starter not engaging

[ferenza]

Yesterday i started my car up as usual and drove about a half mile to the store. Then i stopped and got gas and it started up fine . When i got home and shut the car off , i had to start it again to move into another parking spot. The car was fine. 3 hours later i come out to start it and leave but all i got was a relay click( i guess thats what it was). I assumed my negative wire was loose because i was fumbling with the vss a day ago. Everything was fine.

So far i have smacked the starter, checked the connections, even brought out my dvom to do voltage drops and resistance tests. Everything clears out. I get my battery voltage to the power cable and i have ground. i just had the starter bench tested at autozone and it spun up and passed twice but when i did a direct connection to the battery i wouldnt turn over. My battery is near new. Can someone give me some insight on what else i can check?

[oyajicool]

First,,,,,
Check the battery voltage between the posts while cranking.
You should see 11VDC or better. If you see less than that, the battery is questionable.

Then,,,,
Check voltage between the big post on the starter motor to ground while cranking.
You should see 10 VDC or better. If you see less than that after the test above, check for bad/corroded cable or ground.

[ferenza]

I did all of that and it checked out fine.

I just went under the dash to check the inside fuses and i rechecked them again and the 7.5 starter relay fuse is popped. It had broke in a spot where you really couldnt tell until i stuck a light to it. I put another one and it popped again. Could it be the relay?

[illinois_erik]

meh. contact cleaner douching

[oyajicool]

I did all of that and it checked out fine.

I just went under the dash to check the inside fuses and i rechecked them again and the 7.5 starter relay fuse is popped. It had broke in a spot where you really couldnt tell until i stuck a light to it. I put another one and it popped again. Could it be the relay?

You have a short to ground.

If you have a M/T, clutch interlock switch maybe faulty. Or, starter relay maybe faulty.

If you have an A/T, gear position switch maybe faulty.

See the wiring diagram below. I hope it'll be helpful to you.



Contact cleaner works (sometimes) if there's no continuity (open circuit). I have never seen that stuff helped for short to ground situation.

[deevergote]

When it clicks, does everything else in the car shut off? My car did that, and it was due to loose/dirty battery connections.

[Accrdwgnguy]

loose battery connections will trick you everytime. On the Hondas the original strap style connectors stretch out fairly easy, and won't clamp down completely on the post.

[deevergote]

If you've upgraded to an Optima battery, like I did, you'll notice that the posts are a little narrower as well... making it even more likely that a connection can come loose!

Hopefully it's just a loose or dirty connection. If not... oyajicool's advice covers the most likely options.

[ferenza]

Thanks guys ! I got it fixed now.

I have a manual transmission and sometime ago i had a friend bypass my neutral safety switch. He just used electrical tape to connect the wires together. I guess when i adjusted my clutch peddle and the tape came loosed and shorted on the metal . I tested the smaller positive wire to see if i got power and i found it was still getting 2 volts with the key in the start position with no fuse. I soldered the wires and shrink wrapped the connection and the problem was gone.

Car would click but the lights didnt flicker or anything .

[oyajicool]

Getting 2 VDC is odd that you don't have the fuse in place. But as long as the starter is working, it'll be ok for now, I guess.