Honda Car Forum

I have 2001 Honda Prelude. When I go to start it, It clicks and makes a wierd noise like it's trying to start but then doesn't. It only has 79K miles on it.

battery

Your starter could of went. Or make sure you have battery power,

possibly the battery is going dead. that happened to us the other day. turns out someone left a light on for 2 weeks when we parked the car at the bus stop when we went on vacation. the batterey was all wasted.

There could be a few things, probably the battery. Did you check to see it aint in drive ?

sounds like you battery is dead or won't charge upcheck alternator,starter and battery

battery low, starter bad, worse case would be flywheel has broken tooth and it won't turn it because you are on the broken section.more likely the battery is bad.....

This sounds like your battery is low. With a 2001 vehicle, it is possible that the battery needs to be replaced; they usually do after 3-6 years. It is also possible that the alternator is going bad and not charging the battery. You could have left a light on inside the vehicle, and that ran the battery down. The battery terminals could be dirty, or lose, and not be making good contact. The starter could be going bad, and drawing too much power from the battery. If you are trying to fix this yourself before taking it to a qualified mechanic, try the following, in order.Check the battery terminal connections, make sure they are tight. Loosen the battery terminals, and clean them, using either fine emery paper or a wire bush. Clean the posts on the battery the same way. Replace and tighten the terminal connections.If it is not a sealed battery, check and fill the water level.If the car still does not start, either charge the battery, or try a jump start. If the car starts with a charged battery, take the car and have the battery load tested. This should be very inexpensive, most places will do it free to try to sell a battery. If the battery is weak, have it replaced.If the car will not crank with a jump, it is most likely the starter, and the car will have to be towed, (unless it is a manual transmission that you can push start) to a shop for repair.

fire4511 is telling you straight. If you do check your battery level and it is low, be sure to fill it with distilled water and not tap water. If it starts with jumper cables that tells you a lot. A simple voltmeter would telll you whether the battery is getting a charge from the alternator. Shorting battery plates can cause problems even during a jump start so swapping out the battery is a logical solution. If you do measure the voltage with a meter, it should read battery voltage (around 12 volts on a charged battery) and anywhere from 13 to 14 volts when the engine is running. The higher voltage is the alternator trying to charge the battery.The clicking noise comes from a start relay that doesn't have enough voltage to stay engaged. It just sits there and clicks until the voltage drops to a point it won't even click. Obviously, it won't have enough power to turn the starter. If the starter was bad, you wouldn't have the clicking nose from the relay until the starter sapped enough power from the battery to cause that relay to click.

maybe you need a new starter or a altenator.