Hey Everyone! I have a 2002 Honda Civic EX 1.7L VTEC engine, 5 speed manual, 2 door coupe. I have been having problems lately that I thought might be a grounding problem but now I am not so sure. I used to have a problem where every once in awhile I would have to move the ground wire around to get the car to turn over. I thought the ground was bad...so I went to O Reilly and got a new ground wire and cleaned all mounting spots and mounted the wire. That worked for about 2 weeks and now I can't get the car to turn over again. If I unhook the ground completely and reconnect it I will get plenty of juice in Accessory but when I hit to turn the car over it just ticks once. I have tried using the negative jumper cable to ground the battery right to the frame. I took the battery to have it tested and it was 100% charged and good. I also notice every now and then my car will go into what seems to be limp mode at 4,000 RPM....I do not know if this is related...but it comes back every now and then. Please help experts!

 

You need to use a voltmeter to see exactly where the voltage is being lost. Have a helper turn the key trying to start during each test. Start by measuring the voltage at the battery (on the lead posts that are part of the battery). If it drops below 9 volts, battery is bad. If it stays up, measure with one meter lead on each side of a suspected connection (for example from the battery post to the battery terminal). This should be near zero volts in all cases. If a voltage difference is found, the connection is bad.

 

I will give that a try!

 

Also, check to make sure 12V+ is present at the starter when the key is turned to start. If it is not, you may have a bad ignition switch. The starter ground should be tight as well.