Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage (solved)
 

This has been pestering me for about a week now, and it's generally pretty random about when it starts and when it won't. Usually I'll put the key in and turn the ignition to the on position, the fuel pump will start going, the check light will turn off, and the car starts fine.

Recently, however, I'll turn the ignition on, the fuel pump won't engage, and the check light stays on and the engine will turn over but not start. Sometimes turning the ignition on and off over and over will solve it, and sometimes the fuel pump will start going if you just sit and wait. But right now it's in my driveway and not starting. Any ideas?

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Forgot to mention;

93 Honda Civic, replaced the main relay with a new one due to googling for advice, but it didn't change anything.

only about 56,000 miles

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Try cleaning/sanding the G101 ground wire connection on the thermostat housing.

Check whether 15A hood fuse 31 or 15A dash fuse 24 is loose.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...cture_3216.jpg

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

I'm going to check out what you mentioned tomorrow when there is light.


This may be an odd coincidence but on 2 occasions, when the car wouldn’t start no matter what we did, we had the car towed. The tow truck left the car in the street. Not having anyone to push, I put the car in 3rd and let the starter motor drive me into my driveway (the clutch interrupt switch is not connected). On both occasions, I put the car in neutral after moving it and it fired right up. This makes me wonder if there is some kind of crank position switch or something that is causing problems. As a side note, timing belt replacement is way overdue but I don’t think the engine has jumped a tooth or anything.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Thanks for the advice. The fuses were fine, but sanding and adjusting the thermostat ground wire seemed to fix it. I'll post back here if it acts up again.

Thanks for the help once again!

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Okay, so messing with the thermostat ground wire seems to not be working anymore..

Loosening the nut holding it in place makes it "stutter", as if the fuel pump is about to turn on, but it never fully does. There are simultaneous sparks where the ground wire anchors. I'm convinced that it's definitely the ground wire, but i have no idea why it won't work properly when tightened all of the way. Help?

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

I have been having a similar problem. This started about two weeks ago. Right now when the car is cold after sitting overnight the fuel pump will not prime and the CEL stays solid on until I leave the key in the "on" position for close to a minute. After that the CEL goes out and the car fires right up. I found this out accidentally as I had the key in the on position while troubleshooting the main relay. Once the car has warmed up and I've driven it around a bit it no longer acts like this and it starts right up. Fuel pump primes right away like it should.

Things I've checked:
I've cleaned and verified the G101 ground. I might try running a separate new ground wire from that post to a place on the body to make sure there is a good ground there.
I've verified the main relay is good and even tried replacing with a spare main relay. Same condition exists.
I tried pulling the code from the ECU but I get nothing. This may be because I'm on eCTune though. I have to check with my tuner.

Have you tried pulling the ECU code? I'd be interested what it's telling you.

Here's some helpful links:
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/help-fuel-pump-not-turning-solved-2870148/#post44158175
http://techauto.tripod.com/mainrelay.htm
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/mainr...ion/index.html

BTW this is a 94 del Sol with a freshly built and tuned poor mans Type R. Car started fine for the first couple months. This just started happening intermittently two weeks ago and was fairly random like yours is/was. Now occurs every day. Once it's running it doesn't have any issues.

Hopefully we can figure this out together.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Terminals 2, 3, and 8 in the main relay plug run to the ECU. Check those three wires and their terminals in both the main relay and ECU connectors. In addition, terminal 2 should have continuity to body ground. If those are fine, try swapping in a known good ECU.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Pulling the ECU code shows nothing, the light simply stays on and does not blink. I'm going to try installing a new ECU next week for about $80. I'll check those terminals first though.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

This is called CEL code 0 (see CEL sticky).

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Looks like I also have CEL0. I have verified the three terminals. Also checked all 3 fuse locations. Made sure there was no corrosion and they are firmly seated.

Tuner says it's possible I've got a cap going bad on the ECU board. Going to try a new one (ECU) next week as well.

Thanks for the help RonJ

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

ECU arrived today, wrapped in diapers. lol.

I'll post back after I've driven it around a while.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

It appears to be working perfectly. Thanks again RonJ :D

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

I just wanted to update this thread as well. I also installed a new ECU and so far everything is working perfectly. Thanks again for all the help.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Hi there- new member here having the same trouble with a customers car. Its been a few months since last post. Has the issue gone away since the new ecu ?

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Actually got 2 customers of ours with the same issue.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

both 94 accord 4cyl automatics w/ g101 being on the side of the intake mani.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

went thru the whole trouble tree on this second one and its basically came down to buying a new ecu.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Only problem is everytime I try to troubleshoot another area of the car, somehow the cel will eventually go out and it will start every time. I think his aftermarket main relay (which was new 4 months ago) is faulty as well. Its very frustrating to have multiple ignition issues at the same time.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Mine has run perfectly since installing the new ECU in February.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

Same here, no problems since the replaced ECU. I found one on ebay for about $80 at the time, could possibly be cheaper now.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

i'm having the same problem with my fuel pump not engageing so by reading this post i'm also going to replace the ecu and hope this solves my problem so i can get my car running...

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

hi.... i have a honda odyssey 2.3 ltr - year 2000 model. my wife recently ruptured the fuel tank by driving over a large rock (!!!) and the dealer was able to fit a second hand fuel tank unit. I drove the car from there back to the house and then another 100km approximately. And then kept the vehicle for one day and since then it will turn over but the fuel pump wont start

I removed the second row seats, accessed the panel on the floor to look at the pump unit. Couldnt find anything wrong with the connections. Then left the vehicle like that for almost 5 hrs. Battery terminals were removed. And then when i tried to start it after 5 hrs ... it started without hesitation, i heard the pump turn over clearly. So i go an try to put the seats back etc, and now again the pump will not turn over.

I thought my StealStopper security system might be causing the issues, but i dont see how. I have tried disconnecting the battery and resetting the security system again but the fuel pump just wont turn over anymore.

HELPPPP!!!!!!

Omi

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

This is the Civic forum. Can't help you with your Odyssey.

Re: Car won't start; CEL on, fuel pump does not engage
 

i see the problems are solved on here but my dad had a similar problem and is currently having another. it seemed when it would rain, the cel would stay on and fuel pump would not engage. but for more than a minute. and now its coughing and dying sometimes. it may be an ecu...

did you guys experience the cel on and fuel pump not working for longer than just a minute??