[Black S2000]

Well I'm not used to it yet after 4 months. I have a 2010 EX 5MT Coupe and the clicking noise the clutch engagement switch (used to lock out the starter when the clutch is not depressed) makes is terribly annoying. Does anyone have a fix for this or tips for removing or disabling it? I was hoping for a TSB but the dealer said it was normal for the 8th gen. FWIW I've mad MANY manual trans. Hondas over the years and none have a noise this pronounced (most had none at all).

 

[Aviography]

Chances are it's not the switch!

I had the same "clicking" when I first got my 7th Gen, however it disappeared by itself a few months later without anything done to address it, but came back 2.5 years later two weeks ago when I was doing the slave cylinder mod.

You can confirm it's not the switch that's making the clicking sound by depressing the pedal, and press/release the switch, you likely won't hear it click at all as I found out.

The "click" is likely from the spring and the shaft from the master cylinder, you need to pull the under dash cover off and apply spray lithium grease to the shaft with the clutch pedal depressed, and work it back and forth.

I did this and the clicking went away within a few days.

 

[Trip]

My 08 6-6 had the clicking switch. Use a piece of duct tape and tape it up to see if the noise stops to confirm it is the switch. You could leave the duct tape on but the one time you leave it in and hop forward into a parked car won't be worth it.

I ordered a second switch and was going to play with it, take it apart and see if I could modify it or something. The new switch ended up not making the noise so I swapped them.

My 7th gen Accords however did have the issues with the pedal / slave cylinder that came and went.

 

[Aviography]

OP,

Just to be clear, there are two clutch switches, one for cruise control disengage which is at the top stroke of the clutch pedal travel, and one for starter interlock which is at the bottom stroke of the clutch travel, when does your click occur?

The clicking I was referring to is the cruise control disengage......

 

[lpaudio2]

If it really is the switch you hear, you could install a momentary contact button to replace it (wire it in place of the switch). Pushing the button down is enough of a reminder for me and whoever else goes to drive it (shops etc) that its a stick and you cant start it in gear with the clutch up. Without the switch a lot of places start it before looking to see if its a stick.... how do I know? I used to own a car that never had a interlock... and watched a few times mechanics start it in gear. Ops!

I would guess its probably the same click / crunch that plagues many of us though... mine does it right now, quite annoying, but unfortunately its not a switch is the master itself.

 

[Black S2000]

It's definitely the start interlock switch which Honda really went cheap on (among other things on the 8 gen). The switch actuator is depressed when the clutch is engaged, when you step on the clutch the actuator pops out (kind of like a turkey thermometer) and the problem is there's no rubber washer inside the switch itself so when the spring pushes the switch out you hear the plastic actuator hitting the metal housing of the switch at the end of its travel.

I'm wondering whether I can just cut the actuator off? It's just a piece of black plastic.

Aviography, if you don't have a 8th gen then you probably don't have a click nearly this pronounced. I came from a 2007 V6 6MT and noise from anything associated with the clutch was very faint (if at all).

 

[Aviography]

It's definitely the start interlock switch which Honda really went cheap on (among other things on the 8 gen). The switch actuator is depressed when the clutch is engaged, when you step on the clutch the actuator pops out (kind of like a turkey thermometer) and the problem is there's no rubber washer inside the switch itself so when the spring pushes the switch out you hear the plastic actuator hitting the metal housing of the switch at the end of its travel.

I'm wondering whether I can just cut the actuator off? It's just a piece of black plastic.

Aviography, if you don't have a 8th gen then you probably don't have a click nearly this pronounced. I came from a 2007 V6 6MT and noise from anything associated with the clutch was very faint (if at all).

Black S2K, from the way you describe when the noise occurs, I still think it's the cruise control disengage switch which is at the top of the clutch pedal travel, unless you meant the noise occurs when you "release" the clutch pedal after fully depressing the clutch pedal to crank the starter?

 

[Trip]

Avio - As you mentioned, there are two switches on the clutch. The clicking noise comes from the one "on top". When the pedal is not depressed, the "plunger" in the switch is held in. When the clutch pedal is pressed, the "plunger" releases with an obnoxious cLicK.

I had thought it was the cruise kill switch but I had taped it up to troubleshoot the sound and cruise would still disengage. :dunno: Maybe the 'bottom' switch is a redundant back up kill for the cruise switch?

 

[Aviography]

Avio - As you mentioned, there are two switches on the clutch. The clicking noise comes from the one "on top". When the pedal is not depressed, the "plunger" in the switch is held in. When the clutch pedal is pressed, the "plunger" releases with an obnoxious cLicK.

And that would make sense, which is exactly I question if OP had identified the correct switch.

I had thought it was the cruise kill switch but I had taped it up to troubleshoot the sound and cruise would still disengage. :dunno: Maybe the 'bottom' switch is a redundant back up kill for the cruise switch?

Perhaps the tape can't quite hold the switch from making/breaking the circuit as the clutch pedal arm can? I don't know for certain but I doubt the bottom switch has a second set of contacts or uses the same contacts for cruise control disengage. As well, the brake light switch also dis-engages the cruise control, so even if the top clutch switch failed closed and didn't dis-engage, 99.999% of the driver will instinctively hit the brakes and that will disengage the cruise control also.

 

[Trip]

Perhaps the tape can't quite hold the switch from making/breaking the circuit as the clutch pedal arm can?

Hey . . . maybe that's the answer... A piece of loose duct tape that doesn't firmly hold the switch... just enough to keep it from fully extending to avoid the click.

 

[Black S2000]

Black S2K, from the way you describe when the noise occurs, I still think it's the cruise control disengage switch which is at the top of the clutch pedal travel, unless you meant the noise occurs when you "release" the clutch pedal after fully depressing the clutch pedal to crank the starter?

I can assure you it's not the one at the top of the pedal. If you go under there and push the clutch in (disengaging it) with your hand you can see the actuator/plunger from the bottom switch come out and hear it click. Then with the clutch still depressed (disengaged) you can push the switch in and out by itself and get the same loud click every time.