make this short and if more is needed ask, sometimes i start my car fine and other days i have to run a cable from the battery (black - ground) to the starter. i put a volt meter to the starter and its getting 12-13 volts and when u try to start it sometimes it starts (and holds 12-11volts) and other times it goes down to 1.8volts. (i guess losing alot of ground, and not starting). i checked my 2 ground cables and they look good. is there more to check? do they make better ground cables from trany and motor?
car not starting (ground)
- Thread starter techavluis
- Start date
xWIREMANx
New Member
Sounds like you answered your own question. If you run a ground to the starter and it works then you most likely have a bad ground to your motor or chassis or both. Check the grounds where they are bolted down to make sure they are tight and to clean metal. Paint and corrosion can cause a bad ground connection. You are still getting somewhat of a ground since you can meter voltage but when you try to start and voltage drops means the connection is weak and can't pull the current it needs. You could also check voltage across the battery when you are having that problem to see if it drops to the 1.8 you say. If it does then your starter maybe bad and causing a short.
did more testing today. and am getting mad cuz there is nothing much to a obd1 civic. am testing s**t that i know is working at this point. but the battery has 12.5v. then when you try and start it has 12.3v and ground at starter is at 2.3v and + is at the same thing as battery. and check both ground cables and cleaned them good. i check the volts at the end of both ground cables when trying to start and they both have 12+volts. wait! something just hit me........ brb!
nope, still having bad ground. i dont get it. also i use a 4 month old optima (yellow) battery
the start housing is even getting good ground when starting. i think at this point am going to get a new one all tho that one is only 4 months old. but its lifetime from autozone. so am going to get a new one and see. till then thanks for help guys and if someone thinks of something let me know cuz am not taking it out till late night. at work till late.
xWIREMANx
New Member
If you are jumping the ground and it is working though then it's not the battery. Are you sure it's not a coincedence when you do that and that the starter doesn't have a dead spot in it? Have you tried unscrewing the starter connections and cleaning them as well? Have you checked the wire for the solenoid to see if it is clean and getting the correct power? This doesn't sound like a battery problem to me. If it was you could check easily by putting a jump box on it when having the problem and try to start. If it still does it then it is the connections or the starter itself. If the starter has a dead spot you can have someone tap the side of the case while trying to crank to see if it goes. If that does it then it's a bad starter.
am sorry, i just saw what i wrote. am chagning the starter. not battery. (i check the power at the battery with volt meter and its great) anything and good till after the housing cable on the starter. i think the starter is bad. i looked at the cable to the solenoid and its clean and that is where its dropping ground. the housing to the starter holds 12v but the cable coming out from the housing to the solenoid is 2v when trying to start. (befor trying to start the cable has 12v)
i got my battery and starter at the same time (4 months ago) and i guess there something going wrong inside the housing. but its lifetime so and not going to break my head unless i chagne it and still have bad ground when trying to start.
FIXED! turns out the battery housing was bad. something from the housing thru the cable was no good. and also my starter only had one bolt holding it. the shop that put my act flywheel didnt put both bolts back on. so it was 2 things. thanks guys.
288bobby
New Member
i got a 94 civic with a d16y8 the car was running fine i went to start it today and all the lights came on but it just clicked under the dash well i jumped it with a screw driver and it started well i went to start it again and now the lights on the dash are really dim. the batter is reading 12.8 volts all the way to the fuse pannel under the hood and to the started buy wont even crank over need help really bad
dont post in an old thread from nearly a year ago, start your own to get help faster