2000 Honda accord LX won't start, rapid clicking
 

I really hope I'm posting in the right place/thread but I need some help guys!
My 2000 Honda accord lx is automatic and has about 110,000 miles on it and im good to it as far as oil changes and what not.
last night while driving it all of a sudden it felt like the car had been put in neutral, I switched it from D3 to D4 and back to D3 and decided to pull over. As soon as I turned off the car, it wouldn't turn back on again. I hear clicking when I turn the key and the engine wanting to kick in, but it's mostly just clicking. Any ideas? Thanks.
Vivian
2000 Honda accord lx v6

Perhaps a stupid question but is it possible you ran out of fuel? Did you notice a check engine light on the dashboard? It could be a lot of things. I think we would need a little bit more clues in what direction to head in. I would assume the battery and alternator were ok because you would have probably gotten some tell tales signs beforehand. I guess it could be something like a faulty fuel pump or even a snapped timing belt.

Car has gas, i didn't notice any check engine or maintenance light turn on. I went back this morning and cleaned up the posts on the battery (they corrosion on them) and then used jumper cables to charge the battery, after about 8 minutes it turned on...it was about 2 miles to get from where the car was to my house and it crapped out again after a mile or so at a stop light. It's now in a super market parking lot. :(

Well things could be a lot worse. Just change out the battery and you should check if the alternator is functioning. When my alternator failed (and when the accessory/alternator belt snapped) on that car, a bunch of the cluster lights lit up on my dashboard (battery, door ajar, trunk, etc). If this is the case then the alternator needs to be replaced as well but you need to test it either way.

ok cool thanks! I'll get on that. I really hope it's just the battery but I'm hardly ever that lucky. I'll be back soon enough with an update. Thanks again.

If it was the battery, the car would run fine but not want to start. Sounds like the alternator to me. The car will run off the battery with alternator not working. Sounds like you got the battery charged enough to start and run it that short disttance before it crapped iut again.

Most auto parts places will check the battery, and the altrnator if you bring them in.

Did the battery light turn on when you were driving?

Check the electrical connector that goes to the alternator. I also think there is a fuse for the alternator.

When i turned the car on after having let the battery charge for a few minutes the dash seemed normal and I didn't notice any unusual maintenance lights, however I didn't drive it home. I borrowed a car to get to my car and my neighbor tried driving my car back home. he said there were no maintenance lights on and that car was running fine right up untill the moment it crapped out at the stop light. I honestly can't say if one turned on while he was driving it though because the guy is an old timer and I dont know how good his vision is or if he was paying attention to the dashboard but I personally didn't see a maintenance light and he says he didn't either.
I just dropped the battery off at Autozone and it's not under warranty anymore. there going to try and charge it up first in hopes that i just need a new one, if it's not the battery then I guess ill go from there through proscess of elimination.
Thanks again guys.

Sounds like the alternator is bad. Turn the car back on and once is on remove the positive cable and if it shuts off then is the alternator. Easy way to find out.

The battery didn't take a charge so I got a pro rated new one for like $40, it's like 115 degrees out (California desert) so I'm waiting till the sun goes down to put in the new one. I hope it's as easy as that. We'll see. I'll let you guys know.
Thanks!

Did you try starting the car before you jumped it? I am just worried that its something intermittent that is unrelated to the battery or alternator. The one thing you will learn is that a lot of ppl waste money replacing parts on cars without properly diagnosing the issue. Good luck.

after I bought the new battery and installed it in my car it worked fine but I took it back to autozone to have them check the alternotor anyway and you guys called it. The alternator wasn't putting anything out. After I turned on the car and he read the meter he showed it to me then told me to turn the lights on, this time when he showed it to me the numbers were dropping.
He said I needed a new one but now I'm wondering if I should get it from them or buy one from the Honda dealership or online.

I've put aftermarket alternators in cars before, really they are remanufactured typically. Never had one go out after the initial install. One was ona Toyota Corolla, change dit at 110,000 and it was still in it when I sold the car with 215,000 on the clock.

To rest your mind, call Honda and see what they want for the part, then look online for the part, and then look at the Autozone or whatever place for a price, see if the money you save is worth doing the job twice if perhpas you need to do it again.

By the same token, I had an F150 Crew Cab, drivers power window motor went out, got an aftermarket chinese one from Advance Auto Parts, I replaced that dang motor four times in a year and a half. Then I went and got the Motorcraft one online. Never replaced it again.

Depends on who is going to be doing the work. Its not the hardest job to do but certainly not the easiest. It requires removing the passenger side radiator fan and the alternator is heavy so its awkward to remove and install. The alternator (accessory) belt has an auto-tensioner on it that you take a 14 or 17 mm wrench and push backwards and the belt will become loose. A lot of times shops will want to purchase the parts themselves (marking up the prices is one means of profit). So I would call around to shops to see how much its going to be and if its ok to bring your own part.

I would personally do it myself if you have friend (s) with tools and is handy. Otherwise, a trusted independent mechanic and then the dealership. Dealership will probably be the most expensive but they have probably done thousands of them (not that it is that hard).

FWIW, I have a remanufactured alternator in my Honda Accord V6 for the last 70k miles and its going strong.

cool, thanks a lot for all the help and advice, Honda wanted an ungodly amount for they're oem part, I found some better deals online but since the car is my daily driver I can't really afford to be carless for much longer. I'm going with the after market part because it's the only option as of now.
I called up my mom and asked who her mechanic was and it's some guy from her church, i can't recall her having any problems with her corolla, I'm taking the car over to him right now so he can check it.
since he's going to be there anyway...is there anything i should tell him to check out with a car this age? I haven't had any other problems and i got new Tires, breaks, disc and allignment about 2 months ago. I really appreciate all the help. Thanks again. :)
A

Well you are at that age where you should have (if you havent already done it) a timing belt/water pump change. Its not a cheap procedure (probably gonna be $600+) so depending on your financial status, it might be a lot to do at once. Also with that car, I would make sure you are on top of Automatic Transmission Fluid changes (at least every 24K miles). I wouldnt do an Trans Fluid flush which is what many mechanics will recommend. Otherwise, you should be in good shape.

I knew you'd say that! I've been in the process of saving up money for the timing belt water pump fix, so this little debacle set me back a bit on that. There's a dealership not to far from here but I live in a border city, so my genius was plan to take it to the mexican honda dealership across the border and save myself around 100 bucks. (a hundred bucks is a hundred bucks, you know) the mechanic I just dropped my car off with said he could do it, but told me that the last time he tried to change the timing belt on a car like mine he wasn't able to get access to anything because there's some sort of bolt that he was unable to get loose. He said he could try and force it but he was afraid that forcing the bolt loose might possibly crack the engine' havd you ever heard of a problem like that? I'm curious because it seems like such a weird little thing. Thanks so much.

Sounds like they had an issue with the crankshaft pulley bolt.

Call around and get more quotes for the t-belt job (belt, wp, seals ect...), I'd look for places that deal with Honda's.