specialized7

2002 Honda civic Si (canadian)

Well got all the overheating issues figured out. clean her out last nite pull it out of the garage everythings good.
Now this morning try to go to work and all i hear is a loud rapid clicking coming from the starter, all lights everything works fine.
so i swap out battery still same thing. Try boosting it, still nothing.
Tappin the starter did nothing.

I dont get it. It was running fine last nite now it just wont start? does a Starter just go out like that? it has always started good?

Please Help I had a big job to go to this morning and i already feel like a dumbass not showing up.

specialized7

I forgot to mention I have an ankle injury on one foot and a heel injury on the other , Lets just say push starting it turned into a catastrpophic failure

specialized7

Well update, Car does absolutly nothing now. cant even roll the windows up and its going to rain

specialized7

any ideas guys? my one buddys civic did the same thing so i text him and he said it was " one of the big fuses under the hood for the ignition"

thewal

did you check your battery?

specialized7

Yea i put the one from my truck in there and still nothing?

specialized7

update lights and everything started working then i tryed to turn it over and click and now it doesnt light up again

lazlong

Check all the fuses/relays then check you wiring, especially around where you did work last. Look for pinched/bad wires and bad connections as well as bad grounds.

Scan it for codes too.

Also, you may have a parasitic draw. There are a bunch of good vids on youtube for parasitic draw testing.

And finally all that may be for nothing 'cause it sounds like a bad MCU (Multiplex Control Unit). It's built into the under-dash fuse box. Download the manual and do troubleshooting for a bad MCU.

specialized7

Well i went in there with a good light and upon inspection of what i think is the starter right next to it looks like some kind of solinoid and there is a wire hooked to it which to me looks melted.

So i unhooked the wire and turned the key over, all the lights work again got the windows rolled up.
So this leads me to believe that the starter is seized up and when go to start it,it shorts everything out?
or that solinoid just shorted out? or both?
what do you guys think i took some pics just so you can tell me what you think?

lazlong

Yeah, that's the starter solenoid, it pushes the starter gear forward to connect with the flywheel. And by the pic it looks like you have a manual tranny.

1. Check for continuity between that terminal and ground.

Is there continuity?

YES- step 2

NO- replace the solenoid

2. Check for continuity between that terminal and this one:


Is there continuity?

YES- solenoid is good replace the wire. It runs from the starter to the starter cut relay in the under-dash fuse box. The starter cut relay is the bottom left relay in the under-dash fuse box. Make sure to use the same gauge wire or it will burn out again.

NO- replace the solenoid
-------------

Post back if you need to test the starter.

specialized7

Awesome man thanks will do in the morning!

specialized7

Ok so i wasent sure how to test the wire because it runs up into the main harness?
so i went ahead and replaced the starter and solinoid, Guess what Its doing the exact same thing a loud rapid clicking almost sounds like when your batterys dead but its a much faster clicking. $50 bux down the drain any ideas how do i test that wire?

lazlong

I only have the service manual, not the electrical troubleshooting manual. Best I can tell ya is that wire stays black/white all the way to the under-dash fuse box. Look for a black/white wire going into the back of that fusebox. Unplug it and test for continuity(ohms) from one end(starter) to the other(fusebox). Hopefully there will only be 1 black/ white wire.

If the wire is bad just run a new one and zip-tie it to the existing harness.

specialized7

Thanks alot im going to go out there and check it out again. For some reason i missed the last part of you 2nd last post. I never checked that relay in the underdash fusebox. Is there one i can swap it with?

lazlong

The one right next to it, which is the taillight relay.

specialized7

I FIGURED IT OUT!
ok so i swap those relay(had a bitch of a time gettin thme out BTW) still nothing so im pretty frustrated at this point. My step dad comes in and says I can see this wire that goes to the battery terminal sparking like crazy so i pull it out clean it off put it back in and tighten it up good and sure enough it fires right up!

I felt pretty stupid haha but i would have never figured it out because i cant see under the hood while im turning it over.

Anyways thanks for the help guys!

lazlong

lol. At least it's fixed. lol.