WON'T crank over with key

patrick4588

Integra God
ive been trying to figure this crap out, but i cant. so i need some outside opinions on what it could be. basically my key quit starting my car. it started out to be every now and then. and sometimes i would turn the key, it would hesitate a second and then crank over. now when i say it wont start, i mean that the key wont make the engine turn over. fuel pump primes and everything works normally other than that. i have still been driving the car, i just either push start it or jump the starter. the starter works fine when 12v signal is sent to it, so i either have a broken signal wire (doubtful since it started as an intermittent issue) or something else. i have checked all my fuses and they are good. the ignition switch is decently new, and only about 2 yrs old (bought new from the dealer). my head unit and all other power things do cutoff like they should when i turn the key over so i think the ignition switch is fine. any suggestions?
 
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acclude

cheap bastard
Well it sounds like the ignition switch and the starter are both working fine.

That really only leaves two possible things left. The clutch bypass switch and the starter cut relay. I'd check those before doing anything else.
 

patrick4588

Integra God
clutch bypass is unplugged, so it would be pretty crazy if thats what it was :) where is the starter cut relay? i dont know if my 95 has that?
 

acclude

cheap bastard
That could be it, if the clutch bypass switch is disconnected, then you have to have it jumped to keep the starter from being disabled. And the fact that you have a clutch switch also means that you have a starter cut relay. It on the drivers side pillar kinda near where the PGMFI relay is. The clutch bypass switch has two wires. One goes to ground (solid black) and the other one goes to the starter cut relay (black/blue or black/red I think). The clutch bypass switch is what supplies the ground to the relay. It will only supply ground when the clutch is engaged. So your starter can only start when the clutch is engaged. To bypass the clutch switch, you'd have to jump the two wires to complete that ground.
 


patrick4588

Integra God
acclude said:
That could be it, if the clutch bypass switch is disconnected, then you have to have it jumped to keep the starter from being disabled. And the fact that you have a clutch switch also means that you have a starter cut relay. It on the drivers side pillar kinda near where the PGMFI relay is. The clutch bypass switch has two wires. One goes to ground (solid black) and the other one goes to the starter cut relay (black/blue or black/red I think). The clutch bypass switch is what supplies the ground to the relay. It will only supply ground when the clutch is engaged. So your starter can only start when the clutch is engaged. To bypass the clutch switch, you'd have to jump the two wires to complete that ground.
Click to expand...
hmmmmm. will look at tomorrow :lol:
 

sugarfree135

matt
He is right about the clutch switch if it is unplugged it will never complete the ground to start the car but my question is how the hell did it get unplugged in the first place because that circuit has a lock on the plug that you have to depress to actually unplug it, there is another plug on the clutch pedal that works the opposite for the cruise control and that one does just come right off. If you look at the color of them you should be able to tell cause the cruise circuit has a whitish kinda clear plug while the clutch safety switch is a blue plug i believe (it's been a while since i've been under there lol) But check the colors of them and if i remember right the safety switch plug is mounted higher than the cruise switch on the pedal. If thats not it tho hook your multimeter to the starter selenoid wire on the starter and have someone crank the car to see if you have voltage there, maybe your starter is just taking a shit. In the end it's all just process of elimination :)
 


patrick4588

Integra God
its not the starter, i use it to crank the car almost every time. got under there and looked and the gray plug (assuming cruise control) was the one unplugged. the clutch bypass (yellow) was still plugged in. if the relay is bad, where is it located so i can swap it?
 
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sugarfree135

matt
I'm just saying that the actual starter selenoid in the starter motor could be bad and working off and on, but idk just a thought
 

patrick4588

Integra God
sugarfree135 said:
I'm just saying that the actual starter selenoid in the starter motor could be bad and working off and on, but idk just a thought
Click to expand...
i take a 8gauge piece of wire and touch it to the starter and battery to crank it everyday. it fires right up; the starter is fine.
 

jdmjim

nothing from nowhere
i looked at the diagram and pretty much you have the ign sw, relay and clutch sw unless you have a alarm. lmk if you need the wire colors. try bypassing the clutch sw
 

patrick4588

Integra God
i hate diagnosing! i would rather swap a headgasket than this electrical stuff. ugh. how can i bypass it?
 

sugarfree135

matt
I've had starters before also that would crank just fine with a screwdriver but until i replaced them they wouldn't start with the key. It's because of the resistance and the amps that are going to the selenoid. You're using an 8 gauge wire opposed to the 24 gauge wire from the switch (huge difference in resistance) If you're getting power to the selenoid wire then everything is working fine except the starter. Not trying to be a dick or anything but i've dealt with electrical a lot.
 
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