Why did it take me so long to find this place?
 

Oh yea, prob cause i just recently got internet access. Amazing what you can do beyond checking email when you have the time.

Anyways, I just got a 98 civic dx hatch, and was toolin around looking for EV conversion info on it (just dreamin) and I found this site. I think all of the information on here is superb. My first planned "mod" is to get a scanguage, as soon as i recover from the shock of new(i mean old) car purchase...

For the last 4 years I have been driving a subaru Forester, im slowly entering in all my mpg info on it, wish i found this site, if i wasnt selling the bugger i woulda done a little aero on it and maybe a WAI (it seemed to get much better mpg in the summer)

So just a quick question, what is the consensus on starter wear when shutting off the car? Is there a big hit on the starter when you are using it maybe 15-20x day instead of 2 or 3?

I've been switching off at lights since September( about 4k miles) and original starter still doing fine on an O2 Cav with 82K miles. My starter would be cheap and easy to replace anyway.

welcome to the site baranfin. The answer to your question is a little more complex than 0ne might think. the starter has the job of getting the engine to spin over fast enough to set up the minimum RPM necessary to initiate combustion; usually about 200 RPM. To accomplish this task, it needs power and a ground. That may seem like a big DUH but the death of most starters is not due to overuse it is due to too little, or too much, current getting to the starter. If a starter requires (lets just make up a few numbers for this purpose) 10 volts, 20 amps and 5 ohms of resistance to turn the engine over and the battery is in good shape, there would be no problem, as long as the battery cables and all the conections to and from the starter were good. Because, if any connections are not good, then the requirement to keep the starter fed with what it needs, goes up, more voltage less current due to higher resistance. So then, the battery is overtaxed and the starter is underfed which causes excessive heat then burning up the starter and/or starter circuit. We all know that an underfed starter is a terrible thing!!!!!
Pay back is a you know what.
So make sure that all your conections are in excellent shape and it should last a long time (number of starts).
Oh, I also would like to remind every one that cares, electricity only travels over the surface of an object not through it. That is why the contacting surfaces must be kept clean.
I hope that helps answer your question.

if you are really worried about your starter, undo the two bolts that hold it in place, clean up all of the electrical contacts, clean the grit off it, find out what kind of lube is recomended for the gear (graphite? greese?) and use some dielectric greese on all of the electrical connections.
the parts of the starter that are going to wear out are the brushes and bearings, those parts might end up being as much as $30 from honda, but should be able to be found cheaper.

Thanks guys, quick info. I plan to go over the weekend to get at least the maint. manual for the civic. This site has tons of great info thanks to people like you. Looks like im going to be learning how to do more work on my car, probably more than im able to do with the scissor jack working in the street huh? Might have to invest in some tools as well.

Floor jack, jack stands and a few tools would be helpful unless you have a tight grip for removing bolts and nuts bare handed. Not being smart about what you said, just having a little laugh.

That is only true for ac current, dc flows right through the entire conductor.

But you still have to keep the contacts clean.