter relay click when i try to start. I swappedit for the horn relay and i could hear that relay clicking as well but not start so i plug them both back where they go.
it is so strange that with the starter cut relay unplugged I get 12V at the start wire on the IG switch but with the starter cut relay plugged in it goes back to 10.5v

When you say find the starter circuit im assuming you mean test the various locations? Ok i tested the 50A IG fuse in the engine bay and i get battey power at the IG switch starter wire i get 10.5 when i turn the key but with starter cut relay unplugged I get 12 there. I tested the wires at the starter cut relay plug and they all recieve 12v when i turn the key. Even when i swapped the relays it was still the same. Where to go from here?

 

FSM = Factory Service Manual.

Disconnect the female spade connector at the starter (black/white wire). Turn the key and check the voltage again. I suspect the reason you are getting a lower voltage value is the draw at the starter, not because of the wiring or relay along the way. If you maintain 12v, I would try another ignition switch/pigtail.

 

What happens when you only apply power to one starter circuit at a time?

If putting power at the solenoid of the starter works then check voltage of ignition wire
If there is 12 volts then clean terminals .. try starting again

If putting power to battery terminal of starter (and turning key to crank) works
Then clean terminals of battery, cable at starter end .. try starting again

Have you done a starter relay bypass test?
Two terminals of the socket are control side 86 to 85 (possible ECM so don't mess with it)
Two terminals are load side 87 to 30 (battery power and starter)

 

As soon as my girlfriend and I are both home and awake again i will test the black/white wire while it is disconnected from the starter. However I did unplug the two plugs of my IG switch and plugged in the IG switch from my EG6 clip and it was exactly the same result.

 

When I apply power to the spade terminal it clicks (starter kicks out its gear) when i apply power to the other boot covered terminal the starter spins, when i do both it cranks and starts the car (with key turned to run of course)

When you say ignition wire, im assuming you mean the starter wire on the IG switch, it says 10.5v with my original switch as well as with an Ig switch from my EG6 clip plugged in. I have cleaned both posts of my battery as well as the terminal connectors. I also cleaned the cable connector at the starter and and also the spade connector. As well as every single ground in the engine bay on both ends as well as the battery ground on the chassis. Every single one is clean and tight at both ends.

As far as the starter relay, i hear it clicking, i also plugged in my horn relay in its place, it also clicked, i bridged the relay connector between the 2 black/white wires in the connector and i hear my starter click. If you read all my previous posts, you can see everything else I've tried (i know its alot to read) i know wire harness failures are extremely rare but it seems like thats the case.
did i missinterpret anything you told me to try?

 

So this whole time the problem was I didn't understand how a starter solenoid works. I now realize that when i touch the spade and the third contact that goes directly into the starter motor that of course it starts the car because i am doing the solenoid's job for it. When i contact the battery input post with the spade it should start the car and not just click. The problem is O'Reilly's gave me another starter with a bad solenoid. Jesus Christ.

 

Not unusual to see bad parts out of the box.
But, it seems now you have a good understanding of the starter
Now, hopefully you will finally be able to fix it and get running again
Good luck

 

Very rare if they were indeed HONDA oem parts, not oe, not oe-style

 

It is a remanufactured starter, not sure if oe or just oe style originally. The one i had before was from Advance from like 4 years ago and this one from O'reilly's. This one has the +B terminal on the end with the others. The old one was right on "top" smack on the side of the solenoid body oddly. It has fired right up every time for 2 days now out of the blue. Last night i started the car literally 20x in a row. Im still going to exchange it, clearly I can't trust it.
Thanks for all your help guys, I learned alot about the electrical aspect of my car, my weakest area and I'm relieved I don't have wiring problems.
I'll definitely come back here for future problems I can't figure out.