hey guys!! buddy let me borrow his 95 civic lx while he went on vacation. sorry i saw a couple threads on this but a bit different. car started fine the first day. today it started fine in the morning drove it bout 20 miles. an hour later when i had to head into work i tried to start it a whole buncha times and it wouldnt turn over although the starter solenoid was engaging and disengaging properly. after trying to crank it several times, it turned over and it started. i shut it off again and tryed to start again....no crank, but solenoid functioning properly. took girlfriends jeep to work. after work, came home and tryed starting it again, solenoid good but no crank.... anyone able to shed some light on this? any way to hotwire the starter to the battery to test it? or ive connected the two posts with a screwdriver on my 87 thunderbird turbocoupe, just wanted to be careful cuz this isnt my car and there are THREE connections rather than 2 on the starter i saw... anyone have a diagram or can explain which connection is which or shed any light on this issue would be much appreciated!!! thanks!!!

 

Intermittently clicking but not starting is how Civic starters typically fail. It means the contacts in the solenoid part are worn out, and you need to replace them or the whole starter assembly.

 

is there anyway to check for sure like i said with a hotwire from the battery or connecting the posts on the starter? solenoid works fine, its just not cranking...

 

Typically the starter is sold as a complete unit, the solenoid and motor together. If you have battery voltage at the starter (measure from the post for the big wire from the battery to starter ground), and it clicks but doesn't turn, it's bad.