DwightMcCann

Car has 251,000 miles. Never any major problems. Well maintained by Honda dealer. Just drove home 40 miles with no problems. Ten minutes later got in, turned key, all warning lights come on and then blink about every two seconds and there is a clicking noise with this. My hearing ain't great and I can't tell where/what is making the noise. When I turn the key further to start the car, it makes yet another noise but the starter motor doesn't turn over. I saw nothing in my manual and a search here didn't bring up anything, but I can't imagine that this isn't a well known problem. Many thanks for any help ... I am a mechanically challenged 66 year old male but can follow instructions and have a few tools. Right next to wanting to know what's wrong I want to know if I should call AAA and/or my Honda dealer rather than pursue the problem further.

I thank you for any time or assistance.

Dwight

anibis

Sounds like a bad starter to me. Could be a weak battery but I doubt it, you could try to jump it to be sure.

The clicking noise you hear is the starter solenoid pushing the gear so it makes contact with the flywheel however since the motor is dead it's not turning the engine over. It clicks every time you start the car you just can't hear it over the motor.

MindBomber

I think a ground wire is loose.

DwightMcCann

I would agree, but after only turning the key "on" without trying to start the engine, I have all the warning lights staying on and blinking with a noise about every two seconds whether I try to start the car or not. This is not the normal behavior. The sound I hear when I do try to start the car isn't a "weak battery" sound ... there is no turning and the sound I hear is more like a solenoid sound.

DwightMcCann

Can I find this myself? Battery ground wire?

anibis

Yeah that would make sense b/c all the lights come on.

MindBomber

Yes, it's really simple and one might have just vibrated loose, I'll see if I can find a picture.

MindBomber

There are some basic pictures of the locations in here, the stock wires are thin and an exposed greenish metal.

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...t-install.html

anibis

It wouldn't be the battery ground, that would cause the car to have no power at all.

I know there's a ground connecting the engine block to the chassis right at the front and another inside the driver side fender well, close to the alternator. You would have to take the tire off and pull the two pins holding the skid plate on to reach the ground by the alternator.

There's probably more in the engine bay, I just haven't run into them yet.

I'm not sure about the interior grounds.

MindBomber

If it were completely removed, sure.

A loose connection making only partial contact would allow some electrical flow, just enough to flash the warning lights in the same way a dead battery would, I do think it's a chassis ground though..

anibis

In that case wouldn't it be good to clean the grounds? It may not be loose at all just rusted to the point where it's not making good contact with the chasis?

I know my grounds are rusted badly, I just figured where the ground contacts the chasis are rust free since it's not exposed.

DwightMcCann

Well, even with the pictures I don't see any grounding wires, sigh. But, after I turned the A/C off it stopped the intermittent blinking business. Now I have: Battery, Oil and airbag lights on. The ABS light comes on for a few seconds and then off for a bit longer and cycles like that. The seatbelt light works. The Gas/Temp appear correct. The general lighting is bright. The Engine Check Light turned off after a bit once I turned the A/C switch off. I did check the fuse box and there are no obviously burned out fuses.

DwightMcCann

Everything looks "perfect" to my novice eye ... no corrosion or anything like that anywhere ... we're in Central California where the weather is perfect year round and the car is kept in a garage at our house.

anibis

Ahh yeah I live in Ohio so we see all sorts of weather. The salt takes its toll for sure.

When I turn my key to the on position the battery and oil lights remain lit, the check engine light comes on for about 10s and goes off, the air bag and ABS lights comes on for about 3s and then turn off.

The air bag light could just act different because I have a 2005. Take that away and the lights seem to be acting normal.

Does the check engine light come on at all?

MindBomber

hmm..

Is the green key flashing at all?

anibis

Yeah my green key light comes on for a couple seconds too. It also flashes a few times when I remove the key.

MindBomber

a couple flashes is normal, but if it stays on that means something tripped the immobilizer.

DwightMcCann

Well, this looks a bit over my pay grade ... we'll do the Honda Dealer/AAA thing! I thank you all.

MindBomber

Good luck, once you find out the cause/solution update us if you can.

maxtierney

iTrader: (5)

I second that. I have that issue all the time (once every two weeks). Too lazy to swap the terminal connection wire. My connector is oval shaped from constant removal/re-tightening. I get the light show/clicks all the time. I carry a 10mm wrench in the car to tighten the connection down. Voila! Starts like a champ. Clean your terminals, tighten the ground. Haha! As a matter of fact, I died in the carwash this past weekend. Had to push it out to tighten my ground after my Master Cylinder swap. Hilarious. That air dry is like a hurricane. My car got washed three times by the time I pushed it out.

DwightMcCann

I will ... I know I owe! LOL.

DwightMcCann

First, I am woefully embarrassed that I was so easily defeated that I didn't even make a real effort! The last car I diddled with was thirty years ago and these new computer controlled things are very different.

Second, it was the battery! Turns out we had never replaced the original ... my wife likes to be in charge of vehicle maintenance (which I think is a very good thing) so I have paid no attention.

Anyway, the tow truck guy of course tried jump starting it and had no trouble. So, I now have a new battery that will last until 450,000 miles at which time we might think about getting a new one!

So, I again thank you all. I'm glad I found this place and I expect I will visit now and then as I am sure that as we move into the 300,000 mile range there will be at least minor issues! LOL.

Artificial

iTrader: (1)

There's your problem.

MindBomber

I'm glad it was such a simple fix

DwightMcCann

Well, let's see, 251K miles and the original battery gives out ... hmmm, I think that's a pretty damn good trade-off!

DwightMcCann

Just a quick update to say all is still running well after a couple thousand miles with the new battery.

We are about to try to remove the non-factory rear window tint that the dealer put on for us ... no mention that it would bubble and make the window unusable after a few years. Should be interesting ... we've read five or six methods although they are all quite similar.