View Full Version : 91 Civic can't decide when it wants to crank
zerohatred45
Jan 16, 2012, 07:45 PM
I have a 91 civic dx and basically here.is what I have noticed so far... the car is about 50/50 on cranking but fires every time... I recently put a different engine with less miles in the vehicle but unsure if it had a different starter or the one from my other engine though regardless its still been doing this before I changed the engine out. Turn key gets power go to turn over it clicks once and stops. Sometimes I could do it 100 times and it will finally start sometimes it'll be the first time I try it... something new I noticed just now though was if I kept the key in the spot to start and shut the car on and off it seemed to start more frequent then I turned all the way off and seemed like at that point again went back to original state of one click and nothing... would love to just get a good idea of what it could be so I can start checking things out any help I could get would be greatly appreciated thanks
TxGreaseMonkey
Jan 16, 2012, 07:55 PM
. Remove and fully charge, or replace, the battery. Most auto parts stores will do this for free.
. Check the ignition switch for wear or pitting.
. Clean battery terminals, cable connections, and starter motor connections.
. Replace the starter motor, if the problem persists.
zerohatred45
Jan 16, 2012, 08:06 PM
Allow me to ask another question, because apparently I'm wrong on it firing every time too, again just now as I'm sitting here messing with it before doing anything it just barely acted like it wanted to fire and quit. Could that be a further indication of something?
zerohatred45
Jan 16, 2012, 08:07 PM
Also I should definitely add that I have mistakenly left my lights on on this car a few times
TxGreaseMonkey
Jan 16, 2012, 08:16 PM
The steps above are for an engine whose starter motor won't consistently crank.
For an engine that cranks but won't start, I would add to that list replace the Ignition Control Module and coil. This solves many Honda starting problems.