Hi! I searched the threads and I believe it is my starter... but not positive... I would appreciate help!

I have a 95 Sc400 - Yesterday when I went to start it I received the "'single click" from the engine bay. It did not turn over. I took my battery to Autozone and it tested bad battery. I thought I was in the clear until I got home with a new battery and SAME THING I checked all of my fuses and they all appeared good. I also checked the relays in the engine bay and none are cracked. When I connect the terminals to the battery they get REALLY hot. I don't remember this happening previously before with my old battery. YES the terminals are on the positive and negative correctly. I checked to see if I had any bare wires coming out and didn't see any.

If my starter is bad will it result in the terminals getting hot?

Thank you!

 

You may have a bad starter. I helped a buddy of mine with his starter on his integra yesterday. His car did the "click click click then start" type of deal. Go to autozone and they might have a onboard Microvat to test your starter. It sounds like it could be the starter! Good luck!

 

Another thought... You may high restistance (Ohms) on your battery terminals. It could make it hot? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Wipe off your terminals and make sure they are tightened down and free of corrosion.

 

Repeatedly trying to Crank a starter with a stuck solenoid will draw a lot of amperage and will heat up the Battery quite fast. An although heavily corroded terminals would restrict amperage flow and generate some heat, it would not produce enough heat to draw your attention. it sounds like a starter to me. Try tapping the solenoid on the starter while you have a friend turn the key to crank. It might not work if the starter is too far gone. I would replace the starter. Based on what you've said.

 

Thank you guys! I will try to tap it a few times in hopes that it goes. I will keep you guys updated I appreciate all of the help!

 

Does anyone know how I can poke the solenoid or starter ? It seems quite deep and it doesn't seem like I could just tap on it without removing tons of stuff.

 

Good Luck trying to knock on the starter when its buried under the intake. One of the joy's of owning the SC400.
If you can find an angle to actually see the starter....a long socket extension may help you tap on the body of the starter. I would be careful not to make contact with the +lead to the starter.
Your other option is to start gathering parts for the replacement starter or contacts.

 

Ding Ding Ding!

 

Terminals were new and very tight. So far I have everything taken apart and I am looking at the starter. It was starting to get dark so I will resume tomorrow. The metal bar above the bolts and wiring is going to be tough. It looks like it will be VERY hard to unbolt the starter. Does anyone know an easy way to perform this task?
Thank you to everyone again!!!

 

I tried to be careful and remove the plastic casing around the wiring harness that is in your way, but like nearly everything plastic on a 20 year old car it was very brittle and began to break apart. At that point I just smashed it to pieces and re-loomed all the wires. With that plastic out of the way you can maneuver the wires a bit and getting the rear coolant bypass off is pretty straightforward. For the starter you will need either a 14mm flex head ratcheting wrench or something similar. I used a flex head socket wrench with a long handle I purchased from Lowe's for about $50, not too cheap, but you can't reach those bolts with any standard tools. And just be patient when trying to bolt the starter back in, the bolts can be tricky to line up.

Lextreme has some pretty good info here http://www.lextreme.com/starter.html

On a side note after after I had rebuilt the starter and re-assembled everything I would still get the single click. All the connections are new and very tight, but it turns out the ground cable from the battery going to the frame was bad. So make sure you either thoroughly check your cables or just replace them. Good luck.