On Apr 23, 10:08 am, z <gzuck...@snail-mail.net> wrote:
> On Apr 22, 1:15 am, motsco_ <mots...@interbaun.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hank wrote:
> > > Hi,
>
> > > The car is a 92 Civic EX. My wife had reported a couple of times that
> > > it failed to crank, but I was assuming the clutch switch was being a
> > > little two picky. It's now happening to me, but it's not the clutch
> > > switch.
>
> > > When you go to start the car, there is electric power, warning lights
> > > come on, etc. When you first try to engage the starter, everything
> > > dies, as if the battery has been disconnected (or a fusible link
> > > blown). The first time it happened, I was looking around for a main
> > > relay that needed reset, but it reset on its own (probably less than a
> > > minute). It's now happened a couple of more times. The power is
> > > actually totally disconnected (for example, the radio pre-sets are
> > > gone, no lights, no nothing).
>
> > > I look at the circuit diagram, and see an "electronic load detector"
> > > and a couple of big fuses, but from what I read about that on usenet,
> > > this doesn't seem to be the failure mode. I search (usenet) for "main
> > > relay" and that seems to be the PGM relay, which has a whole 'nother
> > > set of symptoms.
>
> > > I've got a pretty crappy manual (chilton's) and it's not much help.
>
> > > Any ideas or advice?
>
> > > thanks,
>
> > > Hank
>
> > --------------------------------
>
> > Have you heard a 'snap' under the hood when this happens? It's often the
> > chassis end of the ground cable (black) from the battery. Corrosion on a
> > '92 gets in between the bolt and chassis. Also, unbolt the battery
> > terminals and inspect. Coat with vaseline and put it all back together.
>
> > 'Curly'-
>
> Yeah, your symptoms indicate that the battery can't push that much
> juice through the system, so it must be something pretty early up the
> chain. Could be
> 1) the battery itself
> 2) The connections to the battery terminals
> 3) the connections to the chassis or (rarely) the fusebox.


Thanks,

It's actually pretty embarrassing. The positive terminal was loose.
I had cleaned and vasolined them about a year ago, and tightened the
clamp down. The clamp was as tight as it would go, but it had slid up
enough (along the tapered post) that I could wiggle it by hand.

The first time it didn't work I had looked in the underhood fuse box.
When I found no relays there I looked at the negative terminal, and
wiggled it. I then asked her to try it again, and it started, so I
never even grabbed onto the positive terminal.

Thanks again,