ej.jaybee

so basically i was just using my car yesterday normally, i accidentally threw a cigarette between the steering column and when i got home i tried to look for it and it was frustrating because it just disappeared. i took off a couple clip off plastics under the dash and steering column to look in between the wires and such

idiot me forgot i did pull it out earlier on the trip home. this morning i tried to turn my car on and everything works, radio, lights, foglights, windows etc.. everything,

but when i get to the crank position, it wont crank but my radio turns off (like how it normally does when u turn the vehicle engine on)

i can hear my fuel relay run so i doubt thats the problem. i was literally just using it last night. kinda weird it wont start now.

maybe i loosened up a wire or such? i was thinking it was my starter or my ignition switch but how can this be? when i was just using it and everything was normally fine

from what my mechanic said over the phone, if i can push start it and run it normally (which i do now and i try to avoid turning the car off until i get home) then its not a starter, battery, alternator, fuel or spark problem.


please help. thanks in advance!

ej.jaybee

im sorrym to change the title, i totally forgot, i apologize. another thing about it is that, when i turn on the fog lights and head lights, radio, etc.... nothing seems to be faulty. headlights and dash lights dont dim if i try to crank on (III). its basically a normal car but just wont get the starter to start and crank.

another question of mine is that, before a starter goes out, wouldnt there be signs? i mean it wouldnt just die right away right? because im more into thinking that i messed up a wire around the steering column and around the fuse box but i can be wrong...

another question is, do 92/95 hondas have ignition fuses? brake/clutch fuses? thanks again!

ej1love

do you have an alarm? something similar happened to me it was b/c of my alarm...

blu3fan

well if u threw a cig in there you prolly burned a wire.... pull the column out again and look carefully for anything thats burned. youd be surprized what a cig will destroy
i would check the wires that go from ignition switch

ej.jaybee

idk if the previous owner had an alarm on this, ill double check, ill try to post pictures later on. but if it did, would i just unplug the box for the alarm off and then try?

Former User

Creating a thread title that summarizes your specific tech problem helps you get more responses by letting members know what specific information is needed -- Title edited.

ej.jaybee

it wasnt a lit cigarette, it was just a stick my friend gave me and i was going to save for later. other than the ignition switch preventing the crank, would there be anything else around the fuse box or the steering column?

when i told my friend to crank it, i was listening in front of the engine bay and i hear clicking on my under the hood fuse box, which i guess is the main relay? but not the starter...

ej.jaybee

thanks, and i apologize, i was gonna go back to changing the title after i wrote the post and i totally forgot. thanks ronj!

ej.jaybee

anyone else with an idea? theory? thanks!

Tyler2616

Just check all your relays and stuff, get someone to try and crank it and listen for your starter to try and engage. If don't hear no clicking then trace your wires on harness and look at fuse boxes for the starter relays.

ej.jaybee

these are the thing ive tried already in a list.

-Battery
thought it was the battery. not giving that right amount of amperage to make my starter go off can be at fault. i was wrong. it wasnt the battery becase i got it charged. *i also sanded negative ground to chassis and changed battery terminals.

-Starter
thought it was my starter but i jumped it and it cranked and turned on my engine. i put a jump on the positive battery output and its other end to the starter and it cranked, which means my starter isnt broke right?*

now if the starter isnt broken, the other two cults im thinking are the ignition switch or my neutral safety switch. unfortunately the previous owner bypassed the neautral safety switch and i have no idea where it is, but my ignition switch looked perfect. theres no problem with my car (radio works, windows, sun roof, bass, amp, foglights etc...) but theres no crank on position 3 in the key cylinder.

those are the two things i think that is preventing my car to crank. now if it was the bypassed neutral safety switch, where would i find that wire? for instance a diagram of the wires to see where it connects and where and what wires its wrapped in with stock.

thanks all for advices

Crx150zc

Most people cut the black wire with a white stripe to install an alarm or kill switch, this a a larger that goes from the ignition to the fuse box, look for any tampering with this, there should be no "branches" off the ignition wires to any relays or any thing else, if there is just remove the aftermarket wiring and patch the broken/cut wire.

ej.jaybee

wonderful wonderful! i noticed something odd about the way theninstallation of the ignition switch is. i know theres ignition coils thats has two screws holding it in place to the cylinder, and the ignition coil has two harnesses which 1, goes to the fuse box, and two, which i dont know...

all i know about the other harness is that it shouldnt have any branches but this civic did. i didnt do anything about it but ill check it and let you guys know how it goes. thanks! wonderful. this might be the culprit. ill take a picture of it too...

thankss

ej.jaybee

these are the pictures i took. im trying to figure out what this is
pic1
pic2

and the bottom (looks like a relay, says door, 12.V ACC etc..) black box
pic3

the reason i ask is because they are both bypassed or something to the ignition switch wires. i have no idea why though. the previous owner bypassed the clutch to where i dont have to hold it down to turn my car on. thanks all for help and advice. please get back asap thanks!

Tyler2616

ok that looks like a remots start system to me, and if so maybe some how a wire has got wiggled loose or pinched off and shorted. either way if u apply direct voltage from battery to starter and it cranks starter is good, now u need to try testing and tracing wires start at where ignition is with in crank position and see if its at cylinder, if so then keep tracing it down far as u can and then maybe u need to go outdside the car and try out there and see if it out there.

ej.jaybee

ive already have done that. if you want, i can post more pictures of the wires that are bypassed on the ignition switch wires. i even fallowed the little wire that goes to the starter solenoid. color black and a little white stripe that fallows down. no luck. if i really did want to take a good look at it, that means i would have to split electrical wires and tube off.

btw, what picture were you talkng about that looks like a remote starter? pic1 or pic3?

Crx150zc

go to your local junk yard and get a stock unmolested ignition wire set and replace yours

Former User

Have you checked whether the rubber stopper at the top of the clutch pedal has fallen out?

ej.jaybee

Hmm. I just tried to check right now, since I have no vision of it, I can describe what I felt. It was more metal that twist but either way, what if it isn't there? Can it make a difference or have any relate to a cars start?

Former User

Check whether the top switch (safety switch) for the starter presses on a rubber stopper or a hole where the stopper would be.

ej.jaybee

i dont understand what starter your referring too. the starter switch (in my understanding called neutral safety switch, if thats what your talking about) behind it? behind the metal frame?

i was also looking around using search again and i was also thinking, can it be my ignition starter coil? the one in my distributor? because my idle did sputter sometimes which means i had a bad distributor.. right? hmmm

Former User

Yes, switch A in the diagram. Check whether the rubber stopper (red arrow) is missing. Pretty simple.

ej.jaybee

ok thanks. ill check it right now and get back to you asap. and what if it was missing? idk if youve read but my neutral safety switch is bypassed but idk where the harness is. what difference does it make if its there or not?

Former User

Oh, then check whether the bypass is still intact. Is voltage reaching the starter solenoid with the key in ON(III)?

ej.jaybee

how would i test that? turn the key to (II) get sumone to try to crank it to (III) then measure the voltage on the black/white wires that hugs the piece that goes into the solenoid housing?