92 Honda Accord starting problem -- sometimes won't crank

Greetings from one of the many long-time lurkers. Could I please impose
upon the group to help me with a problem?



My daughter has a 1992 Honda Accord sedan, 145K miles, 5sp, which within the
last month or so has been having some odd problems starting.



At random times, and with no apparent pattern, the starter sometimes doesn't
crank. All the warning lights on the dash remain lit, all the other systems
in the car seem to have full power, and all other indicators appear normal,
but the starter just won't crank. But then if you release the key back to
the "Run" position, and then immediately turn it again to the "Start"
position, then the starter will crank and the car will start right up, no
problem. It doesn't do this every time - maybe once out of every eight to
ten times when starting the car - and there's no pattern that I've yet been
able to isolate as to when it will do this. Every other time the car starts
fine.



The battery is new, the ignition switch has been replaced, the clutch
disconnect switch checks out okay, and as far as I can determine the main
relay seems to be functioning properly (at least it passes all the tests as
described on Tegger's website, and I always get the three "distinctive
clicks". Plus I know that it has been replaced at least once on this car,
about six years ago.)



So far the car has never failed to eventually start, but I worry that it
might someday leave her stranded. My next thought was to try and search for
a loose ground somewhere (but where to start?), or pull the starter and tear
into that, but I would welcome any other ideas the group may have. I have
searched the archives but have not found anything very useful.



(I should add that I had just recently performed a major timing belt service
not long before the car started doing this, but I'm hard pressed to find any
cause-and-effect relationship, because I did not touch anything on the
electrical or ignition systems.)



Thanks in advance,

JimC in Redlands

 

Solenoid.

 

Solenoid.

 

Or poor stater cable connections.

 

This is obvious and probably you've checked, but my son's was doing
that and what we found was that the primary power cable to the starter
was loose. The blade/socket connector had been put back side by side
rather than blade in socket. Rubber boot over it hid it. Most times
it made connection, sometimes not.

 

----------------------------------

Moe and Larry suggested 'solenoid' and 'starter cables'. Curly says it
may just be the ignition switch is worn out. The Main Relay has
absolutely nothing to do with starter engagement. I know a guy who
rebuilt his a couple times on a '93.
I doubt it's actually the starter, but here's a good thread with some
links regarding the CR-V starter, which is basically identical to yours:
http://www.hondasuv.com/members/showthread.php?t=20252&

'Curly'

 

----------------------------------

Moe and Larry suggested 'solenoid' and 'starter cables'. Curly says it
may just be the ignition switch is worn out. The Main Relay has
absolutely nothing to do with starter engagement. I know a guy who
rebuilt his a couple times on a '93.
I doubt it's actually the starter, but here's a good thread with some
links regarding the CR-V starter, which is basically identical to yours:
http://www.hondasuv.com/members/showthread.php?t=20252&

'Curly'

 

Okay...the solenoid....and starter cable connections. I should have known
to check these -- my pappy taught me better than that.

Thanks to all who responded. It'll probably be the weekend before I have a
chance to look at it. I'll let you know if I find anything.

JimC

 

Okay...the solenoid....and starter cable connections. I should have known
to check these -- my pappy taught me better than that.

Thanks to all who responded. It'll probably be the weekend before I have a
chance to look at it. I'll let you know if I find anything.

JimC

 

In

There's a small copper contact plate in the solenoid/starter assembly that
gets corroded after some time, and will produce exactly the symptoms you
describe -- intermittent cranking ability. I suffered through the problem
last winter thinking the clutch engage switch was faulty.

I took it to a mechanic who quickly remedied the problem by replacing the
copper contact plate in the starter/solenoid assembly and have had no
problems since.

 

In

There's a small copper contact plate in the solenoid/starter assembly that
gets corroded after some time, and will produce exactly the symptoms you
describe -- intermittent cranking ability. I suffered through the problem
last winter thinking the clutch engage switch was faulty.

I took it to a mechanic who quickly remedied the problem by replacing the
copper contact plate in the starter/solenoid assembly and have had no
problems since.

 

-------------------------------

His symptoms aren't really the same. When the copper contact inside the
solenoid goes bad, you get the loud 'click' all the time, but sometimes
the starter just doesn't go. When the ignition switch isn't firing the
solenoid at all, there's no 'click'. He didn't say that it was clicking
but not spinning the starter.
The third scenario is when the armature / brushes aren't connecting so
there's no click because the solenoid has no path to ground, but that
one can be dismissed because he said that just torqueing on the key a
few times made the starter fire up. If it was the brushes / armature, he
would have needed to tap on the starter or slam a door to make the
connection work better. Take a look at the thread (and its links) I
provided. The schematic really made sense to me once I saw this problem
in real life. There's two windings in the solenoid, one to suck it in
and another to HOLD it in. Cool.

http://www.hondasuv.com/members/showthread.php?t=20252&

'Curly'

 

-------------------------------

His symptoms aren't really the same. When the copper contact inside the
solenoid goes bad, you get the loud 'click' all the time, but sometimes
the starter just doesn't go. When the ignition switch isn't firing the
solenoid at all, there's no 'click'. He didn't say that it was clicking
but not spinning the starter.
The third scenario is when the armature / brushes aren't connecting so
there's no click because the solenoid has no path to ground, but that
one can be dismissed because he said that just torqueing on the key a
few times made the starter fire up. If it was the brushes / armature, he
would have needed to tap on the starter or slam a door to make the
connection work better. Take a look at the thread (and its links) I
provided. The schematic really made sense to me once I saw this problem
in real life. There's two windings in the solenoid, one to suck it in
and another to HOLD it in. Cool.

http://www.hondasuv.com/members/showthread.php?t=20252&

'Curly'

 

Gentlemen,

Thank you all again for the very helpful advice. Unfortunately, I don't
have the car here with me this week (lovely and maddening daughter is away
for the week) so I can't verify the "loudness" of any clicks, but I will
definitely check on everything suggested here next time she has the car
home, and report back with the results.

I do appreciate all your help.

JimC

 

Gentlemen,

Thank you all again for the very helpful advice. Unfortunately, I don't
have the car here with me this week (lovely and maddening daughter is away
for the week) so I can't verify the "loudness" of any clicks, but I will
definitely check on everything suggested here next time she has the car
home, and report back with the results.

I do appreciate all your help.

JimC

 

I don't know if the Accord has the same starter as my Integra,but;


I bought a contact kit for the solenoid on my Integra's Denso starter
at www.nationsautoelectric.com,it cost $30 including shipping,and I am
satisfied with the service.

http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/Nippondenso.html

has pictures of the eroded contacts and instructions on how to replace
them.

Some Honda starters have replaceable solenoids.

 

I don't know if the Accord has the same starter as my Integra,but;


I bought a contact kit for the solenoid on my Integra's Denso starter
at www.nationsautoelectric.com,it cost $30 including shipping,and I am
satisfied with the service.

http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/Nippondenso.html

has pictures of the eroded contacts and instructions on how to replace
them.

Some Honda starters have replaceable solenoids.