went to start the car this mourning and turned the key to hear one click, and then nothing. the battery read 13.5V. so i gave it the push-dump start method and she started right up and ran fine on the 40 mile commute home, got in the garage and shut her down, went to start her again and she started perfectly, so its not the starter, alt, or battery. im thinking ignition switch but the dealer recall webpage says i have "no current safety recalls for your 1997 acura". does that mean the previous owner got it done already? if so will they do it again? or should it be fixed after once doing it? its a sunday so i cant call em or i would....thoughts?

 

bad starter...will swap out this week....

 

Curious as to why you concluded its the starter... I have the same issue. Seems to be doing it under extreme cold conditions though only. The other day, I fiddled with the key and then it worked. So I was thinking might be that... then I got it moved off the slightly sloped driveway to the road, an hour later it started right up. So I was thinking fuel pump..

Argggg I just want to know!

 

well if it was the fuel pump the engine would make an attempt to turn over. i concluded starter because its very common to get an intermittent not starting issue as the contacts are starting to go bad on the inside. that plus the fact the engine didnt even try to turn over led me down the starter path. took it to autozone to get it tested and they said it was on its way out, picked up a new one for 60 bucks and had it in an hour later

mine had no bearing on key position because i tried messing with it and the clutch to rule those out, yours may be ignition switch related if key position has a bearing on ur startup issues. has it ever cut out on you while driving? there is also a relay under the steering column which engages the fuel pump i forget the name of it but there is a youtube video on it by ericthecarguy you should check it out if you continue to have problems.

next time it doesn't start for you, try hitting the starter with a rubber mallet or something along those lines, dont wail on it just a few sharp whacks, if it starts after that u kno its ur starter.

 

Thanks for the reply man.

My issue "seems" to be the starter. Im sure it has a flat spot but Im trying not to just throw parts and money at it since up here they aren't as cheap as you guys have it .

For example, my driveway is a bit sloped. When I go to start it at 9am and its about -10C out it won't start. Move it to the road by pushing it and then after 30 mins or so sitting there she will fire right up! Sometimes there is hesitation starting, other times its right away. Sometimes it will go to turn over and then cut out and nothing. Sometimes its a click and thats it, nothing else.

So weird.

 

usually if its the ignition switch the car will turn off while going down the road, that is one of the symptoms of the bad ignition from everything I have read. if you have starting issues its probably battery or starter related instead of switch related. I thought my switch was going bad also because sometimes when I would try and crank the car I would have to turn the key a few times to get it to engage the starter. I upgraded the charging system and put new ground wires and new optima battery and haven't had the problem since

 

Yeah, Im going to go the cheapest route and clean all the corroded wires and upgrade them when it gets a bit warmer. If the problem persists then its a new starter and battery needed.