My Honda Accord Won't Crank

Place the red lead of your multimeter on the positive battery terminal. Place the black lead on the negative battery terminal. Select 12-volt DC on the meter and measure the voltage output of the battery. If the battery has less than 12 volts of power, it will not start the car's engine. Charge the battery and repeat the test. If the Accord still does not crank with a fully charged battery, move to the next step.

Turn on the Accord's headlights and attempt to crank the engine by turning the key in the ignition. If the lights do not dim, the ignition switch does not send power to the Accord's starter motor and starter solenoid. The switch is defective. If the lights dim, the switch is fine.

Locate the starter motor and the starter solenoid. On the Accord, the starter motor is bolted to the driver's-side transmission housing and the solenoid is attached to the top of the starter motor. On the back of the starter solenoid, locate two metal contacts. These contacts connect the solenoid to the ignition switch and the solenoid to the starter motor.

Place the metal part of a screwdriver across the metal contacts and tell the second person to turn the ignition key on the Accord for 10 seconds. If the starter motor turns on and makes a humming sound, the starter motor is fine and the solenoid is defective. If the starter motor fails to crank or runs intermittently, the starter motor is defective and the solenoid is fine.