Seems around 50% of the time I go to start the car after not driving it for about a day, I have to hold the key in the start position for a few seconds before it actually starts cranking. Not a slow crank either, just doesn't do it right away. I haven't tested my battery recently, but I'm not completely sure that is the issue as it was also happening on the previous battery it had. Possibly bad grounds? Or does it sound like the starter is going bad?

 

Mine does the same too, what motor and chassis is it?

Mine's a k20 in an ek chassis, i have a feeling the k20 starter requires more amps than a b series, every so often i have to clean the positive terminals going to my starter in my fuse box because it gets corroded quickly. check there first and clean with sandpaper or something to take off all corrosion!

 

My da9 does this too i believe it could be the ignition switch since my battery voltage is fine for start up also no corrosion on terminals. I believe you can check resistance of starter cable disconnected from battery of course rule of thumb is 10,000 omhs for every 1ft of cable, I was gonna do this when I have time.

 

Check your connections but if its intermittent then it's probably the starter on the way out.

 

The car is my winter beater 1990 integra (b18a). I'll try cleaning off the battery posts and check the grounds.

I'll probably grab a spare from the wreckers soon and keep it on hand in case it dies altogether

 

make sure you checkout the posts inside the fuse box too, one of them go to your starter

 

if temperatures outside differentiate when you first try to start it is most likely a ground issue. corrosion off the relays can do the thing as well.

 

Instead of guessing what the problem is, do some troubleshooting.

I can tell you what the most common problem is with intermittent/slow to engage engine cranking, it is worn out high current contacts in the starter motor solenoid, but then again it could just as easily be the ign. switch, the CIS, or the starter relay, [or A/T Gear Position Switch if it is an auto] any contact point could be bad.

With that said, intermittent problems can be hard to troubleshoot, in your case I would rig up a telltale light any 12V light would work, a 12V test light would make it easy, unplug the starter lead at the starter motor, connect a 16ga wire to the starter wire terminal and plug it back into the starter, [starter solenoid], run it temporarily into the car, connect a 12V bulb, [this is where a 12V test light would work great] set it up so it stays connected and you can see the light bulb when cranking to start.

If the bulb does not light up or is very dim during the "delay" and does light up or gets brighter when engine does start cramking, the problem is before the starter motor if on the other hand it is on a bright but dims a little when engine starts cranking, the problem is the starter motor, most likely the high current contacts, an easy fix and cheap... https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...+starter+motor

Circuit test...
https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...cm+bypass+jump 94

 

this is usually "starter contacts" as the above poster speculated. If you open up the starter you will see the contacts(usually brass colored) are worn. If this is the case, then you just need to find some new ones. I got mine for my denso Toyota from ..."Larry's starter contacts"(search it), but I think you might be able to find them elsewhere if you wanted.

Don't forget to check your battery posts. It could get a paste of corrosion on the positive side that it hard to see unless you take the terminal off.

 

Check for voltage at the control wire on your starter solenoid when attempting to crank. If you have full battery volts and no crank, your starter is faulty. Solenoids get temperamental with age

 

Just to make it easy here's the site...

http://www.startercontacts.com/

Just look at the contacts he shows and then look at the ones in your starter.

 

Oddly enough it hasn't done it since I made this thread. I'll run through some of the troubleshooting you guys mentioned if it starts happening again.

 

When it was happening to me it would only do it around 70 degrees. If it was cold it would crank, if it was hot it would crank, but if around lukewarm it wouldn't.

 

When the car was warm/hot it had no problem, it was usually just after sitting for a day with warm temperatures outside. Now that the temperatures in my area are dropping quite a bit it has no issue... Even with starting up around the 5C temps.

 

I also had to change the starter in my "K"- she warned me for about a good month then died quietly at home. Bought a new one on ebay for a hundred bucks- starts good but doesnt have that recognizable "honda crank"

 

I kinda miss the ole "wheeze" of my small block chevy's starter.

 

Well this turned out to be bad wiring best I can tell. I had a few minutes to spare couple weeks ago and replaced the main ground wires and the POS line to the starter. Hasn't hesitated at all since, and this also includes some below 0c winter cold starts.