Car won't start, replaced starter, help!
 

00 Civic EX, AT, 90k miles

3-4 months ago it wasn't starting, but was clicking, so I replaced the starter and it worked again. About a month ago it wouldn't start again and gave the same clicking sound. I replaced the battery, didn't start. I replaced the starter again and it worked till today. Is something killing the starter or is there another culprit?

Also my CEL has been on for the past year, with code P1457 - evap solenoid valves. Could this be the problem?

Where are you purchasing your starters? Have you carefully cleaned the battery and starter connections to remove all corrosion? Do the "bad" starters fail a bench test?

For P1457, start by checking whether the seal on the gas cap is damaged or broken or generally unable to seal the gas tank. If so, replace it. (this problem is unrelated to the starter problem)

Thanks for the reply. I got them both off used off ebay from different sellers. I cleaned the battery connections a little bit, but not the starter connections. I will check and clean them if needed. I'm not sure how to bench test the starters. How can I do this?

For P1457, I've replaced the cap already. I didn't think it was related either.

edit: I read and watched some vids on how to bench test the starter. I'll try that too.

when you take off the starter does the fly wheel look damaged

When you have one that clicks but won't start, it's often the contacts in the solenoid part.

Take off the cover with 3 screws on the end where the big wire from the battery connects. There are 2 copper contacts in there that are connected when the copper disk on the plunger pulls down. If the contacts are worn down it will click (the plunger pulling down) but not start because no power reaches the motor. You might have enough parts now to build up a "good" one that will last for a little while anyway.

The flywheel looks fine. I cleaned all the connectors and tried both starters (I ignorantly threw out the first one when I thought it was bad). Still the same click. I took the starters to Checker and they both tested fine. I put one back in and it just clicked again. I also tried jumping the car with one of those standalone units. Could the wires running to the starter be bad? Or what else could I check?

The starter has two wires, a Blk wire that should receive constant 12V of power and a Blk/Wht wire that should receive 12V of power only when the ignition key is turned to ON (position III) and the AT is set at Park or Neutral. Use a multimeter to check whether these two wires have 12V of power under these conditions. I suspect you will identify the specific problem using this type of approach.

Possibilities:
-Bad wire
-Bad AT gear position switch
-Bad ignition switch

Check that the engine is free to turn by turning the front pulley (counter-clockwise) with a socket wrench on the bolt.

You'll need a voltmeter. Prepare to jump the starter by taking the small wire off and using a test wire to connect the small terminal to the big terminal on the starter. Make absolutely sure the car is not in gear an the brake is set, because the engine will turn if the starter is good. The key should be off when you do this. You're not trying to start it, just see if the starter works.

Now if it clicks but doesn't start, measure the voltage across the battery while jumping the starter (Measure at the actual lead posts on the battery, not the terminals). Less than 9 volts = discharged or faulty battery. If the battery is staying up, measure from the big terminal of the starter to ground on the starter. If that stays up around 10-12 volts, but the starter doesn't turn = bad starter.

If you have power at the battery but no power to the starter, measure across each wire and connection to see where it is getting lost.

See pages 11-288 to 11-293 of the 96-00 Civic manual (link in my signature) for details on troubleshooting this problem:

Attachment 24509

Thanks for all the great info RonJ and mk378. I bought a multimeter and tested the battery: 12.4V. Battery wire to the starter: 12V. Smaller wire that only gets power when the car is turned on: 12V. I was expecting to find a wire that wasn't supplying (enough) power. I don't know what to conclude from this.