Hi All,

I have a 97 Accord EX with a manual transmission and it has been havingan intermittent starting problem. I push the clutch in and turn the key and nothing. It acts like the clutch wasn't pressed in when I turn the key. No battery issues or anything. It does this for a few turns and after some random fun, it starts.(sorry not very scientific)The fun includes pumping the clutch, running thru all the gears, letting the roll backwards/forwards a little, holding in the clutch...etc. The fix seems to differ each time. I have noticed that it seems to happen more when it is colder out.

Not being very mechanical, I asked my local guy to see what it could be and of course he could not reproduce it. So I was hoping someone else might have an idea of something that I could look at or tweak.

Thanks!

 

As long as you do not hear a click from the starter when you turn the key, the problem is likely the clutch interlock switch. It is located on the clutch pedal. It may be misaligned or starting to wear out. I uploaded a pic of the location of it.

You could unplug it, and short the connector (wire side) with a paper clip. You can now start the car, because the paper clip acting like a closed switch. Just be sure that you start the car in neutral or have the clutch pedal pressed in.

If the problem goes away, plug the connector back in. If the problem returns, then the switch is probably worn out or dirty inside. Maybe some WD-40 will clean the connection in there. If all else fails, replace the switch.


[IMG]local://upfiles/5767/C48626A8F2C64DEB951BCF3ACF3C9BF3.jpg[/IMG]

 

Thanks for the help and the diagram! I squeezed in there and looked around and believe I found the switch (the yellow one in the pic). It wasn't lose, but I wanted to verify it was the correct one. From the diagram, I am 99% sure it is, but wanted to double check before I tried the paper clip trick.

Thanks again!


(now let's see if I can upload the pic...)


[IMG]local://upfiles/19109/F482B5D824B34418AF05ECAA2C5A7683.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/19109/EDFFD99248364B58B18942A1263712C8.jpg[/IMG]

 

Well, I shorted the connector and got the same thing. Turns out to be the starter. The guy at Checkers told me how easy it was to change the starter, so for $80 I got a new starter and had it changed out in about 1.5 hours.

Any chance that popping the clutch from time to time messed up the starter? Or should I just chalk it up to the thousands of starts that the car has done over the last 217K miles?

Thanks for your help!!

 

Popping the clutch does not use the starter. It uses the clutch to spin the flywheel.

Starter likely was worn out.