1998 Honda Prelude Intermittent starting problem

Tiny
GUESS
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 HONDA PRELUDE
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 145,000 MILES
My car will always start in the morning and when I leave work but sometime when I stop somewhere the car won't restart. My headlights is bright and the radio works. When I try to turn the ignition, I don't hear any noises. My battery is less then 1 year old and rated with more power then what my car needs. The alternator(less then a year old) was check at Kragen and was told it was good. The starter is less then a year old. I also had the check light 420 so I took it to a shop and was told it was the Cat. Converter that might be causing the engine to not start. I replace that but the problem still exist. The check light did go away. The mechanic nows says its might be a defective starter but I'm a little weary since I already spend 1100 on the cat converter and cleaning out the engine oil ( They said I needed this so they could diagnose the problem)

Things I noticed:
Sometime when I get home, I turn the car off and immediately try to restart it and sometime it won't start. It will start the next day.

The car will start immediately when jumping the car and I could go somewhere and start it again without any problem.

I tried those portable car charger but it won't start the car. A jump by another car will start immediately.

Leaving the car for one to two hours sometime still won't start but recently the weather has been really hot if that has to do with anything. There was one time when I left the mall at 7:00 pm and the weather was cold and it didn't start. Only after a jump and started fine the next day as usual.

I am at the point where I'm afraid to go anywhere. Thank you for your time, if you could figure this out I be really grateful.
Saturday, June 21st, 2008 AT 9:13 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi Guess,

If a jump start works, either it is the battery or its terminals are not conducting well.

Remove battery terminals and clean them well.

If the battery is the maintenance free type, do not be surprised if they work intermittently and fails at times.

The cat converter should have nothing to do with the car not cranking.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 AT 2:19 AM
Tiny
GUESS
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Hi KHLow2008,

Thank you for the quick reply. Is there anything else you could think of that might caused this? I already tried cleaning the terminal. I was also told by someone that it be a sensor? Would a faulty sensor cause the car to not crank and would you know what sensor that is?

Thank you
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 AT 2:54 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi Guess,

No, the cranking is not controlled by any sensors.

If jumping starts, you should have a look at the battery.

Apart from that, there is the starter relay, ignition switch and starter.

If no clicking noise, the ignition switch is the highest suspect. Check for power out put from ignition switch to starter wire.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 AT 3:06 AM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links