I have a 1998 Accord with an intermittent starting problem: it does not crank. After driving home about 10 minutes, then running in the house for 5 minutes, I came back and it refused to crank. The behavior is exactly the same as if you try to start without stepping on the clutch. Lights on the dash go out in the start position, a faint clicking noise, but no cranking. 2 hours later, it started up the first try, and has been fine ever since. Clutch pedal safety switch ruled out by bypassing and trying both open and short, no change in symptoms.

I've seen three other threads here that match my exact symptoms, but the person that asked the question never comes back to say what fixed their problem! A nice fellow named txgreasemonkey responds to them, offers advice, and that's the end. I think I can figure out the problem, based on the diagnosis steps from txgreasemonkey here, so the main reason I'm writing this is so the next person searching for the cause of their problem will actually find what fixed the problem.

Based on those diagnostics tips, I'm assuming it's a bad starter solenoid (starter relay), which is mounted to the starter motor. What I want to do is figure out exactly how to confirm that it's a bad solenoid. My wife and 15-month-old son go out in this car, and I'd hate for them to get stranded.

Obviously, I have to wait for the problem to come back again before I can confirm the cause, but how can I do that? If I "jumper" the solenoid with battery voltage with the key on, and it doesn't do anything, would that confirm the solenoid? Or could it still be the starter motor? Could a starter motor be intermittent like this? (Working perfect, completely dead, then working perfect again without doing anything)

Finally, If I measure the voltage at the solenoid, does that rule out the ignition switch?

Thanks in advance for any replies. I PROMISE to come back and tell everyone what the actual cause was, once I find out. :D

How old is your battery? A weak battery could cause symptoms like you describe. You can have a load test done on your battery at a reputable auto shop.

Best of luck!
WallyH

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Originally Posted by WallyHelps

How old is your battery? A weak battery could cause symptoms like you describe. You can have a load test done on your battery at a reputable auto shop.

Best of luck!
WallyH

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Wow, it looks like txgreasemonkey already covered this. I should have taken the link before posting. :o

Wally, thanks... I should have mentioned that I'd eliminated the battery as the cause of the problem.

Just as an update, the problem hasn't come back yet, but I promise that if/when it does, I'll come back here to let everyone know what the cause was.

My Friend had same problem, honda accord 99 would stall intermittently as well as after parked for a while, will crank but not start, she had a technician replace the ignition switch, and she notice the stalling doesn't happen any more, but the starting after parked for a while, doesn't start, but cranks, so it seems part of issue was resolved with ignition switch, which sot $79 at the deal

I know that there was a recall for the ignition switch in certain 1998 Accords, but mine wasn't part of it.

In the end, it looks like the cause of *MY* particular problem was a bad ground to the starter. It gets its ground via the mating surface to the engine, and although it wasn't obvious, the starter was a little bit loose from previous maintenance. Water seeped in, it got corroded, and then the problem started showing up... I guess it was happening due to expansion and contraction from heat and cold cycles.

Taking the starter off and using a wire brush to remove the corrosion from the mating surfaces, then reinstalling the starter cured my problem completely.

This same problem can affect alternators, since they frequently ground through bolts going into the engine. Clean them carefully and apply dielectric grease.