MikeSarr_GSR

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to post my issue to see if anyone could assist.

When my car last drove, it seemed fine - when I needed to re-start it to drive away it did
start, however I stalled the car (doh) I was not thinking clearly. When I tried to re-start it and all it did was crank.

1.) checked spark through the coil - spark there, just yellowish red
2.) checked spart through the #1 plugwire and plug - spark there, same
3.) at first the charging system was not audible on the second key position
4.) thought it would be a fuel pump. ordered fuel pump.
5.) the next day, the car's charging system was audible but weak. I changed
the pump. + to +, - to -, no go. this pump is louder than the stock one for sure.
6.) tried a coil - no
7.) tried an igniter - nah uh
8.) tried both new coil, igniter - nope
9.) relocated the upper ground strap to a more secure location on cyl head
10.) made new cable to replace the corroded one from the + term to the fuse box
11.) no go - went to a mechanic, he said: "bring it on in here and we will put a distributor
in it"
12.) said, well - why not. went and got me a reman distributor at Advance Auto - Cardone.
13.) 3 days drama, then finally got the part. put it in, it was 180 out of phase, reversed the chuck so the rotor was facing #1 at TDC instead of #4. Tested it again, no go. turns out the disty was very hard to turn by hand, so I returned it.
14.) motor is in time, the timing belt is intact, the head and block is indexed.
15.) I am beginning to think it is the main relay.

???????????????????

- where is the main relay in this car? tried to find it for about an hour tonight with half the dash removed under the steering wheel. learned that the map sensor is under there... weird.

As you can tell, I am a 'parts changer' not an electronic diagnostic guy. I am getting to the point where I need more pointed advice. Has anyone been in my shoes with a 230K mi 1986-87 FI Civic or CRX?

I appreciate any input or feedback. Thanks again,

Mike

falkenfighter

if you can hear the fuel pump then its not the main relay. if the PGM FI light doesnt come on and you cant hear the pump then its probably your relay. to get to it you need to un bolt the fuse block and move it so you can see way up begind the dash, its almost directly above the fuse block

its a small black box with a brown piece that the wires plug into, 7 wires i believe

pull the black cover off and solder all the connections, careful not to bridge them then put it back in and see if it works, most of the time a connection in them is bad so its a simple fix that will save you some cash

MikeSarr_GSR

hey man, thanks for the info. I'm away from the car right now so I will have to take a look when I get over there. yea you can hear the pump, the PGMFI light does come on and go out normally before attempting to start the car. looking at the schematic on the main relay it seems like it can cause several independent problems in the fuel injection system. maybe I will pull mine and see if I can have a tech test it.

falkenfighter

you dont have to have it tested, just solder the connections and try it again, thats all that goes wrong with them

damian86

i have a 1986 honda civic hatchback si and i was driving it around i stopped to put gas in it wehn i got back in i noticed my pgm fi light didnt come on when i tried to start it it just puttered a few times and died. it did this for id say 2 more turns then it started i drove it home and everything seemed to be fine then the next day i went to start it and nothing so i made sure im getting fuel and spark but still nothing i still cant figure out why my pgm fi light will not come on any ideas what it might be?