I have a 1992 Honda Civic 1.5 mpfi with an automatic. The starter just makes clicking noises when you turn the key. I tried jump starting it and also tapping the starter/relay. The battery had died recently and I jump started it to get it to work. We tried jump starting it and it just made clicking noises. So maybe i just didnt charge it long enough... hopefully...

The headlights and fan and all worked just fine so I couldnt see it being the battery... The car dies a lot so the starter gets used more than it should... Also the battery cables arn't very tight, they've gotten squashed over the years to where they dont lock well and have some sort of red goo on them. I got em as tight as I could and it didnt seem to make any difference.

My biggest problem is the car is 6 miles from here and the junkyard is 20 miles. So im gonna ride a bus. I dont own any tools so I need to find out what size socket fits the two bolts that hold the starter on and what other tools I might need. Anyone know?

 

I'm gonna try two things before replacing it. Gonna see if I can start the starter manually with jumper cables. Then try and find someone that will help me jump start it and have them rev their car up. Before the starter wouldnt work at all, the car battery died and I jump started it with a miata that wouldnt work untill he revved it. So I read that having to rev is normal. The last time I tried to start it, I didnt have the guy rev his truck...

The starter was clicking and just clicked less and less often *** we tried to get it to start so maybe that was just the battery dying. Strange thing is the headlights seemed to work fine...

 

Turn the lights on, turn the key. If the starter just clicks but the lights don't dim down much it's going to be a bad starter, or maybe a bad connection at the starter, but that test shows the battery and connections at the battery are OK.

I think the only tool needed to replace the starter is a 12mm socket and 6 inch extension to reach the bottom bolt. You may need a 13 instead of a 12 on the nut that holds the big wire onto the starter. Of course disconnect the battery first, the terminal bolts are 10mm.

 

About your battery cables:

At most auto parts stores they sell lead cap thing that go over the battery posts to make the post wider. Eventually the lead will become part of the battery post. Basically what they do is make the battery post bigger so that your cables can tighten down over them. I had to buy them before, they were only a couple bucks.

I was having some trouble starting my car sometimes so I drove to the auto parts store and was going to have my battery checked but the guy came out there and was like "here's your problem." Apparently there wasn't a good connection because of the loose cables and it was having trouble getting power from it sometimes. We put the battery post cap things on and it fixed my problem instantly.

 

You can tear to the ground ANY honda with 10, 12, 14, 17mm sockets.[8D]