96 civic wont start

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Jan 3, 2008 | 04:43 PM

bruiser_696

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96 civic wont start

i got a 1996 honda civic lx four door, the engine died on me the other day after i drove it aroung town and i went home got back in it 4 hours later to go to the store, and it wouldnt start, when i turn the key to on everything in the car turns on like the stereo and light's and what not but when i try to start it it gives my a humming noise and i hold itthere and the check engine light came on? whats wrong?

Jan 3, 2008 | 04:54 PM

RonJ

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Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 9,453

From: Houston, Texas

RE: 96 civic wont start

When you turn the ignition key to ON without starting the engine, does the check engine light (CEL) turn ON for a few seconds and then turn OFF or does it stay ON? If the latter occurs, then retrieve the trouble code as detailed here:

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/1901557

Jan 3, 2008 | 05:04 PM

bruiser_696

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RE: 96 civic wont start

it turns on for a few seconds and turns off also i just bought a new battery and when i turn the key on the battery light comes on?

Jan 3, 2008 | 05:19 PM

RonJ

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Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 9,453

From: Houston, Texas

RE: 96 civic wont start

Your CEL and charging light (battery symbol) are not indicating problems. If you hear the starter spinning but not turning the engine, then you may need to replace the starter (see picture), as mk378 suggested to you in a related post.

Jan 3, 2008 | 08:24 PM

gwl

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Joined: Mar 2006

Posts: 625

From: SoCal

RE: 96 civic wont start

Before you replace your starter, make sure your battery terminals and wires are in good shape. If you see any corrosion around the terminals, you need to clean them up. Also, have you try using some jumper cables, sometimes a new battery can be weak.

Jan 4, 2008 | 07:12 AM

skytanker2003

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RE: 96 civic wont start

As stated before, recheck your wires/fuses and figure out which bit codes it's throwing out. If you replaced your battery, it could be a grounding issue, but it probably isn't since you're getting power to the rest of your electronics. The humming is your fuel pump, so that has nothing to do with it. I had a problem similar to this with it suddenly not starting up and I'd say it could be your starter.

Try removing and bench-testing your starter (i.e. put power and ground to it and see if it spins!) Youre gonna wanna strap it down to something so it doesn't fly off the table and hit ya tho! The problem with mine ended up being a bad ground to the starter.

Jan 4, 2008 | 08:15 AM

bruiser_696

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Joined: Jan 2008

Posts: 14

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RE: 96 civic wont start

yea the termanals are clean, andi hooked up a jumper to it and it still did not start.

Jan 4, 2008 | 09:13 AM

mk378

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RE: 96 civic wont start

Is the noise you hear coming from the starter?

Jan 4, 2008 | 10:28 AM

civicexracer

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Posts: 5,802

RE: 96 civic wont start

Quote:

ORIGINAL: skytanker2003

As stated before, recheck your wires/fuses and figure out which bit codes it's throwing out. If you replaced your battery, it could be a grounding issue, but it probably isn't since you're getting power to the rest of your electronics. The humming is your fuel pump, so that has nothing to do with it. I had a problem similar to this with it suddenly not starting up and I'd say it could be your starter.

Try removing and bench-testing your starter (i.e. put power and ground to it and see if it spins!) Youre gonna wanna strap it down to something so it doesn't fly off the table and hit ya tho! The problem with mine ended up being a bad ground to the starter.

+1.