electrical problem

hey guys i'm new but had my 91 crx for a few years now. my crx has a b18 in it and the basic mods i/h/e. and is still slow as hell, but thats not the main problem right now i have an issue with the car starting, it starts when it wants to. if i hook jumper cables up to it then it will start. but other wise i just turn the key and get nothing, the dash lights come on and everything but the car won't start. i checked and used numorous batteries and it happens with many differnt batteries. even if the battery is at 12 volts it won't even turn over sometimes and try to start but for some reason if i jump it it will fire everytime. any ideas on how to find the problem?

you've switched the battery with other new batteries, so that's not the problem.

battery terminals / battery cables perhaps? even if corrosion isn't visible, it's sometimes hiding underneath that plastic covering. it's a relatively cheap fix to relpace both the positive and negative battery cables. sometimes the extra current from jumping the car with jumper cables gives you enough juice to um... i dunno... bypass the corrosion?

other than that, what condition is your starter in? have you tried using the hammer trick, where someone turns your key while you tap on the starter with a hammer? the idea is that you knock corrosion loose with the hammer while it's trying to turn over, and if successful, your car will start.

i've never had a starter so old that it needed the above trick, though. i'd imagine it would have had to be damaged by salt and water or just very very old to be that corroded, but it's worth checking before you blow money on something that won't fix the car.

id say alternator, but if it wont even start when you got full juice then i cant really add anything to the conversation. maybe alternator? i dunno just throwing it out there.

well the car has a new alternator, and i tried the tapping on the starter but that didn't seem to work i thought it might of been in the ignition or something but i dunno.

well the car has a new alternator, and i tried the tapping on the starter but that didn't seem to work i thought it might of been in the ignition or something but i dunno.

your car doesn't have anything mechanically wrong with it if it starts when you boost it. Your alternator and starter are good. It's most likely in your battery cables and terminals. Check those as well as the tranny ground, and valve cover ground and thermostat ground. Make sure the two wires going to the starter are nice and tight.

hey guys i'm new but had my 91 crx for a few years now. my crx has a b18 in it and the basic mods i/h/e. and is still slow as hell, but thats not the main problem right now i have an issue with the car starting, it starts when it wants to. if i hook jumper cables up to it then it will start. but other wise i just turn the key and get nothing, the dash lights come on and everything but the car won't start. i checked and used numorous batteries and it happens with many differnt batteries. even if the battery is at 12 volts it won't even turn over sometimes and try to start but for some reason if i jump it it will fire everytime. any ideas on how to find the problem?
check your starter, my EG does that. I need a new starter.

It's most likely in your battery cables and terminals. Check those as well as the tranny ground, and valve cover ground and thermostat ground. Make sure the two wires going to the starter are nice and tight.

yes check your grounds like he said, I had a problem much like yours a few weeks after I bought my Rex, turned out to be a really loose ground wire from the battery

Having the same problem with my crx, have plenty of battery power, I would suggest checking your main relay, I bought one off e bay and even though it said "works fine", it most certainly did not. Also I have seen alot of people say in posts to check ground wires. In the process of doing that myself, Ill let ya know how it works out.

thanks for the help guys, turned out to be a dirty battery ground, cleaned it up and my crx started up just fine. thanks again.

Glade to hear it! Just because its connected..does not mean its flowing current properly..