My 2005 Accord 4-cylinder automatic has intermittent trouble turning over. I want to disconnect and clean the big positive cable at the starter connection to see if that's the culprit before going on to more expensive things. It's tucked way in behind the intake manifold. Can I reach that connection by removing something smaller than the manifold like the throttle body, the power-steering pump, and/or the alternator? Has anyone gotten in there? Thanks for any guidance on this ...

 

I'm not really sure if there is enough room to get to it.....I have to say that I've never really tried.

Inspect both ends at the battery and also the ground where it connects to the body/then the trans.

Can you describe more of what is going on when it won't turn over? Also if it seems to follow a pattern - long drive, short stop, then it seems to not turn over.

 

Thanks for your reply - more often than not the engine cranks slowly, as though the battery were low. But the battery is pretty new - a 1-year-old 530 CCA Interstate battery, fully charged, and the headlights work fine. The car usually starts on the second or third attempt, still after relatively slow cranking. I can't detect much pattern beyond that. I've cleaned both ends of the negative battery cable, and replaced both ground straps (one on the engine side, one on the tranny side) with new OEM ones. So all reachable connections are clean and tight. I feel that I have it narrowed down to a bad connection on the + battery-starter cable, or the starter itself. Given the price of a new starter, I'm still rooting for a bad connection. Is it common for a starter to go bad on these Accords at 100 k miles?

 

Miles on a starter are not as important as the number of times you start the vehicle. If you can get a volt meter on the positive connection at the starter and on the + battery post, you can check if there is a change in voltage when you try to start the car.