thatonedude

This is really pissing me off. I have been having car starting issues with my 1997 Honda Civic LX.

Several weeks ago, my car wouldn't turn over. It just made a "clicking" sound so I got it towed to my place. I tried jumping it and that didn't work so I replaced the starter. Car worked right away after that.

One week later, same problem. Jumped the battery this time and it worked, so I replaced the battery this time, and car worked right after that.


Come today...SAME problem. Car won't start. It just "clicks" and sometimes when I try turning it over the entire car battery goes off. If I wait a bit, and try clicking again, the dash lights come on (so battery is on again) and then it will just turn off after attempting to turn over again..

I tried jumping it but it didn't work. I gave it around 10 minutes of trying to turn it over then it finally did.

Anyone know why this might be?

-Replaced Starter
-Replaced Battery

-Next....??? (After doing some research, I found that it may be a bad alternator, but some say the alternator won't cause a starting issue while others say it can drain my battery and cause my battery to not be able to be recharged)

ezone

Bad connections between the battery post and cable end (clamp)

or between the cable end and the cable

Either positive or negative cable

or same issues where the cables attach on the other ends

iim1rmg

Cocur with ezone.

Since you changed the battery, I assume you made sure the connections at the battery are clean and tight.

You have one of two possible things going on:

1.) You have a loose or corroded connection at the other end of one or both of the battery cables. Poor connections have a lot of resistance and that means they generate heat when they carry current. The symptom of loosing the battery completely could be from a bad connection that has gotten hot and made the connection open completely, when it cools and makes some contact, your dash lights come back. Along the same lines, look for battery connector wires that are frayed or broken, especially near the connectors - that can cause the same symptoms. If you have frayed or partly broken off cables, replace them. Be sure to disconnect the battery before disconnecting the positive cable that goes to the starter mechanism. You really don't want to short that cable to ground when you disconnect it.

2.) You have something draining the battery. I think this is less likely given your symptoms, especially the part about not starting with a jump, but there are a couple of ways to check this. One is to measure to see if you have any current draw with the key removed, the doors closed, etc. You might have a very small amount for things like the clock and the sound system (to keep the memory for your preset stations, etc). If you don't have anything to measure the current with (like an Ammeter) than the simple way is to disconnect the battery when you park it and then reconnect it the next day when you are ready to drive. If it starts when you would expect it not to, then you either have something stuck on (like backup or brake lights), or you have a short somewhere that is draining the battery. Note, every time you disconnect the battery, you will have to reprogram your audio system and reset your clock afterwards.

I would almost bet you will find either a bad battery cable or a bad cable connection.