Hi all. I've been browsing through the forums for the last couple of weeks and have been quite impressed with how helpful everyone is so that's why I've decided to post.

Before I start I'm sorry to say I'm a complete newbie so my apologies in advance if I don't understand all the information you give.

Anyway, I've been having starting problems for the last 5 or 6 weeks and have been having a huge headache trying to figure out what needs to be done. I could just take it in to the mechanic but I don't really want to spend close to $400 without first trying a few other things or knowing more about what could be causing this problem. The car only has problems when I take a few short trips or one long trip and take a short stop-overand is even more noticeable when it's hot outside. The car isn't over-heating from what I can see by the in-car temp gauge. When the problem occurs the engine won't turn over at all. I just hear a "click" when I turn the key. If I leave the car for a bit (longer on hot days) the car will start up fine. I replaced the battery not too long ago thinking that it could be that but it still occurs. Another thing that happens when the car won't start (I don't know if this is normal or not) is that I can hear the rad fans coming on when I switch the key to the "on" position; could thisputting a drain on the battery so thatIdon't have enough battery power to start the car?I was tempted to replace the alternator but if the car starts back up when cool then it couldn't be that either, right? I'm getting sick of asking for boosts when/if I take my car for short trips around town. Please help!

I'm also going to provide a couple more little bits of information. I don't know if this'll help or even has anything to do with the problem but from what I've read on the forum it seems to be worse if there isn't enough information as opposed to too much.

-I'm having jumpy RPMs (similar to the thread in the forum-but there is no noticeable problem with the way the car drives when it occurs)
-On some startsthe car makes a loud"clicking" noise fromwhat sounds like thedriver's sideunder the hood. the clicking gets louder and faster whenI accelerate. The noise just disappears on it's own within a few minutes but on odd occasions it will comeback for a few minutes.

Thanks in advance for any information you guys may have for me!

1995 EX V6 Auto
160xxx KM

 

1st of all, is the check engine light on?
The jumpy rpm's........do they happen all the time? or do they happen every now and then? Are you sure the engine does not shudder just a little when the tach(rpm gauge)bounces? On mine, sometimes the engine shudder was noticeable, sometimes it was not.
A faulty ignition coil on the 95-97 V6 often causes a tach bounce, and it caused a no-start on mine right before I replaced mine. ButI think a faulty coil would cause a slightengine shudder as well.
Can you pop the hood and try to locate where the clicking is coming from?
Also, check the main fuelrelay for cracked solder joints. A faulty main relay would not cause the tach bounce though. Type in "main relay" or "main fuel relay" on a search on this site.

 

A bad coil can cause an erratic tach and have no effect on the engine. There are some models of Honda that have exactly the same looking external coil, one has three wires, the other has four, they both use the same shape connector, the three wire coil has no tach in the cluster, I only use this as a sample that a good running engine can have a bad coil (tach portion only).

 

I thought this was true, but I didn't want to say it because I didn't know for sure
I really think your problem is the ignition coil, but first, try to tell me where that clicking noise is coming from!!
Your car has an external coil (located underneath the distributor) with 2 wires going into/coming out of it. The side towards the front of the car is the high tension lead from the distributor, the other side (facing towards the rear of the car) is a 4 wire connector that goes to the ECU/TCU.

 

It's also possible that it's the starter selenoid giving you the starting issues.. When it does it again get out and bang on the side of the starter with a screwdriver, if it starts after that then chances are it's a starter issue. Make sure all your wires and connections are tight.

If you have/can get a manual it should have a procedure for testing the coil which may be your tach issue (quite possibly....)

 

It does have that procedure, but it is impossible to test with the coil still in the car. Or at least I could not find a way to do it with the coil still in the car. You cannot get a VOM in there, there is too much junk in the way. If you are just checking for continuity though, it wouldn't matter if it was in the car or not. However, I imagine with those crazy coils in the 95-97 V6 models, I would not be surprised if it tested OK but was still faulty. Especially since sometimes it works flawlessly with no tach bounce.

 

Ohm testing a coil is old school and not totally reliable, you need a scope or at least an adjustable spark tester, that is fine, pick one up.

 

That's why I didn't even bother testing mineI suspected the test may be faulty and didn't feel like buying anything else to test it with since I knew I would likely be replacing it anyway. I just wish I would have tested the old coil anyway before I threw it out[:@]