My wife has 1991 honda accord wagon. Yesterday morning she hopped in to go to school and it wouldnt start. we thought her battery was dead so let it go till today ( had the charger on it all night) but its doign the same thing.
turn the key and no click, the starter doesnt seem to be powering up at all. all the dash lights come on, the headlights are nice and brite but it acts like its in Drive. ive tried it in Neutral, rocked the car, tried jumping it ect... i checked the fuses under the hood (the only one i saw that looked related was the IGN fuse and it was fine)
I'm short of having it towed to a ship but cant shake the feeling its something small.
Any help here would be very awsome.

thanks

 

How old is the starter? If it's pretty old, it's probably going bad. Sometimes you can hit the starter with a tire iron or hammer. Don't knock the crap out of it but just give it a good whack. Then try starting the car. If the starter turns properly and cranks and starts the engine, you know the starter is failing. If you try this, don't hit the solenoid which is the small cylinder. Hit the big one which is the starter motor. I had to hit my starter a few years back for a number of days until I had time to put in a new one.

 

if it were the starter, would it not click or anything? there is literaly no sound at all.

 

If you have a volt meter, have someone turn the key to the start position. Check to see if you have 12V on the small wire that goes to the start (not the large one coming directly from the + battery cable). Use a valve cover bolt as your ground in your test.

 

Mine seemed to be silent, too; until I had someone listen to it closely and she described a low humming sound. That was the starter brush(es) sitting on the dead spot on the coils trying to move as current was applied.

 

I agree, start here and post back

 

whacked it with a wrench and no change. ihavent tested it yet with a v-meter. we just got a food and a half of snow so ill have to give it a few days. Ill post when i can give it a test.

one other question. isnt there a componant that allows it to start but not when its out of drive? coulf that somehow be engaged? just a thought.

 

The starter interlock will only allow starting IN PARK or NEUTRAL. It should not allow starting in any other gear.

 

Sorry jarring the starter motor didn't help, turnbacknow. Was just a quick and dirty diagnosis that worked for me. Maybe there's something going on with your ignition switch. The voltage test posted earlier will give you an idea.