Have a 2006 Civic that has periodic starting problems. Had the battery replaced twice now in 2 months and the issue occurred again the day after the newest battery was installed. No lights come on on the dashboard at any time. Once it is running, it does not stall out. Electrical power (ie: lights, radio) seems fine at any given time.
Car engine appears sluggish when I turn the key. Gets progressively worse until at some point, it will not turn over at all. After waiting a short time, and trying again, it slowly turns over.
Not a mechanic, and have no real clue on this. Starting to think it is the starter though. Any ideas??

 

check your alternator..

 

checked the alternator, battery and starter. All excellent. That's the odd part of it.

 

Intermittent problems are frustrating because they have to be tested while the problem is actually occuring. Testing when the car is working OK will show that everything is normal.

I'd start by measuring the voltage at the starter while someone turns the key trying to start. Measure from the post that connects to the big wire from the battery to starter ground (frame of the starter). If you have good voltage (>9 volts) but the starter turns abnormally slow, it's a bad starter. If the voltage is low, go back and measure at the battery, on the lead posts that are part of the battery. Good voltage at the battery but not at the starter means a connection or wire is bad.

Speaking of connections you should first disconnect, clean up, and securely reconnect the connections at the battery. Bad connections right at the battery are a very common problem.