Hi I'm having some problem with my car. The engine won't start. It won't even crank. When I turn my key, all I hear is "click." Electricity is on though (dashboard, GPS, etc.). Tow guy came and tried jump-starting the battery. It didn't work. Then he got a hammer, started tapping the starter (solenoid?), and told me to try starting the engine again. It worked.

What's wrong with my car?

 

If it started while he was tapping the starter, then it probably is the starter going bad.

 

Do Hondas use the Denso starter?

I ask because what the OP describes sounds like a classic Denso starter failure. If so, then replacing the starter will certainly do the job, however, there is a much cheaper route one can take, simply replace the contacts inside the current starter and it'll be good to go for many more years.

 

Yeah the caveman test (hitting the starter) shows that your problem is with the starter.

2006 V-6 automatic & manual uses Mitsuba starter. But the parts sites show some internal parts. If it's the brushes in the motor, vs the solenoid, there's probably a way to fix the starter vs. replacing the starter.

But some people don't like to take apart the starter, they rather just replace the whole thing.

 

I remember some extensive parts removal (drive shaft, wheel, etc) to access the starter. Under those circumstances, a good quality replacement is indicated; either rebuild yours or quality reman starter.

good luck

 

Thanks guys for the fast response.

When you say "contacts", are you talking about the main relay? I did some research and some people said they replaced the main relay for around $100 and it fixed the problem. I'm trying to avoid replacing the starter if possible because it'll cost me around $400+ : (

 

Not the main relay. When that fails the fuel pump might not run, but the starter would still crank the engine.

You might need the brush pack (#5) or the solenoid (#6).

 

My comments were specific to the Denso line of starters (which I know are used in some Acura models; but I'm relatively new to the Honda world so I was unsure which starter you might have in your car). Long story short, there are some copper (copper alloy?) electrical contacts built into the Denso starters which, over time, tend to suffer from scoring related deposits; replacing said contacts will cost something like $20 and add an easy one-hundred-thousand miles to the life of the unit.

On the other hand, I've never even seen a Mitsuba starter much less taken one apart.

 

Lots of 4-cyl Hondas use a Denso starter. But really, the same thing is true except the counterpart to those contacts are inside that #6 solenoid.

If access to the V6 starter is a real pain, you might want to take a close look at all the other stuff in the starter (bearings, brushes, etc) so you don't have to remove it again anytime soon.

 

Cool, thanks for the info.