We have a 1999 Honda Accord EX with 5 speed manual transmission. Car ran fine, parked at home and turned off... several hours later went out and the car would not turn over. All of the lights on the dashboard seem to light up as normal, fan blows, radio works. Tested battery and it shows 12.4 - 12.6 volts. Attempted to jump the car and still nothing. No cranking. Looked online and as there was no noticeable dimming of the headlights while attempting to start the car, believed the starter switch was to blame. Replaced switch, but still not getting anything from the starter when attempting to crank the engine. No clicking or noises from the engine. You can here a slight electrical buzz when you turn the key which seems to come from the fuse box that's under the hood on the passenger side. Other sites seemed to indicate it could be the starter itself. Just replaced that and again NO CHANGE. There are 2 connections to the starter motor/solenoid combo. One is a big thick wire that's connected directly to the battery and the other is a black with white stripe that connects to a blade type connector on the starter and looks to run back to the fuse box referenced above. It has to be something simple that I'm overlooking or simply don't know to look for. I appreciate any help.

 

Disconnect that small wire with the blade connector. Use a voltmeter (or test light) to see whether that is getting battery voltage when you turn the key to "START". Be careful about shorting to the large cable while you're doing this.

 

JimBlake... thanks for the response. The question I have is where should the other end of the light or multimeter be touching? I've checked continuity between the blade connector and both sides of the 50 amp ignition fuse and my meter beeps on both sides with the key off and that blade connector. So, I'm just trying to make sure I know where to connect things for testing. I also have a test light were you clip an alligator clip to something and touch the point to something else and it lights up red if circuit completes.

 

Tonight I pulled the starter relay and tested it. It tested good. So, I believe from the ignition switch to the starter relay it’s good. Something else I did was to connect a wire from where the blade connector connects to the starter solenoid to the battery and I heard the starter spin. Even with the key in and in the on position, the car didn’t start. Perhaps that is the expected. I was hoping to hear something more than a spinning sound. Or does that tell anyone what to look at next?

 

@JimBlake I have checked the black/white wire with the blade connector and it appears to have power to it with the key not in the car. When I turn the key as though I am starting the car there is still power, but the voltage drops. Does that tell you anything?

 

Sorry, I haven't been on here reading threads for a couple days...

Using a meter you should set to "DC-volts" and put the red lead to the wire that came off the blade connector of the starter.
Black lead on a good engine-ground like one of the lifting eyes that's bolted on the head.

It shouldn't read anything until someone turns the key to "START" - then it should read battery voltage (13v-ish). So something is still messed up, unless I completely misunderstand where you have both of the meter leads...

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When you put a jumper wire on that blade connector (on the starter) and applied battery voltage, something spins. If the key is in the "RUN" position, the engine should start. At which time you need to disconnect the power from that wire, just as quickly as if you were letting go of the key.

When you did that, was the starter spinning the engine? Or was the starter motor just spinning loose and the engine not spinning? You can tell the difference by whether or not the alternator belts are spinning.

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Your last post: When you checked that, where was the black lead of your meter touching?

 

@JimBlake I am glad you responded. When checking the black signal lead I had the negative lead touching the battery negative post directly. I can try again touching the engine or a lifting bolt if that makes a difference.

When I tried jumping the starter, I don’t recall if the key was in and in run position. The starter spun, but it did not engage the motor. So I would say it just spun loose.

I’ve been researching just about everything I can find and watching videos for other things to check. In that vein, I found a video where the guy tests the fuses inside the driver’s side. While I pulled and tested every fuse and all tested fine... this guy left them in, turned the key and poked his power probe on each side of the fuse while still in the car. In doing this same test with my simple light probe with the alligator clipped to the frame, I found that the 7.5 amp fuse labeled ignition had no light on either side while all others lit up. I thought perhaps it only would light if the key was turned to the start position, but still no light. I’m interested to hear if there’s anything that tells you as to what may be wrong?

 

Black lead on the (-) battery post would be equivalent, unless the (-) battery cable is somehow messed up (loose? corroded?)

If the starter spins free, then it probably needs to be replaced. There's a mechanism that pushes the starter's pinion gear out so it engages the gear teeth of the flywheel. That's not happening. A less likely alternative is broken teeth on the flywheel.

Just to rule out broken teeth on the flywheel, grab the alternator belt or the big pulley at the crankshaft. Turn it counterclockwise a bit. If you can't do that, there's a bolt in the center that you can use with a socket & extension. After turning that 1/8 turn or so, see if the starter now engages the teeth of the flywheel.

I'm not sure about the other things in your last paragraph, but I'll think about it & see if I have any ideas...

 

There's 3 fuseboxes in the car. Under-hood, & both ends of the dashboard (have to open the doors). Which box has that 7.5A fuse you mention? If it's the drivers side dashboard, then it's only supposed to have power when the key is turned to START.

Since that didn't light up when you turned the key to START, that points to any of the things "upstream" from that point.
1 - In the under-hood fuse box, #41 (100A) and #42 (50A) fuses. Those are bolted down and if they were blown there would be a whole pile of other things that don't work.
2 - A flaky ignition switch. Check whether you get voltage in 2 of the sockets for the starter-cut relay. That's not very unusual, and the electrical part of the switch can be replaced - take off the plastic shrouds around the steering column.
3 - Bad starter-cut relay. Rule out the other stuff first.
4 - Bad clutch interlock switch (near the hinge of the clutch pedal). (Maybe the switch is OK but bent out of proper position?)

 

I just reviewed your earlier posts above. You've replaced the starter, right? Are you sure you got the starter for the manual-transmission? IF you got a starter for the automatic that could explain why the starter-pinion doesn't engage the flywheel... ??

Then you still have to figure out what's not right with the remaining parts of the circuit.