b18eghatch

ok so i have a 94 civic cx with a b18b1, first, only once and awhile the car would not turn over it would repeatively click and sometimes only click once and sometimes it would start no hesitation, eventually it wouldnt start at all, tested the starter today and it was junk, went and bought a new one today put it in wouldnt even crank over, clicks once and thats it, speed jumps up check engine light goes off untill you let go of the key, pushed the car back a little and slipped the clutch to turn the motor over a little and turned the car and started right up, drove it home now it doesnt start, tryed the same thing by turning the motor over didnt work had to bump start it, i was thinking maybe the flywheel is worn down??? replaced the grounds last year maybe a little longer im going to replace those tomorrow, could it be the distributor?? im not to good with wiring but ive heard some people say it could be the main relay?

Anyone had this happen? anything i should specifically check, any help would be great

Civic2Scooby

did you test the battery....
take off the flywheel inspection cover and give it a look over. generally speaking though, if it were warn you wouldn't get a click you would get a grinding noise or a super fast starter spin up as it tried to engage where there were no teeth. Main relay is easy to get to and easy to test.

your distributor would have nothing to do with this issue.

b18eghatch

ya i did 12.6 when key off its from last year, im going to test if im gettin connection to the starter, but ok glad the dizzy has nothing to do with it, but what should i test on the main relay? like i said no experience with wiring but my friend might and when the starter was out it didnt look to bad but ya i see what your saying about the starter just slipping then

Civic2Scooby

Also I suggest checking all your grounds. Both engine to frame and battery ground. Check the large hot wire to the starter as well. A corroded wire can sometimes hide inside the insulation of the wiring. A good digital multimeter is your friend here. The easiest way to check the main relay is the good ole "replace with known good" or "borrow a buddies" and slap it in. If you don't have access, google the testing procedure. I can't remember it off the top of my head but there are 203483204 threads on various forums with good info on testing the main relay. Also, just because the starter is "new" doesn't mean it is good. I have had bad starters right out of the box from places like autozone a billion times. Also, stick your meter leads into the neg and pos of the battery and see what kind of voltage drop you are getting when you attempt to start. If you are dropping excessive volts but not turning over the starter, than you have either a short or excessive resistance in either your supply or grounding wires.

oh, also, never ever overlook the keyswitch.

b18eghatch

ok thanks for the support ill have to check all of that, but what do you mean never overlook the keyswitch?

Civic2Scooby

sometimes a bad ignition switch can play tricks on you. It might be coincidence that pushing the car around or whatever when it fired. I dunno if that makes any sense, but I have been burned spending lots of time trying to track down a no start/intermittent start when it was a faulty ignition switch to blame.

mattc28

Ya, i would say ignition switch. If you remove the steering column covers you can get right to it. If it is happening, you can jump the correct wires and it should try to start fine with the key in the on position. Mine did the same thing. Or it could be the clutch safety switch.... that one is simple to test.

dalen2000

Also I suggest checking all your grounds.

b18eghatch

Hey sorry everyone i forgot to reply, i ended up doing the cheapest fix first which was the ground wires, went to advanced bought some ground straps and it started right up, $10 fix