Being that most of you here are mechanically inclined I thought I could get some information about a car I will be repairing.
When turning the key in the ignition nothing happens. The bat. has power radio, lights ect. all function. I was able to push start the car. I am not that great at trouble shooting but my guess is the starter. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
NO IT DOES NOT HAVE A GIANT WINGUS BOLTED TO THE TRUNK!!! hahaha
Because you are able to push start it, it means the ignition is working properly. My guess would also be the starter or the wiring to the starter. I recall a trick of grounding the negative terminal of the starter to the chasis to see if it engages while the ignition is in the "on" position. This will help you troubleshoot a bit more.
Good luck.
Probably either the ignition switch "start" positon is bad or the starter solenoid is bad.
Starters typically don't have ground terminals becasue they are bolted to the engine block - a good ground source. Any terminals that are on the starter are positive and grounding one would be a bad thing. That trick is to run a jumper directly to the battery, but unless you know what you are doing, this can be dangerous.
It must be a trick for the old cars then. I remember my father doing it on one of his '70 challengers when it wouldn't start, to start it. It only took a screwdriver on the bottom of the car from a neg terminal to the chasis to started it. I can see why it wouldn't work for a civic.
eric-
on that car the starter solenoid was on the starter - he was shorting 2 terminals of the solenoid and "convincing" it to send power to the starter
i think i still have a screwdriver around here somewhere that got "welded" to the solenoid once from that trick