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I have an 05 Honda accord that is having an issue starting. The ignition lock cylinder locked up so I took out the pins and it worked perfectly fine, besides the "zzzzz" sound that occurs occasionally when the key is turned. Here recently though, the car either makes that "zzzz" noise or doesn't turn over, if I turn the key and it doesn't turn over and I tap the starter motor it attempts to starts, but if I apply jumper cables and connect one end to my battery and the other to another car's battery, IT STARTS WITH NO ISSUE, but without jumping it off it gets weaker and weaker until it doesn't turnover. I took the battery to get charged but it did not turn over until I jiggled the ignition cylinder. If I jiggle the ignition cylinder back and forth it may or may not start. PLEASE HELP!
1,) Makes "zzzzz"
2.) Starts up perfectly with a jump
3.) The car didn't start even after battery was fully charged
4.) May or may not start if the ignition cylinder is messed with
5.) Starter attempts to work if tapped during ignition's non-working state
I took it to O'Riley's auto parts to charge the battery but they did not test it. I'll take it to Autozone today and have them check the battery. I do have a multi meter, so do I just put the leads on the meter on the respective leads on the battery while its on and off? What would be the voltage number I'd be looking for?
When you disconnected the battery to take it to O'Riley's, how clean were the posts & clamps? How old is the battery?
Since jiggling the key made a difference, also look at the electrical part of the ignition switch. Opposite the key, it's attached to the other end of the lock-cylinder, and they're not uncommon to get flaky. You mention taking apart the pins, but does that mean the tumbler pins of the lock cylinder? Or something with the electrical part of the switch?
You'll want a helper for this...
Set the meter for DC volts (something bigger than 15v or set to auto-range).
Red (+) lead of the meter on the (+) post of the battery.
Black (-) lead of the meter on the (-) post of the battery.
A normal battery with a full charge will read something like 12.5 to 13.5 or so volts. What does yours measure?
Have your helper turn the key ON but don't start. Turn on the headlights and the rear defroster and the ventilation blower. How much lower is the voltage now with that load? (That load is far less than the load of the starter motor, but it's an indication of how much the voltage suffers from the smaller load)
Turn that stuff off & keep watching the meter while your helper tries to start the engine. The voltage will drop even lower when the starter motor is spinning the engine. If it's gets down to 7 or 8 or lower, that's too low. What does it do? And tell us whether that's with the buzzing noise or with the starter motor running. Ideally you can get both situations.
Depending on what you measure, together with someplace testing the battery with a load-tester, it might be something in the car. One place to look is the other end of each battery cable (with the battery disconnected so you don't short something). The (-) ground cable is screwed to some metal part of the car & that can get corroded.
When you disconnected the battery to take it to O'Riley's, how clean were the posts & clamps? How old is the battery?
Since jiggling the key made a difference, also look at the electrical part of the ignition switch. Opposite the key, it's attached to the other end of the lock-cylinder, and they're not uncommon to get flaky. You mention taking apart the pins, but does that mean the tumbler pins of the lock cylinder? Or something with the electrical part of the switch?
You'll want a helper for this...
Set the meter for DC volts (something bigger than 15v or set to auto-range).
Red (+) lead of the meter on the (+) post of the battery.
Black (-) lead of the meter on the (-) post of the battery.
A normal battery with a full charge will read something like 12.5 to 13.5 or so volts. What does yours measure?
Have your helper turn the key ON but don't start. Turn on the headlights and the rear defroster and the ventilation blower. How much lower is the voltage now with that load? (That load is far less than the load of the starter motor, but it's an indication of how much the voltage suffers from the smaller load)
Turn that stuff off & keep watching the meter while your helper tries to start the engine. The voltage will drop even lower when the starter motor is spinning the engine. If it's gets down to 7 or 8 or lower, that's too low. What does it do? And tell us whether that's with the buzzing noise or with the starter motor running. Ideally you can get both situations.
Depending on what you measure, together with someplace testing the battery with a load-tester, it might be something in the car. One place to look is the other end of each battery cable (with the battery disconnected so you don't short something). The (-) ground cable is screwed to some metal part of the car & that can get corroded.
Yes, it was the tumbler pins in the lock cylinder. I'll do the multi meter test when I get home and update you all. Could you explain what you mean by the electrical part of the ignition switch? I replace the ignition starter clutch (black part at the end of the ignition cylinder that has a brown plugin) but it didn't fix my issue
2-year-old battery isn't old enough to "automatically" be the problem just because of age. But it's not impossible for it to go bad that quickly depending on a few different things. Do those tests & see...
The electrical part of the ignition switch is #9 and it sounds like you already replaced it? I've never heard it called a "clutch".
Please help!!
