[ihasadelslo08]

So when I went outside this morning to go to school, I got in my car and turned the key to the 1st position and it started beeping at me, 2nd position and all the 'oh shit/sob' lights came on along w/ my deck, went to start it and everything went off. Turned it off and tried again and nothing happened that time. Popped the hood and checked the terminals, they looked fine and had a good connection. Checked the fuse box and one 7.5A back-up fuse was blown so I replaced it, tried to start it and nothing. Checked the alternator and everything looked fine. Got inside and checked the fuses and none were blown. I'm pretty confusled and outta ideas at this point. Went to try starting it again for shits and giggles and it did the same thing again, had power then went to start it and it died :bash. Frustrated and no ride to school, went inside and went to bed:sleep. Any ideas on what's happening would be great. Thanks.

 

[ihasadelslo08]

Kk, just went out there again and did that same thing. Tightened the neg terminal a little(was a little loose) and did the same thing again. Hit the neg terminal w/ a rubber mallet twice and the car did the same thing. Did it a 3rd time and it started up. Shut it off and tried starting it again and it worked. Any ideas? The ground looked a liiitttttlllleeee dirty so maybe that's causing it but I'm not sure. Thanks again.

p.s. The 7.5A fuse in the fuse box i replaced was to my dash clock so that works now, yay!! Doesn't keep the same time though so any ideas on that too? lol Thanks.

 

[iahmed1]

Not sure but really wish I could help, shit I know how it feels when your ride doesn't run before school. I commute to school so it can be frustrating. Before anything else even though this might sound stupid, I would try to use a booster cable and start the car with the help of another car.
Good luck.
P.S- If a fuse is blown, go from there when problem solving, atleast that's what I would think but then again I am no mechanic.

 

[ihasadelslo08]

Well I had narrowed it down to things: battery or alternator. Car was getting power so figured the battery was still good(it's not even 6 months old) and even checked it w/ a voltometer and it was good, so I figured if the battery has power then don't really need to jump it(was kinda half asleep still too so didn't feel like it xD). And only that 1 fuse had blown and i replaced it, but it was to the clock anyways so didn't feel a need to go any further into that. Thanks for the help though, and any other ideas are appreciated. =D

 

[andyflagg]

whats the condition of your power and ground cables?

 

[ihasadelslo08]

Ummm....the neg cable at the terminal looks really good(no wire frays or wire uncovered), the ground is kinda sorta dirty. Pos cable at the terminal is uncovered a little and a few wires are frayed, but nothing horrible, and theres no corrosion on the terminals.

 

[andyflagg]

when u tryed to start the car and nothing happened when u turned the key back to the on position did ur radio and the dummy lights come on?

 

[ihasadelslo08]

No lovely 'oh shit' lights came on and neither did my deck. AFTER I had hit the neg terminal w/ a rubber mallet they did each time, then started after the 3rd hit.

 

[ihasadelslo08]

And idk why, but after I had pulled out every fuse to check them and put them back it did get power and shut off again when I went to start it.

 

[andyflagg]

that is really confusing.. im not shure..

 

[ihasadelslo08]

Now you know how I feel.....='[ And I conviently had to go to a few places today so I got to worry everytime I shut off my car that it might not start when I go back out. =/ Luckily, I didn't have that problem but ya never know. Thanks for the input though, it's appreciated.

 

[andyflagg]

just keep ur mallet with u at all times lol

 

[ihasadelslo08]

Haha, that won't raise any ?'s to anyone I give a ride to...

 

[andyflagg]

as long as u dont have a shovel too then the ?'s shouldnt be that bad

 

[ihasadelslo08]

Actually.....I do, but it's in my trunk lol.

 

[andyflagg]

yea that prolly wont look good at all

 

[Effilcdar]

Well, first lesson. "backup fuse" on a Honda refers to a fuse that provides power when the key is off such as to keep time on the clock or to keep your radio presets.

Second lesson get a battery terminal cleaner brush(1-2 bucks). Its a little plastic thing that looks like a cross between an old juicer and a mushroom. Take off both clamps off your battery and clean out the insides of the loops and the outside of the battery terminals. Also use the brush on the contact between the ground cable and the body. (after taking it off of course.) Also make sure that your clamps have a good grip when you put them back on. They shouldn't move on the terminals when you give a firm tug on the cables. If they do loosen them and push them down on the terminals before you tighten them (terminal posts are tapered now might be mallet time). If its still loose a little piece of copper can take up some space and only costs you a quarter of a penny. After that let me know if problems still happen.

 

[ihasadelslo08]

Replaced the neg cable and the car is still doing the same shit. When someone came to look at it the other day it started right up(temp was also 40ish out). At this point I'm not sure if it's a temperature thing or not. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[liquidblue]

Replaced the neg cable and the car is still doing the same shit. When someone came to look at it the other day it started right up(temp was also 40ish out). At this point I'm not sure if it's a temperature thing or not. Any ideas? Thanks.

had this same thing happen to me. went through the same steps checked all my cables ect.... finaly since it was the only thing i had not done yet i changed the battery.... bingo! the battery had a bad connection inside it from the terminal to the platting. so sometimes it worked and sometimes it would work when i hit it. and lots of times it did not work at all. it was not a very old battery either.

 

[whthatch826]

Replaced the neg cable and the car is still doing the same shit. When someone came to look at it the other day it started right up(temp was also 40ish out). At this point I'm not sure if it's a temperature thing or not. Any ideas? Thanks.

he didnt say replace! he said clean.. i say pull off your neg cable from the body.. take a piece of sand paper and scuff the contact point, shit do all of the grownds. it cant hurt right! i suggest trying that before you buy a battery.