Wife just called and said she stuck at the salon. She said the car will not start. The starting issues didn't sound like the battery because the warning light sound strong when she is cranking. Didn't sound like a dying battery. If its the starter, what are some tricks used to get a quick start. Is it ok to tap the starter? Help me.

 

It's ok to tap it. That should get you one start at least out of it so you can get the car home

 

its not really ok to tap the starter but it does work, and its only the starter if you one solid click when you try to start the car, if you hear a repetitive clicking then your battery is low, or you have a bad connection, if you hear a grinding noise the starter is messed up and usually some other parts along with it

 

so it IS cranking over?
sounds like normal cranking speed?--dash lights and warning sounds mean nothing
the starter draw is mega amps- thats why the battery has many!
The green key sign on dash works?

and if jumped off running car?
make sure to ground neg jumper cable to bad TL- to strut bolt or other ground point
NEVER hook the batteries together!! a short in the bad car can take out the good cars electrical system!
How old is your battery--more than 3-4 years?

beyond that- and the normal things- egr system cleaned--more than 75kmiles on it since last cleaned? will cause start/idle run probs

Spark plug age- correct ngk if recent change?
ck ignition fuse, fuel pump fuse
battery cables, especially main ground from batt, and small grounds from frame to engine- all must be in good condition
crud reduces their abilty to ground the system, no ground= no spark

 

parts stores are happy to come out and run a FREE system test on the batt- alt -cables
it cks battery abilty to take a load and recover, alt output amps-with lights on
and amp draw from starter on its use
excess amps there mean starter is going out

 

Yes and no...starters are one of the hardest thing basically if it starts without making grinding noises your pretty much safe, draw when trying to start could be dirty fuel system, bad spark plugs, even a bad crack sensor, anything that makes cracking take longer will show up as excess amp draw, when you get one solid click from the starter then start shopping for starters

 

Using the strut bolt or anything else on the body as a jumper cable connection is a bad idea. You end up running most of the cranking amperage through body ground wires designed to carry about 20% of the amperage that the battery to starter cable carries. Any clean surface on the block is safe. Honda leaves a few inches of the ground cable bare, and recommends that as your ground connection.On a lot of 2nd gen cars, this cable is already in rough shape, especially in salt belt states. There is no circuit protection in grounding away from the battery; the biggest reason to do this is to avoid creating a spark that could ignite hydrogen produced by the battery.

 

I prefer to use an engine lift block/plate as the ground when available,,but the strut tower is close and clean

there is always a chance of shorting the battery in the good car if a major prob in the dead car,,,never jump start a strangers car pos to pos and neg to neg
use alternate ground on dead car
its old school thinking but it still applies..protect my stuff,,fix your stuff

 

Engine lift plate... great. Strut tower... still a bad idea; why risk the damage? Old school? Battery to battery as I was taught, last connection on the dead car negative terminal. I still do it that way a lot; blow off the battery top with a few strong breaths to dispel the hydrogen and turn my face away just in case. Fingers crossed.

 

It wasn't turning over at all. Called AAA. They ran test and said the battery was testing low. They tried to jump it and still didn't crank. I pulled the starter and had it tested at local Auto Zone. They said starter was bad. What do you guys think?

I just don't like aftermarket products. Although the price is attractive, the quality is sometimes terrible. The guy at Autozone was trying to sell me a Duralast for $114. Called Acura and the have one for $214. Has anyone had bad luck with aftermarket? Do you trust aftermarket?