Hello. My brother’s 2004 Honda accord would crank but not start. After constantly turning the key, the car won’t even crank anymore, but dashboard lights still come on.
Does anybody know what the problem may be? Did I ruin something by constantly turning the key? Thank-you.
Ok. Thankyou. I’m assuming it’s the starter. Did I ruin anything by constantly turning the key?
You should not assume anything. Proper diagnosis is the key to a good outcome.
The worst that would usually happen from constantly turning the key is running down the battery. However if the starter was weak to begin with that might push it over the edge. (Starters have a short duty cycle.)
My brother’s 2004 Honda accord would crank but not start. After constantly turning the key, the car won’t even crank anymore, but dashboard lights still come on.
You probably drained the battery, it's only designed for so many starts before it runs out of "juice". It recharges by way of the alternator. If it's only cranking, you're not powering the alternator. You're supposed to only run the starter for a few seconds, and then let it sit for 10 or so seconds to cool down, then try cranking it again.
You could possibly have done damage to your starter. They make them cheaper, because electronic fuel injection powers them now, you should only need a second or two for the fuel injectors to start up. You don't have to pump the gas 5 or 6 times with a carburetor on a cold engine and then attempt to start the car and possibly flood the engine. Old style starters were a lot more tolerant of over or under-priming an engine to start, because it was manually operated. There was a tolerance factor and they were a lot more durable than modern starters.
