I have a 2004 V6 4 door Accord

Last week in Illinois I had to take it to emissions testing. They plugged into the OBD2 port and I passed the emissions test just fine. They shut the car off and gave me the key to drive off. No issues with ignition prior to this.

Well, my car wouldn't start. When I turned the key, I just heard a click of the starter, just like how you hear when your battery dies. Except that my battery is not that old, only about 3 years old, and I really don't think this is a battery issue.

So a guy at the emissions testing center said "Oh, Hondas sometimes do this I know how to fix it you just need to turn the key in the ignition REALLY slowly..." - I tried but couldn't get the car to start, so he hopped in and he did it, car started. He said it should be fine now. So I turned the car off immediately then, and tried to start it again after about 15 seconds and it started normally. I was thinking, did the emissions test set some sort of flag in the computer or something that caused this? Well, maybe you needed to do that weird slow key turn start once and it would be fine then... so I drove my car home without incident.

My car sat in the garage for 3 days, and I had to drive to the airport. I get in... and click, no start. So I did the really slow key turn thing, and the car started fine. This is why I don't think it's a battery issue - if it was, the starter wouldn't crank no matter what, but when I did the slow key turn the started engaged and cranked totally normal.

My car sat at the airport for 3 days, when I came back to it it started up normally and I drove home. When I got to the garage after turning the car off and letting it sit for 15 seconds I thought I would try to get it to start - nope, I just got the click of the starter, and it wouldn't start. I tried doing the slow key turn thing 3-4 times and I couldn't get the car to start again.

So I let it sit overnight, and now it's the morning. I went to start it, and click it wouldn't start. I did the slow key turn thing, and now it did start. I let the car run for 15 seconds, turned it off, let it sit for 15 seconds. Now it started again totally normal. Turned it off again and tried starting it again, totally normal start again.

Now, when I do the slow key turn thing, there is a funny noise coming from the steering column - the below 16 second video lets you hear the noise. This didn't use to happen before this whole thing started, but then again you only hear this when you turn the key very slowly and I never did that before...


So what could be the issue? Is my key ignition module in the steering column going bad? Did the emissions test set some flag in the computer that is causing this issues? I'm not sure here...

 

Your ignition switch is going bad. Eventually it will go out. Replace it and you should be fine. Mine happen around your mileage also.

 

So I just need a new ignition switch -
correct? The lock cylinder should be fine so I should not have to mess with my keys at all, correct?

Thanks for the help!

 

That is the part you need

 

The problem can be something other than the ignition switch. The cut-off relay in the circuit, the wiring, or the starter are also possibilities.

When you hear the click and the car doesn't start, is that a loud click coming from the starter?

 

Yes, the no start click does sound like it's coming from the starter... but if it was the starter, what difference would a "slow key turn" of the ignition make? Plus the noise in the video I posted was coming from the steering column, that makes me think now it's likely the ignition switch.

 

The noise that seems to be coming from the steering column is actually coming from the fuse box in the cabin. When the switch is going bad it will trigger it to make the buzz sound (not the technical explanation). When it happened to me my starter was going bad and I knew about it for 6 months but kept putting it off. Once my switch went bad I just replaced the switch and rebuilt the starter. I did the starter first just to verify my switch was indeed bad and was still getting the buzz sound.

 

So I changed my ignition switch - and my ignition problem still persists. One thing though - the "buzz" sound from the fusebox is gone - I just turn the key and just hear a click now but the starter doesn't crank. After fiddling with the key a few times and doing the slow turn, I can still get it to start.

So what's the next step here then? Replacing the starter? About how long of a job is that?

 

First I would make sure your battery is good. I would think it is because you are able to turn the engine over. Do you know where your stater is located. I have attached a video and it shouldn't take you no longer that's an hour. If you are good with turning a wrench then faster. If you want to take it out and test it before getting a replacement to make sure that is the issue the go ahead. I know I would. It could just be the starter solenoid. Their are al lot of videos on how to test your starter or you can take it to a parts store so they can.

 

Well it's definitely not the battery - I just changed that out 2 months ago because my old one was 2 years old. It could be the starter, but what about the starter solenoid? When it does crank, it cranks really strong and hard, like it should. The problem is that I hear a "click" and then there is no cranking at all, could that perhaps be the starter solenoid not engaging properly?