I bought an 88 crx about a little over a week ago, when i bought it was not running and still not running, within the past week i've put a brand new distributor, spark plugs, spark plug wires, i also drained the oil and there was a lot of gas that came out with the oil. It cranks but it does not start so i know i have a spark but no fuel, its a stock sohc dpfi, my uncle sprayed some carb. cleaner into the carb. and it started, does anybody know what the problem is? Not sure if its the main fuel relay, if its the fuel pump or fuel filter, any help would be gladly appreciated because i'm going to work on it after i get off from work, thanks!

 

Anybody?

 

Well you know it's a fuel problem.
check to see if pump priming or working

 

also check the main relay

 

When you turn the key on,

Does the check engine light come on,
Then go off a few seconds later?
Or does it stay on?

 

Yeah, the CEL does stay on, it did also when the car was running for like 2 minutes, i was looking at another thread and something was posted on ther saying if the CEL stays on then the ecu is bad, any suggestions?

 

check the code pull down the carpet on the passenger side kick panel and count the times the led flashes on the ECU.

 

Will do! We'll find later on today.

 

just to add, fuel filter is a part that is rarely replaced. good luck.

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1209675

Check the fuse that is pictured in that thread...

 

do a compression test on all 4 cylinders

 

Well i just got done messing with it, its throwing a code 10 (air intake manifold temp.) and a code 16 (fuel injectors), first i switched ecu's to see maybe if i have a bad ecu but i dont because its throwing that same codes also, then i changed the intake manifold temp. sensor and the injectors and still throwing the same codes. I also checked the fuse and its good. I did not check the main fuel relay yet which i may do tomorrow, my uncle thinks it may be the ignition switch and that the fuel pump is not working so we'll see tomorrow. If you anybody has any other suggestions i would appreciate it, thanks

 

do you know for sure if it is getting fuel or not? just because it is running on the carb cleaner doesn't narrow out much. it just tells you that you have spark, and that you probably don't have an air issue.

are the plugs wet?

it could be something as easy as bad gas.

you could pull the fuel line at the rail and run it into a glass jar. then crank the motor to see if fuel is getting to the rail.

don't light anything on fire.

you can also pinch the same line in the middle with your fingers and have someone crank it over. it should firm up as it builds pressure.

 

No, the plugs are not wet, and i think you may be right about the bad gas, can i just fill up the tank with fresh gas or do i have to drain out the gas thats in the tank right now? My uncle is a mechanic for the Honda dealership which is a plus for me, but he just gets lazy sometimes so i have to try in figure it out on my own. Its just a little frustrating after a while, but what do you expect, its only a car.


Modified by illwill33 at 9:27 PM 4/12/2005

 

if it was getting fuel (bad gas scenario) the plugs would be wet, and youd smell gas after cranking for a while.

how much gas is in it? how long did it sit?

 

If you feed it some fuel,and it starts then dies...
It is probably not getting fuel..

 

Well, just when i thought it couldnt get worse, now the hatchback is out of commission, this is what happened, when i first started messing with my crx i noticed of course that it has PM5 ecu, when i switched the ecu's i noticed that the ecu from my 91 hatch is a PM9. I figured what the heck, i left the PM5 ecu that came from the rex into my hatch figuring it has the same shitty sohc dpfi engine so i'll have no problems, i drive to K.F.C. to get something to eat, go back in the car and it starts, go to the homies house where i was there for about 20 minutes, i get back in my car to go home and now my hatch will not start, so now i'm stuck with 2 cars thats out of commission, it seems like now that my hatch is having a similar problem as the rex, do you think i have a bad ecu that came from the rex and i put on the hatch, any help would be appreciated. Correct me if i'm wrong, but a PM9 is not for a 91 civic hatch dx.

 

To answer my own question about the hatch breaking down, the ignitor was no good and come to find out PM9 and PM5 ecus are pretty much the same. Now i'm back to square one with the rex, what is exactly the problem when the CEL stays while the car is in idle?

 

In regards to the problem that i am having, how do i know if my ignition switch is no good? And can i take the ignition switch out of a 91 hatch and test it out the 88 crx? I have an extra main fuel relay which i'll try to see if thats is the problem also. Its throwing a code 10 and 16 but i replaced the fuel injectors and tested out the temp. sensor on the intake manifold, any suggestions?

 

or hook the fuel pump to a switch and try it out

 

Where is the main fuel relay at on a 88 crx, i was looking under the dash yesterday and i could not find anything, i know it's under the dash, but underneath what part of the dash?

 

Main Relay

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by superhonda.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The Main Relay (black cased Mitsumi) is located above the hood release and undwer the dash in an odd spot. To see it take the coin box out (3 screws) and reach to the left. You can see it with a flaslight and feel it. The bracket that holds it on has 1 bolt and it is underneath. You need a 10mm open end or combination wrench to get at this thing. Once you figure out how to get the bolt out you lift the relay up and move it to the coin box opening and unplug the connector and replace it. Unless you have a lot of time and experience soldering-go to your friendly Honda dealer and buy a new one--most keep this one in stock as the failure rate is pretty high for this (10 years or more of continuous service). The List price is about $60, but with various discounts it can be had for $40-45.
If you are in a bind-have the dealer print out the parts list and drawing showing where it is (also available at Majestic Honda's site). </TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you hear the fuel pump prime up when you turn the key on?

 

I appreciate the info., i'm at work right now but as soon as i get off i'm going to replace the main fuel relay, thank god my uncle is a mechanic for Honda, he has an extra main fuel relay laying around, i will put it on as soon as i have the chance.

 

Come to find out that the problem was the main fuel relay, i took it out my hatch and put it in the rex and it started right up and the CEL is not showing either which is a good thing, i appreciate the help! Now it's leaking oil like crazy, it looks like its from the tranny area, i hope its not the main seal.

 

Tranny is cracked now, great!