Before I pull the starter...

[mvanbuhl]

Thought I would check with Prime to confirm that the starter is my problem.

I get rapid clicking when I turn the ignition. All interior lights come on at first position of the ignition switch. There is slight dimming of the interior light when I turn the key.

I did have the battery tested (twice) and confirmed a good battery, both volts and amps. I checked and cleaned the terminals at the battery. I also checked the solenoid per the instructions in the service manual, and both tests were good - I had resistance at both test points.

Anything else I should check before I pull the starter for a rebuild? Thanks!

 

[BTL3.0]

What if u tab the starter a couple time and see if it starts right away. Just one last test. Ive heard of ppl doing this before.. Well, in the winter atleast.

 

[pgilliam1]

You could put an ohm meter on the starter connector and tell the wife to turn the key and make sure you're getting voltage.
How old is your car and what's the mileage?
Starters on these cars are pretty reliable, but ignition switches and some electrical relays are known problems. Also, check the engine ground wires (I believe there are 2) Good Luck!

 

[Briank]

Sounds like a bad connection at the battery or the negative battery cable to the body behind the battery.

 

[mvanbuhl]

The car is a 2001 with only 35,000 miles.

Tomorrow I'll check the negative terminal at the body, the starter connector, and engine ground wires. Thanks!

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I really would have a hard time believing this is the starter. You have an electrical issue, ground terminal connections, etc.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[ftuhy]

If you have a DC voltmeter, try the following, which requires help from someone to turn the switch to start while you make measurements:

1. Measure from the ground post (not the cable connector) on the battery to the ground on the starter/engine block while trying to start the car. The voltage drop should be less than 1 Vdc. (This measures all the drops in the ground path - cables, connectors, etc)

2. Measure from the 12V post on the battery to the (fat) 12V cable on the starter while trying to start the car. The voltage drop should be less than 1 Vdc. (This measures all the drops in the +12V path - cables, connectors, etc)

One might suuggest some other maximum allowed value for the voltage drops. But, make the measurements and then we'll haggle.

3. The battery has already been tested, but as long as you have the voltmeter out, measure across the battery terminals while trying to start the car. The voltage should be greater than 9 Vdc.


Because you are measuring voltage with the voltmeter (a very low current measurment on most modern meters, especially digital ones), you can use a light gage wire to reach from the battery to the engine compartment for one of the voltmeter leads.

Let us know what measurements you get, and that will direct us to the next logical step.

 

[mvanbuhl]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I finally identified the culprit - slightly loose battery cable at the negative post!

Hopefully my experience will help others troubleshooting starting issues. Thanks to my father-in-law, a small airplane mechanic, for his triage skills.

I think the easiest way to determine whether the starting issue is with the starter or with the wiring is to use jumper cables (at the proper jumping terminals in the engine compartment) connected to another car. As most of you suspected, when I connected jumper cables, my car started. Now we know the starter is operational and are left with either a bad battery or an electrical issue. I connected the jumper cables from the jump points in the engine bay to my battery in the front of the car - the car started. So, now we know the starter and the battery are good and I have a wiring issue. We then took one side of the jumper cables off at a time and determined that the ground wire was bad. Thankfully we noticed that the negative terminal was barely snug on the battery post. We wrapped aluminum foil around the post and reattached the terminals - starts just fine.

I am now looking for some sort of lead "sleeve" I can slip over the battery post to increase the post's diameter. I realize the aluminum foil will likely corrode. I called my local parts store and they said lead sleeves are no longer sold. I would welcome any suggestions.

The lesson learned for me is that there is an easy way to isolate the starter as the problem before the big job of pulling the starter. From what I have read, the starters on these things are pretty reliable. I called my Honda shop in Northern California and asked what they would charge for the starter job. He had to look up the estimated amount of time because he said they have NEVER done a starter job on an NSX. In his words, "NSX starters are pretty bullet proof."

 

[pgilliam1]

To enlarge the battery terminal, hammer a lead fishing weight flat and cut to size :wink:.

 

[TyraNSX]

If you use the edge of a thick bladed screwdriver to push down on the top edge of the clamp as you tighten the bolt it should grab better to the post. It's the taper of the post that can mess it up since the clamp tends to ride up the post as you tighten.

 

[robbiedawg]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I finally identified the culprit - slightly loose battery cable at the negative post!

Hopefully my experience will help others troubleshooting starting issues. Thanks to my father-in-law, a small airplane mechanic, for his triage skills.

I think the easiest way to determine whether the starting issue is with the starter or with the wiring is to use jumper cables (at the proper jumping terminals in the engine compartment) connected to another car. As most of you suspected, when I connected jumper cables, my car started. Now we know the starter is operational and are left with either a bad battery or an electrical issue. I connected the jumper cables from the jump points in the engine bay to my battery in the front of the car - the car started. So, now we know the starter and the battery are good and I have a wiring issue. We then took one side of the jumper cables off at a time and determined that the ground wire was bad. Thankfully we noticed that the negative terminal was barely snug on the battery post. We wrapped aluminum foil around the post and reattached the terminals - starts just fine.

I am now looking for some sort of lead "sleeve" I can slip over the battery post to increase the post's diameter. I realize the aluminum foil will likely corrode. I called my local parts store and they said lead sleeves are no longer sold. I would welcome any suggestions.

The lesson learned for me is that there is an easy way to isolate the starter as the problem before the big job of pulling the starter. From what I have read, the starters on these things are pretty reliable. I called my Honda shop in Northern California and asked what they would charge for the starter job. He had to look up the estimated amount of time because he said they have NEVER done a starter job on an NSX. In his words, "NSX starters are pretty bullet proof."

here are some lead shims which look like just what you're looking for:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/we...3-_-VALUE4&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=#fragment-1

 

[anesthesia]

+1 for the lead shims, those work great, can get at any auto parts store, i have it on my car for awile make sure you applies some anticorission lube to the terminal

 

[BTL3.0]

Other option, which i ended up doing.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Everstart-25-Top-Post-Battery-Cable/16006691

I know the wire is 4g and stock is either 2 or 0 gauge, but it make no different. Car starts everytime.. No more loose cable.. Stock one was bent out of shape.