I just bought a 95 civic dx with a 91 civic engine. the car ran fine the first day I got it. the next morning I had a hard time getting it to start. it finally started and ran fine all morning. went to walmart and when I tried to start the car again, it did absolutely thing. its not turning over at all. I replaced the starter and still nothing. I check the fuses under the hood and they are fine. i'm able to get the car running by push starting it, but that's all I can do. I only know a little about cars so any help would be appreciated. could it be the ecu? also, apparently the car had an alarm, when I was push starting it the alarm would go off and fade out after a couple of seconds. not sure if that has anything to do with the problem maybe?

 

also, the battery is good. I checked it with the meter and it was at 12.72 not running. the power comes on but when I turn the key it clicks and the power goes off.

 

If you're saying the whole car loses power when you try to start, either the battery is dead or there are bad connections at the battery. Measure voltage at the battery directly on the lead posts that are part of the battery. Then have someone try to start while you measure. If the voltage stays up but the car loses power, it's a bad connection somewhere.

Check the charging system by getting the engine started and measure voltage at the battery with the engine running but everything else off. It should be more than 13.5 volts. If it stays in the 12s the alternator is not working. This will cause the battery to run down until it can't start.

 

okay. I will check that. I had the multimeter connected to the solenoid on starter and when I turned the key over it was not getting any power. we had a really bad storm here in Hawaii a couple of days ago and my car leaks from the driver side when there is heavy rain. i'm thinking it might be the ignition switch that is bad. i'll definitely try and push start the car to test the battery and altenator. its just rough because I live in a steep mountain area. my legs are sore from pushing the car uphill twice already. lol

 

Make sure that two wires connect to the front of the starter. One will be bigger than the other. They will probably be hard to see amongst the various wires and plumbing
I'd bet it isn't the ignition switch or clutch switch. The clutch switch can be tested by sitting in driver's seat and turning the key to ignition. If you do this without depressing the clutch and hear nothing that is normal because the switch prevented the car from launching had it started. If you depress the clutch you should hear a slight whine which is the fuel pump. If you hear this you know that part of the circuit is ok.

 

If you have voltage at the battery but not at the starter, one of the connections is bad. The most likely problem is where the terminal connects on the battery (usually the + one). Remove the terminals and scrape all corrosion off of the inside of the terminal and the outside of the battery post. Loosen the nut enough so when you put the terminal back on, it slides all the way down the battery post-- there should be some post showing above the top edge of the terminal. Then tighten securely.

When working on the battery connections, always disconnect the (-) first before working on the (+) side. This will prevent a dangerous short circuit should you bridge the + stuff to grounded metal parts with your tools.