kelsa99

Hi, My 1997 Honda Civic cranked this evening while I was leaving school, as I was going down a hill I noticed it has cut off almost like it was running out of gas, ( yes it has gas) and a fairly new battery, It will not completely turn over and it will not jump off, It had been running fine. I didn't notice anything else. Any ideas what I can do or check next.
Thanks

sleeperrex

check your starter

RIZOBIZERT

Check the ground to the ECU. There is one located next to the thermostat housing on the engine. Follow the lower radiator hose to the engine, check the ground there, corrosion, etc. If you've got good power (12v) then you've got other issues. If the starter is okay move on to other issues. If it's a manual transmission, make sure the neutral safety switches are engaging. These switches are under the dash and engaged by the clutch pedal. There are grommets on the pedal the make contact with a pin on the switch. When the grommet wears out, the switch won't engage and the car doesn't know you have the pedal pressed to the floor. This scenario would not cause your car to die while driving, so make sure your grounds and 12v leads are nice and clean.

philosofy1

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sleeperrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">check your starter</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RIZOBIZERT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Check the ground to the ECU. There is one located next to the thermostat housing on the engine. Follow the lower radiator hose to the engine, check the ground there, corrosion, etc. If you've got good power (12v) then you've got other issues. If the starter is okay move on to other issues. If it's a manual transmission, make sure the neutral safety switches are engaging. These switches are under the dash and engaged by the clutch pedal. There are grommets on the pedal the make contact with a pin on the switch. When the grommet wears out, the switch won't engage and the car doesn't know you have the pedal pressed to the floor. This scenario would not cause your car to die while driving, so make sure your grounds and 12v leads are nice and clean. </TD></TR></TABLE>

the starter and gound wires wouldn't cause the car to shut off.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kelsa99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hi, My 1997 Honda Civic cranked this evening while I was leaving school, as I was going down a hill I noticed it has cut off almost like it was running out of gas, ( yes it has gas) and a fairly new battery, It will not completely turn over and it will not jump off, It had been running fine. I didn't notice anything else. Any ideas what I can do or check next.
Thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

the main relays are quite common to go out on hondas. the main relay is what controls the fuel pump, so it would be safe to guess this, being that your car cuts off has if it didn't have any gas.

one way to test it (quite simple) is to turn on the car (not start) where the dash lights up. if you hear a click near the left kick panel and a hum from the back seat then you main relay is good.

if you do not hear any of those 2 things, then i would suggest replacing the main relay. but to double check, look for power to the fuel pump using some sort of tester or voltage meter.

kelsa99

Thanks everyone, I am waiting on my son to come help me and we can check those things. (The car is an automatic.)

philosofy1

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kelsa99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks everyone, I am waiting on my son to come help me and we can check those things. (The car is an automatic.)</TD></TR></TABLE>

auto or manual, either way they use the same relay.
if it happens to be the relay, it is a gray box with a brown harness connected to it,
right near the hood release. not sure if it's visible when mounted, but i will say main relay on it in white.

VTEC=GOD

check your alternator also jst for the hell of it