I have a 1998 Accord EX V6 with an Automatic Transmission and around 108,000 miles on it. I've had the car for approximately 10 months. Last month (33 days ago, to be precise), I drove the car to work as I normally would and parked it in the parking lot without any issues. About 2 hours later, I went out to my car to run to 7-11 on my break and my car would not start; and it has not started since. It was literally just like that: I started my car and drove to work without a problem, parked it, two hours later it would not start, and has not started since then.

Just to clarify, the car does not turn over at all. When I turn the key to try to start the car, it makes a single clicking noise, and that is it. It sounds like the clciking noise is coming from the engine compartment.

I bought a brand new battery about 2 months prior to this happening, and the battery is still powerful and nicely charged, so it definitely seems to be getting enough juice to start the car. I have also tried jump-starting my car with another vehicle, and it made no difference whatsoever; still the one click, and that's it.

I have checked all of the fuses I could find, jiggled and moved around the battery terminal clamps and scraped off the posts, and nothing has made a difference. It's not like the starter turns over slowly and is just not getting enough juice from the battery to sctually start; it will not even begin turn over; when I turn the key and try to start it, there is a clicking noise and then nothing.

My guess is that it's the starter that needs to be replaced. But, that is just a somewhat-educated guess. After researching online and reading other people's pots about similar issues, it seems as though it could be the starter, the solenoid, or the starter relay. From what I've gathered, the solenoid and the starter come together, so if you replace the starter, the solenoid will be getting replaced, also. Someone please correct me if this is wrong. I finally ordered a starter off of eBay 2 days ago and I'm hoping it will be here this week, possibly tomorrow or Friday. I paid $42.50 (including shipping - and it has a 60 Day Warranty), but I do not know if the starter that I ordered has the solenoid included (if that's even an option).

So, I am planning on replacing the starter regardless and was hoping to get a little advice on how to un-install and then replace the starter on my '98 Accord V6 EX, preferrably with at least a picture of where the starter is actually located on the engine. I did read the instructions given for the replacement process in another thread, but I thought there may possibly be more information available now and a simpler way to complete the replacement process. And if nothing else, I'm hoping that someone may have the same year/model Accord as mine and could take a picture of the starter on their car and send it to me so that I will (hopefully) be able to more easily find the starter.

Also, in case the starter is not the problem, I'm hoping to have some information about other possible resolutions by the time I figure out whether or not the starter does fix the problem.

One more thing to add: While I had not had problems starting the car before this day, I was having issues with being able to get the transmission out of Park and into gear. It would just stay locked in Park, sometimes for several minutes, sometimes for a few seconds, and then suddenly it would release the shifter and allow me to smoothly shift into Reverse and then into any other gear. It would not do this when in Neutral, only when it Park; and I have no idea why this happened, nor what caused it to become unlocked and release the shifter for me to put it into gear.

I also want to add that the reason I had bought a new battery in October (about 2 months before this happened) was because my old battery would not keep a charge and would routinely go dead and I would have to get a jump-start to start my car. So, I'm wondeirng if this may have caused some sort of problem with the start/solenoid/relay, since the electrical source was not as strone nor consistent as it should have been over the course of a month or two.

I apologize for the lengthy post. My O.C.D. often gets the better of me.

Any and all advice/suggestions/replies will be very much appreciated.
Thank you very much in advance to anyone that tries to help!!

Sincerely, AzAssassin, a.k.a. BillyJackAz

 

Check for dirty/loose/corroded connections at BOTH ends of all the battery cables. A marginal connection can supply plenty of power for everything except the starter. The starter takes way more power than everything else.

Try the caveman test. Have someone try to start while you hit the starter with a broom-handle or something like that. If that makes it start, then blame the starter. You can replace contacts in the starter-solenoid, or just replace the starter.

 

As far as the shifter-Check the "shift-lock" or "interlock" (many names for the same part) for free movement. Easy to say, harder to get to, since it is in the center console, which means you have to pull that to get to it.
If you have a spare key, or use the one before starting the car. When the shifter is acting up, you should be able to insert the key into the release to "free it"...

 

is the shifter fully in the park position?

 

Hey, thanks very much for the response, guys. I got my new (used) starter in the mail from eBay, but I haven't tried to install it yet. I tried the "caveman" test, banging on the starter with a long, heavy screwdriver while my girlfriend tried to start the car, but it did not help; it seemed to make no difference at all. Does this mean that it is likely NOT my starter that is the problem? Or does beating on the starter while someone tries to start it only work sometimes?

Also, the shifter definitely seems to be fully in the 'Park' position, and it hasn't been locking up in a while, so I am able to move it freely in between gears. I also tried starting the car while in Neutral, but that did not make a difference.

As for checking the "Shift-Lock"/"Interlock" feature, I have not tried that yet, because the gear shifter has not been getting stuck at all shile my car has been broken down. I definitely intend on checking that out, though, after I get my car running and the shifter sticks again.

I also wanted to ask if anyone has any other ideas/suggestions as to what likely/possibly happened to cause my car to abruptly stop starting? In case it turns out to NOT be the starter that is the problem, what are other likely causes for the car to suddenly not start and not even turn over, after starting perfectly a couple of hours prior, and after not having any issues starting the care before suddenly not starting?

I checked all of the fuses I could find, but maybe there are some fuses somehwere that I am not aware of. I also tried moving around and tightening the battery terminal clamps, and they appear to be getting a strong conenction. Is it possible that a single wire came loose somewhere and is preventing electrical current from getting somewhere where it's needed? If so, where would I need to look to check if this has happened? Is there any sort of safety feature that may have activated and that may just need to be reset? If I need to check and replace the Starter (Ignition?) Relay Switch as a possible resolution, is that an expensive and/or difficult job? Should I be able to replace the Relay Switch myself? If so, how long should it take? And how much should a used Relay Switch cost me?

If anyone has any other ideas/suggestions as to what I should check out for possible reaons why my car suddenly stopped starting, please let me know any advice that you think may be able to help me.

Just to ask a simple question to try to solicit some opinions: What are the most-likely scenarios to have happened for a 1998 Accord EX to suddenly stop starting?

Thanks again for the replies, y'all. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to read and respond to my questions.

- AzAssassin, a.k.a. BillyJackAz

 

Just to ask a simple question to try to solicit some opinions: What are the most-likely scenarios to have happened for a 1998 Accord EX to suddenly stop starting after not previously having any problems with the car starting?

Thanks again for the replies. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to read and respond to my questions.

- AzAssassin, a.k.a. BillyJackAz

 

Have you checked all those connections carefully as JimBlake suggests? I mean removing the battery side connections, cleaning, and reinstalling securely and checking the starter side for tightness and no damage. If same problem after doing this it's highly likely to be starter solenoid failure.

Sometimes a start can be encouraged by hammering the starter solenoid repeatedly w/ keyswitch on/off/on/off/... This may or may not cause a start. It is not surprising that things almost always work until the fail

I am not familiar w/ starter removal on 98 V6. Check our DIY section for help, check autozone.com online manuals for help, check Online Manuals in DIY secton for download links. I briefly looked at Autozone manual for starter replacement and it suggests it may be easy. Starter is somewhere on the flywheel housing, hopefully on top and accessible. If you've purchased a used unit, you know what to look for.

good luck

 

"Is there any sort of safety feature that may have activated and that may just need to be reset? "-if the car has a security system then yes.

One thing you can try, measure the voltage AT the starter-big cable-at rest and while trying to start. Then while someone tries to start the car check the "small" wire on the solenoid. This will tell you if you are getting power to the starter-ruling out everything before it-relays, switches, security system, ect...

 

hmm.. no start diagnosis for me would be to pull codes. check fluids. check spark plugs(if you know how to look at them, they'll tell you a good indication of if the engine is the cause). listen to hear if the starter solenoid is engaging. check all the grounds, and power. bench test the starter. if its good? check the neutral safety switch and the ignition.
checker auto parts in denver have free starter checks, idk if your city checker does, you have to pull the starter and bring them it, they'll bench test and tell you if your starter is good. if they dont do that, you can always pull the starter yourself, put it in a sturdy vise (MAKE SURE IT IS SECURLY FASTENED-IF YOU DONT AND YOU TEST, THE STARTER WILL START JUMPING AROUND)

http://www.misterfixit.com/starttst.htm

i havent had too many problems with my 98 accord 4dr lx 2.3 5speed.
my vehicle speed sensor just went out, so its gonna cost me about 130 dollars for the part (really easy diy) since i couldn't find it on majestic honda i had to go to the dealer .
regular oil changes, tune ups, intervals and the like.
umm.. oh, my evaporative canister solenoid went out, went to a pull and pay, pocketed it, and solved that problem. i hear catalytic converters go out quite frequently. i have p0171 and p0420 but i need to change my timing belt and associated parts before i dwell into diagnosis.