[Shane_Martinez]

I have a 98 civic coupe with the good ol' d16y8 VTEC. When I go to start the car all I hear is a click, I was able to bump start the car so I know it runs fine. Few things to note first, I have a code for the ELD (electric load detector) and my alternator overcharges my battery. A few weeks prior I had to get my car jumped after filling the gas tank so I has assumed I just needed to jump the car again. Used a DMM and the battery was at 13.4 volts so it surely didn't need a jump or a charge. Also I've tried jumping it for giggles and Sh*ts but nothing worked. I'd guess that I blew a fuse but would I even hear a click if a fuse went bad? I'd assume there to be no power at all to the starter. I tried looking at wiring diagrams to see which fuses I should check but I couldn't find anything useful. I tried jumping the neutral safety switch with a paper clip and that did nothing. Last thing I noticed was the female spade terminal that runs into the starter was a little loose, I can pull it out pretty easily, i'm assuming this is the starter solenoid which seems to be a common issue. What fuses should I check under the dash if any? if I run a dmm from the battery to that female spade at the starter can I test for voltage drop or that spade terminal for something else. Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[transzex]

ignition switch....

 

[Shane_Martinez]

replaced ignition cylinder about a year ago, will test for power anyways and will notify

 

[Soul Engineering]

replaced ignition cylinder about a year ago, will test for power anyways and will notify

Replaced the ignition cylinder and key? or replaced the ignition switch that goes into the back of the cylinder and its wiring harness plugs into the fuse box, etc. That's what is most likely bad, and what Bones was referring to.

 

[Shane_Martinez]

You're right, replaced cylinder and key. Looking into alldata to test the ignition switch I can see what you're talking about.

 

[transzex]

also check the 3-4 engine grounds.....the ground straps will rot apart.

 

[mattliston]

go to the parts store, grab a light bulb socket with 3 wires, like a taillight or something. Grab the suited light bulb, small roll of 12g wiring, and make yourself a 2 channel test light.

One leg to the starter power, one to the trigger, and one to ground.


Now watch and see if it gets brighter when you are trying to start. If it clicks, and both go out for asplit second, your battery, while it has good VOLTS, might not have any grunt.

If you have a jumppack, remove the battery from the equation by removing the ground, and using the jumpack as the battery.


Temporarily also ground the battery engative directly to the transmission casing somewhere.

 

[Georgia Eg]

Is the starter good? I don't see where you checked it, if it has a bad connection or going out....

 

[Shane_Martinez]

just bench tested the starter and it works fine, guessing it’s just not receiving power

battery tested good, was replaced under a year ago so no surprise

 

[mattliston]

That kinda says you didnt try putting power to the solenoid trigger while the starter was installed.

All you need is a screwdriver, bridge the power wire to the solenoid single pin, and see if it spins the engine.


A starter can bench test 100% fine, yet suck at turning an engine over.

Only way to really know if a bench test works is if you can measure the current draw as it spins over. That will tell you if it is tired or not.

 

[Shane_Martinez]

so you’re saying to run power to the solenoid and see if it spins the engine?

Update, got it running. The wires for the battery terminal were heavily corroded behind the insulation, cleaned and reinstalled and it fired right up.

 

[mattliston]

Great update! Not all wiring shows itself plainly.

Your scenario is why I tend to replace all ground and power wires of any vehicle I own. Cheap insurance, and forces me to actually look at all major power and ground locations.