I just went turbo about two weeks ago, and now I'm having major trouble with my car. It all started on the way to Bowling Green University, and University of Toledo for college visits with my girlfriend.

I had a check engine light right as we left my town, but I new which code it was throwing. It was the map sensor code which I've heard is a side effect of the AFC hack that I'm running (slight boosting while going up a steep hill will usually throw this code). I pulled over and reset the ECU and went on my way. The car was running PERFECT.

I made it 120 miles from home when I was cruising along at about 70-73 mph when the car just died. No stutter at all. It felt like I reached up and turned the key to the off position. So I pulled over to the side of the road and put on my hazards.

I had a full tank of gas and my battery was fully charged. My AFC wouldn't turn on, and I couldn't hear my fuel pump priming itself. So I called a few friends and was told to double check my AFC connections, all were ok. I had all my lights, horn, radio etc. so I knew it wasn't a power issue. I had no dash lights when turning the key to the on position.

I had it towed back to my house and started some troubleshooting. I called a few more people and was told to check out my fuses, and my PGM-FI relay. I looked through all the underhood fuses and they were all ok. I checked the underdash fuses and the fuel pump (fuse 13) fuse wasn't sending out any power but the fuse wasn't blown. I tested the ignition switch and its all ok. I tested the PGM-FI and the relay is all ok but its not getting power to it from the fuel pump fuse.

So I ran a fused jumper wire from the battery with a 15 amp fuse to the section of the relay where the fused wire normally went, and pluged it all back in. AFC turned on and fuel pump primed itself! I sat down to start it up and it just cranked, and cranked, and cranked.

I still have no dash lights, and I'm not getting any spark. I'm completly dumbfounded as the what is wrong with my car. I'm afraid if I replace the ecu, that whatever happened to this ecu will happen again.

Any comments or suggestions are welcomed since I'm so lost now and have idea what-so-ever. Thanks for reading this even if your as lost as I am.
Nick



[Modified by T25 civic, 5:10 AM 11/19/2002]

 

Maybe there's loose ground somewhere.

I'm not sure why you're not getting spark though. Is it cranking okay? Fuel pump RELAY okay? Or maybe something with the ignitor/er? Hmm..That's some problem you have. I don't know how your dash lights don't come on....Do your parking lights all work?

From what it sounds like, in my opinion, sounds like there's faulty wiring and it just shorted some stuff along with it.

 

I am thinking ignitor. It can be a common problem.

 

One time i couldn't start my car for no reason and i thought my battery was dead, but when i went and checked under the hood i noticed my battery connector was jsut barely not touching and then i had no problems after that lol

 

Did you run a resistor box with your 450s? maybe you fried your ECU?

Did you take your spark plugs out and see if you smell fuel? Do you have a
spark checker and test that the distributor is firing?

 

Maybe you had a short somewhere in your wiring and it fried the ecu. maybe plug in another ecu and see it works, that will eliminate whether it is your ecu or not. if it works, then check all your connections for shorts.

hope this helps.

 

check all your ground first...check the ignitor ground...

think of the last thing you did before all this happens...

 

The last thing I did before all this happened was install a lcd screen for my ps2. I know I know rice, but the girl needed something to keep her happy at meets and ****.
Nick

 

okay, undo it...and try to reset the ecu and see what happens...

it's a long shot, but most things is usually caused by simple things...

I have had a problem with one of the supra at work, it bogged and stuttered at partial throttle...everything was a bad alternator or weak alternator...we were stumbled, alternator tested okay...

it turns out, he install AF gauge and shorteed a few wires, causing a short in the alternator...as soon as we took out the af gauge, problem dissapear...

it may be worth it

 

Even though the car ran fine for about 4 days like that?

 

sorry...maybe OT....but how much was the tow

 

I actually had a friend with a flat bad trailer that was nice enough to come pick us up, drive all the way back home to get the trailer and then back to get my car. Only cost me 33 dollars for gas.
Nick

 

any other ideas?
Nick

 

Are you getting spark to the plugs? Do you have a stock dist. cap? Coil?

 

My mom's b/f helped me test spark to the wires and he said we weren't getting any. The cap/rotor, distributor, wires and spark plugs are all new. But I'm sure that doesn't mean anything. Damn I wish I could fix this....any other ideas or suggestions or maybe other things to test on why I'm not getting spark? Could an fried ecu be the cause of no spark?

Nick

 

TTT. Nick

 

Anyone else? Please, any ideas at all?
Nick

 

THE ******* BITCH JUST STARTED! I've been going over my wiring from everything that I've added to the car since I bought it. I did some more testing on the ecu to see if the ecu might give anymore indication of being good or bad since I was having so much trouble with locating my friend with the same ecu to borrow.
Well I noticed that all the power out of the ecu that didn't deal with the ignition was perfect. So I started to think something on the ignition, especially since I wasn't getting any spark! So I started checking my distributor assembly. Well nothing had power or continuity so I figured the wiring was the problem. I started testing for continuity and noticed the yellow/black wire comming from the ignition switch to the ICM wasn't sending power through.

So I started tracing that wire down and noticed I tapped into that wire for my push button starter. I checked for power at the IG. switch and it was good. I checked for power right before the tap I had and it was good. I checked right after the tap and NO POWER!!!!! So I undid the connection and just touched the wires together and tested it again. I had power then!

So I just black taped the connections together to see if she would start. I hooked the ecu back up and redid the connector up by the distributor assembly. I sat down in the seat, turned the key and my dash lights came on! I was getting excited now. Pushed in the clutch and hit the push button starter. CRANK, CRANK, CRANK.......VROOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM................s he ******* started!

So my dad is bringing home a soldering kit and he's going to solder the connection back together and I'm going to switch all my connections out to solder (sp?). Back from the graveyard and my love for my car has returned. I was almost crying when I was thinking about turning it into the insurance as a burnt wire harness lol.

Thanks to all the people that had any idea or suggestion for me to try. I'd have been lost without all of you and would have given up long ago. And a special thanks goes to my friend Ben. Who came 110 miles to pick me up, bring me, my g/f and her friend home. Then drove all the way back with a flat bed trailer to get my car, and brought it to my house and only made me pay 33 dollars for gas, plus bought me dinner! he's a good guy and I really appreciate it ben.

Nick

 

How were you doing your splices?
Solder is the only way to go.
Glad to hear it's working.

 

.............. Glad to see it was a simple wiring issue ...........

 

yeah I don't know how to solder and usually I just use butt style connectors with heat shrink tubing. But for the push button starter I was using some ghetto connector cause I was connecting three wires that were to big to fit in a butt style connector. I'm changing them all over to solder tonight though.
Nick

 

butt connectors are not that bad. i thought you just twisted them together and put tape on them.

 

Nah I'm not that ghetto lol.

Now that my car runs its back to figuring out why its smoking. Damn it never ends with turbo does it?
Nick