I have an old honda civic that has been sitting around for a while, it used to run but will not start anymore and the battery will not stay charged even after it got a new battery. I have connected it to another car and tried to start the car but when I turn the key the starter does not crank and there are no clicking noises, and when I let go of the key the dash makes a whirring noise. I have checked all the fuses and they are all good. I am new to fixing cars and don’t want to have to buy a new starter if I don’t have to, any help is appreciated.
Here is a link to a video of what happens: Car won’t start - YouTube
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I think older Hondas have problems with their fuel pump relay, also read that their ‘main relay’ can go out.
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If this were my car, I’d start by charging the new battery and load-testing it just to be safe. Then you know you have a good battery while you’re doing the rest of the diagnosis.
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Battery going dead quickly, new battery also goes dead quickly, cranking doesn’t rotate engine, yet makes weird noises even after key is released from start back to on? hmm … I’m thinking you may have a problem with the starter motor of some kind. Be extra cautious in the meantime, b/c if the starter motor sticks in the ‘start’ mode even when key is released from “start”, this can happen, and can cause the starter to overheat enough that the engine catches fire. Suggest to disconnect the battery negative when not working on the car.
As implied above, suggest to avoid trying to start your car using the jump-start method. This can cause all sorts of problems that you and the other car’s owner don’t want to have. Instead, recharge the battery using a battery charger, by first disconnecting the battery negative.
One test a mechanic might do is to start with a known good and fully charged battery, and measure the voltage at both electrical terminals at the starter motor. With engine not running, key in “on” position, the thick wire should measure about 12.6 volts, and the thin wire zero volts. Probe from terminal to starter case. Then with the key in “start”, both terminals should measure at least 10.5 volts. Note that this test could be dangerous to the person doing the voltage probing if starter motor is experiencing a dangerous failure mode, like the one described above.
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Thanks for your input, I will make sure to try that and be extra cautious from now on.
I figured out that my clutch safety switch is defective and the engine now cranks just fine.
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Funny story about that safety switch: I had been driving my Corolla for more than a year, never had any problem starting the engine. Then one day I had been doing some routine maintenance, changing the oil or something similar. Afterward wanted to test it out, but the engine wouldn’t crank. Tried and tried, it simply refused to crank. Worked on this problem for several hours. Discovered finally the reason, I wasn’t pressing on the clutch pedal. Just doing a test start, so wasn’t going through the normal starting routine, which includes in my case automatically pressing on the clutch pedal before moving the key to “start”.
In my case there were no whirring noises when it wouldn’t crank. Just silence. Did you ever discover what the whirring noises were? I expect they are probably always there, but you can’t hear them when the engine is loudly cranking.
I expect a lot of diy’ers bypass that clutch safety switch when it fails to work, rather than replacing it. Not recommending this practice, just saying.