Car: 1997 Honda Civic DX

Well im fixing a car for a friend, car wouldnt start before. The alarm was causing it to not start. Removed it and it ran. A few hours later started the car again, reved it up and it just shut off.

Today I went outside messed with some of the wires that were cut with the alarm install, all are well.

The car isn't getting any spark or fuel. The main relay isn't clicking, which im sure is the reason for no fuel. But also. When you turn the key to "ON" the cel doesnt come on for a second and turn off like it should. It doesnt come on at all.

Although earlyer when the car was running it did come on and the car started. So I know if the cel light comes on like it should the car will start...And if not nothing happens.

All help will be greatly appreciated.
Derek

 

ECU fuse my friend or you fried your ECU...

 

either the bulb is bad, the fuse is popped, or the wire from the ecu to the cluster is damaged.

 

no, becasue his car is not getting fuel/spark, so the ecu is not getting power...

the ECU fuse is blown, or the ECU is toast.

 

Does the oil pressure light come on?

Check whether the critical ground wire attached to the thermostat housing is loose, disconnected, or corroded. If that's fine, try swapping in a known good ECU.

 

to be honest, I didn't read his whole thread, just the title.

If that's the case, then jdmiam is right, buy a new fuse, or a new ecu.

 

Can someonje direct me to what wires give the ecu power. Im thinking it may be a wire, the person who installed the previous alarm wasn't too smart. Put everything I could to oem spec.

How could I go about checking the power to the ecu, were does it get the power from? Also Ill check the ECU later today and see if it may be the culprit.

 

Well before you check the wires, check the fuses. Certainly smarter to rule fuses out first since they're easiest to check.

 

From what I understand that the ecu fuse in the civic is number 31. Checked it and it wasn't blown, ill go ahead and change it anyhow. Maybe it is just defective.

 

A blown ECU fuse or main relay fuse will cause the CEL to stay ON, whereas a bad ECU ground or a bad ECU will instead prevent the CEL from turning on at all. As I posted earlier, your CEL never turns ON, so logically you should first focus on a bad ECU ground wire. If that's fine, then try swapping in a known good ECU.

By the way, fuse 44 under the hood is the main ECU power fuse.

Does the oil pressure light come on?

 

Listen to RonJ he really knows his stuff and is a big help.

It sounds like the ground could have come loose or have been cut and not repaired correctly.