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Intermittently won't start

C

cmarsh90

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Trying to help out my dad here, mind you I haven't gotten a chance to witness the issues I'm describing.

'91 NSX, bone stock. 110K or so on it.

Symptom is that much of the time the car starts fine. However sometimes when you turn the key the electronic accessories work but the car doesn't start and there is no noise (no starter clicking or anything). Other times it doesn't start but there is some sort of undetermined rotary or perhaps whirring type noise but car doesn't start. Any ideas?
 
sounds like the solenoid on the starter is not engaging or otherwise not happy.

Clean and reseat the connections to the starter and hope for the best. If it persists, then you'll likely need to get the starter rebuilt.

Drew
 
Sounds like it could also be the main relay. Next time he turns the key and it doesn't start, move the passenger seat forward and give the trim behind the seat and just below the glass a good whack.
 
Failure of the main relay will not affect the engine from turning over.

Failure of the ignition switch causes the engine not to turn over, but it also will dim the instrument cluster lights.

It seems from the OP that the engine is not cranking over, but the electrical is fine.

Presumption is that the starter or the power to the starter is not good.
 
Last edited:
Tap the starter with a small hammer while someone turns the key. If it turns over, you need a starter.
 
MAin releay / ignition switch did not impact starter performance, it made the engine stop immediately after start, and quit randomly on the road, but it cranked just fine.

I would start with the starter motor/solenoid;

there is a good main relay test procedure in the manual if you want to go there, and also a good state diagram for the ignition switch if you want to check that out.

After I changed my ignition switch I discovered how easy it was to inspect the contacts, you might want to just inspect it before you get too far along.
 
Main Relay has nothing to do with the starter:). However the ignition switch does. If the "start" contacts are screwed up it could cause this. Wiggle the key and see if that gets it to start.

Not that it could not be the starter, but this would be a very rare failure.

HTH,
LarryB
 
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Larry Bastanza said:
Too many goats:D:D

Is the dog part of the dress??:D:D:D

Regards,
LarryB
Click to expand...

He would have been a perfect match don't you think? I can't find the damn dress. I think one of NSX Club of Japan guys swiped it. I'm planning on making it to Toronto if you need someone to run the auction. Haven't made any wardrobe commitments yet. :smile:
 
I had the identical problem for the first 2 years of owning my '92--ie, intermittently would turn the key and nothing would happen--no noise, no nothing. All of the accessory/dash lights worked and did not dim when I jiggled the ignition key. I had no luck after cleaning and reseating the solenoid contact . In my case , it turned out to be the clutch-mounted no-start switch. I disconnected the switch and short-circuited the 2 contacts with a piece of electrical wire. Since doing this, I've gone an entire year so far without the starting problem ever occurring again .

If you do this as a test, be very aware that the car will start w/o the clutch depressed, even in gear . So, while testing this hypothesis out, be very mindful of depressing the clutch pedal all the way down and , as an extra precaution, start up in neutral
 
im kinda curious if anyone would know if what would happen if say someone accidently gave the metal key a charge of say 12-14 volts while the key was in the ignition....:redface:

my car wont start.
when i turn the key, the dash goes dim.
the clock isnt on anymore at all.
all fuses look fine.
 
Put 12V on the metal key, which is probably at ground, and you'll most likely melt the key and the key barrel assembly.

More likely your battery is beyond its useful like. What's the battery voltage when you turn the key to start? If its less than about 8 or 9V dc, its time for a new battery.
 
from what im reading it seems like i did something to the ignition switch or solenoid starter. i just hope i didnt do more damage than i think i did.

story goes like this.
motor is off,
im putting together the gauge cluster harness but my metal nsx key accidently touch the harness plugs and made a spark.
tried to start the motor and it does not start.

the fuel pump isnt making it's usual sound.
clock is not on.
lights on dash turn dim if i turn the key, and motor wont turn at all.
battery light on the gauge cluster is lit.
battery gauge is not rising from 0, but all lights work, ac is blasting on high fine, i checked all fuses and even replaced with new ones or swapped them.

my keys didnt melt though.
is it possibly that i damaged the ignition switch or starter solenoid when i gave it that spark?
does a bad ignition switch or starter solenoid cause the fuel pump not to go on and have the battery gauge at 0v?
 
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im putting together the gauge cluster harness but my metal nsx key accidentally touch the harness plugs and made a spark.
Click to expand...

Next time make sure the battery is discon. You'll remember from now on, fer sure.

the fuel pump isnt making it's usual sound.
clock is not on.
Click to expand...

Look harder for a blown fuse, probably the ECU one under the hood.

lights on dash turn dim if i turn the key, and motor wont turn at all.
Click to expand...

Might be the starter interrupt switch at the brake pedal?

is it possibly that i damaged the ignition switch or starter solenoid when i gave it that spark?
does a bad ignition switch or starter solenoid cause the fuel pump not to go on and have the battery gauge at 0v?
Click to expand...

Unlikely. The key is well insulated from the actual ignition switch.

It is reasonable to think that all your problems are from the other side of the wire (the ones on the harness).

The battery light is controlled by the regulator that is integrated into the alternator. However, the end points of the battery light lead through the dash fuse box (main controller), the ALB and something else.

Check for power at the ECU. The Main Relay lights up a bunch of other things like the fuel pump and (IIRC) the ECU.
 
The key is well insulated from the actual ignition switch.
Click to expand...

That's true, but I measured from the key to the ground on the cigarette lighter, and its between 200 to 300 Ohms to ground, depending on the polarity. So its possible to feed back into some unknown circuit (I was not in the mood to dig through the ETM schematics at this time), and possibly damage something, albeit at low current values (less than 60 mA.)

In any case, I was baffled why someone would connect 12 V to the key. I now understand it was an accident.
:frown:

As Drew suggests, it's time to look for blown fuses, etc.
 
Doc308 said:
In my case , it turned out to be the clutch-mounted no-start switch. I disconnected the switch and short-circuited the 2 contacts with a piece of electrical wire.
Click to expand...
I swear I think this is my problem...but there are three wires going to the clutch switch, which ones do you short/jumper to "bypass" this no-start clutch switch?
 
>which ones do you short/jumper to "bypass" this no-start clutch switch?

It is the topmost switch on the clutch pedal....the one that is pressed in when the clutch pedal is depressed.
 

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