Greetings,

2000 Accord EX 2.3L Vtec Automatic. I've had it 4 months. 220,000 miles.

The battery is new and charged, the battery cables have been recently replaced, the connectors are all shiny and I cleaned the terminals and connections.

Never any sign of a problem. It always cranks hard. I get home from work, come back out in a few minutes to run errands and CLICK. One click from under the hood each time I turn the key to the start position. It doesn't crank at all.

I tried shifting the gearshift lever around, tried starting in netural, etc. No difference.

The dashboard lights act normal in the run position, but in the start position there was some odd flickering. The check engine light seems to act normally. I read the FAQs and didn't get any leads. I have posted a video showing the behavior of the dashboard lights. You can't hear the click because of my keys clattering, but you can see the odd behavior of the lights pretty well.

I took the starter to a rebuilder, they tested it and it worked, but I bought a rebuilt starter anyway since I had come that far and there were so many miles on it. Charged the battery and recleaned the terminals and connectors. No change.

The FAQ that I read talked about signs that the ignition switch was bad, and it doesn't seem to match that description, but I don't know. I don't want to keep buying parts that I don't need. At this point if it's not the ignition switch I don't know what it could be.

Let me know if you have any thoughts. Thanks!

 

The clicks you are hearing may be from the main relay. See this link regarding the main relay and try to listen for the three clicks.

How the Main Relay works

 

I pulled the ignition switch and it appears to be fine. I have a Haynes book that shows what the continuity should be and it is all as expected. The switch looks nice and white. I had a 90 Civic that needed the ignition switch replaced and I could tell by looking at it that it was burned. The switch feels solid and the continuity appears to be nice and steady.

What I keep reading about the main relay is fuel related. I can hear the fuel pump pressurize the system for 2 seconds when I switch it to the run position. Can the main relay prevent the engine from cranking? Because I'm getting no crank whatsoever...

My other concern is the security built into the key, but that indicator light also appears to be normal.

 

Have someone turn the key to start and test/check for 12v on the small wire going to the starter? Yes/no?

EDIT: Watched a second time, just me but it kind of looks like a bad ground? Recheck the ground cable on the battery and also where it connects to the body and then to the trans/engine.

 

I don't have anyone to turn the key but maybe I can find someone.

I really like the ground strap idea...going to check that out now.

 

I pulled and cleaned the ground strap terminals...they looked really good. Scraped them clean with the battery terminal cleaner, cleaned all the contact surfaces. No change. The ground cables look good, no corrosion just a bit dirty.

Clarification on the key behavior. After turning to the start position, all the dash lights are off going back to the run position. Nothing happens when trying to start again from the run position. Turn all the way off, back to run all lights normal. Then it will click when turned to start. All lights dead going from start to run.

The other thing is in the start position, all the door open indicator lights flicker. Huh.

 

Went to reshoot the video for a better demo, but now it's acting different.

No dash lights switching from off to run, except the flickering indicator lights saying that the doors and trunk are open, but they aren't. The driver door is open, and that indicator light is on steady and not flickering. Power windows not working in acc or run. But the radio works in acc and run.

There is definitely a click coming from around the glove box when I switch it to start. I don't know if that is normal or not.

 

Ok when I try to turn the headlights on there is a sound like ping ping ping ping ping. They don't come on, and neither does the interior light. Power locks work but not when the door is open...

 

Yeah ok, so I went to disconnect the wires from the negative battery connector and the plate the holds the wires to the connector was loose. The bolts were not even finger tight. The cables themselves were good, cleaned and tightened, didn't fix anything. Positive side, noticed some corrosion, again the plate that connects the wires to the battery connector were loose, went to tighten and the whole connector broke. Not the battery terminal but the connector that bolts onto the battery terminal. And the wires there on the positive side are terribly corroded. So I'm going to get that stuff replaced and will report back on the results.

 

Sorry guys, it was the positive battery connector/wire all along. I cut off the horribly corroded section of wire, worst I've ever seen, installed a new connector and it fired right up. I tried to replace the positive wires but Autozone didn't seem to have the right pieces, but the wire really wasn't corroded past about 1.5 inches down. I should have known. Oh well, could have been worse, I still paid a lot less than towing it to a mechanic, and I learned.