infamous starter CLICK, but no action.

[teh_mugen18]

Why does this happen??

It used to happen on my car all the time, until i replaced the starter. Then, it went away for a period of time...Then, it came back. Then, it went away again. Now its back, and idk how to get rid of it, but its soo annoying.

I'm just happy that i dont have an auto tranny otherwise i wouldve gotten stuck in so many locations away from home...:crazy:

[SuperChicken]

You sure your battery is healthy? How about your alternator? The click means that the starter is engaging, but not turning the motor over. Could be a frozen starter, but could also be a weak or damaged battery; lacking sufficient current to actually turn it over.
Those are my thoughts....good luck.

[teh_mugen18]

i just took a look at my battery, the negative terminal had a bit of corrosion on it, but the positive terminal was like :eek: with corrosion, could that have a big part to do with it?

[green91]

It usually the contacts within the solenoid wear out over time. Ive installed several sets of these contacts for about $20.

[Elbow]

Yes, if grounds are bad it will do this.

[teh_mugen18]

Yes, if grounds are bad it will do this.

Yes, to what?

[green91]

Do you get one solid click or multiple light clicks?

[teh_mugen18]

one solid.

[green91]

I put starter contacts in cars ALL the time for this concern. What motor do you have? Contacts are much cheaper than buying a new starter.

[teh_mugen18]

Ive got a 90 integra, and the starter is maybe a few months old?

I would have you do the contact install or whatever, but Dahlonega is kindof a ways away lol

[green91]

They are a piece of cake man, do them yourself. But if its only a few months old take it back under warranty lol.

[G.C]

You sure do get a lot of problem on your car.

[Kaiser]

You should clean the battery first and have it tested to make sure it's got enough CCAs to start the car. Then worry about the starter having gone bad.

[teh_mugen18]

I think i need to worry about the alternator, not the starter. Because, after jump-starting the car with the clutch, and driving it for ~15 mins to the local park then hangin out there for about an hour, I went back to the car and it started up normally. After that, its been normal for the rest of the evening.

I dont get it!! But, my guess is that the alternator isnt charging the battery enough to give it enough power for the next startup...

[teh_mugen18]

You sure do get a lot of problem on your car.

yeah, sadly this is true... Its so strange, i fix it to the point that its 100% good, and then the next thing you know, something ELSE will pop up, its starting to make me :crazy: lol, but its also strange how im addicted to fixing the car as well...
Its a vicious cycle that seems to never end lol. And, its not the same problems popping up over and over again, otherwise then that would mean the repairs i do would be s***, which they're not. Its always something different.

EDIT: But, also considering where i started with the car when i first got it, its a totally different animal lol....:goodjob:

[BUGMAN]

I think i need to worry about the alternator, not the starter. Because, after jump-starting the car with the clutch, and driving it for ~15 mins to the local park then hangin out there for about an hour, I went back to the car and it started up normally. After that, its been normal for the rest of the evening.

I dont get it!! But, my guess is that the alternator isnt charging the battery enough to give it enough power for the next startup...

That shows that the alternator charged the battery enough for it to restart. When you roll start the car it does not charge your car at all but once running your alternator will. If this was at night time and you were running your headlights, etc. then I would bet money your alternator is doing it's job.

Honestly it sounds like you have a bad connection or a dead cell in the battery. I'd suggest cleaning all your connections and having the battery tested for free at AAP or somewhere compatible.

[Sammich]

battery conections. clean them, u can use ginger ale or coca cola. also chk the fluid in ur battery, if its low, put some water in it. start or jump the car off and u should be good

[teh_mugen18]

Alrite, i put a tester to the car and it tested the battery, alternator, and starter all at once. All three of those elements are GOOD according to the tester. My battery has 500 out of 550 CCA's leftover in it, and the system puts out something like 14.3xx under load, and like 14.1xx volts without load or something like that..? I dont remember exactly what those numbers were for sure.. But, i guess only thing left to check is the grounds.

Where exactly are all the grounds on the car? its a 1990 Integra.

[Tech5]

Ok if your testing with a dumbie Autozone or parts store testers those only test for amps,volts,draw,load, they do not test the contacts in the starter for binding.Most likely you will need a starter, Have some turn the key to try an crank it an you or someone else hit the start with a pry bar or something big (hammer) but dont try an kill it just some nice blows would do the trick it should either crank or the starter might even turn over try that!

[Sammich]

Alrite, i put a tester to the car and it tested the battery, alternator, and starter all at once. All three of those elements are GOOD according to the tester. My battery has 500 out of 550 CCA's leftover in it, and the system puts out something like 14.3xx under load, and like 14.1xx volts without load or something like that..? I dont remember exactly what those numbers were for sure.. But, i guess only thing left to check is the grounds.

Where exactly are all the grounds on the car? its a 1990 Integra.

ONE IS ON THE VALVE COVER TO THE RADIATOR SUPPORT. I THINK THERE IS ONE THAT GOES FROM THE TRANS TO THE BODY. CHECK THOSE, BUT CHECK YOUR CONNECTIONS ON THE BATTERY, CLEAN IT UP SON

[Tech5]

do what I say an you will be good

[teh_mugen18]

^^okay..


and battery connections; good and clean now. I'm gonna check all the grounds.

[teh_mugen18]

they do not test the contacts in the starter for binding.

Well, is there a tester that can check the contacts in the starter for binding? It starts normally ~95% of the time.

[Tech5]

yeah by you taking the starter apart an look at them
Well, is there a tester that can check the contacts in the starter for binding? It starts normally ~95% of the time.

[teh_mugen18]

okay lol

[wesleya1018]

what about the main relay?

[metaphysico]

Lol I had one of those I put a new starter in it and put all the stuff back together and it was a bad new starter. That sucks after taking the axle and support bearing out, so after installing another new starter tryed it without putting back together and it was bad too. Now after 2 new bad starters I double checked everything and found it was another bad starter. So finaly got a reman and it was fine.
Moral of the story just because its new dosent mean it good. I have gotten so many bad new parts it isnt funny, so I rebuild most of my stuff now, just getting harder than it used to be to find rebuild parts.