hi, i have a 90 crx si. bought it with a bad factory a6 engine. replaced with a sohc zc from japan. i wanted an a6 but the company here where i live only deal with japan so anyway the engine is in and no matter what the heck i do i cant get it to start. it tries and tries but nothing. all the light work on the dash but the fuel pump wont make a noise and the spark plugs get no spark.

i tried replacing the fuel relay 3 times and nothing. now it has a very very very complicated alarm installed (very annoying) but i had it disconnected and now there are wires everywhere underneath the dash but the guy who disconnected it said he only touched the wires that apply to the alarm. i thought maybe the alarm was disarming the fuel pump for some reason so i had the alarm disconnected. but still nothing.

ive replaced
fuel pump
fuel relay with 3 different "rz 0063"
gas (old gas) the car sat two years
also the timing belt, water pump, belts, manifold gasket, oil, antifreeze, clutch was changed

what can this be? ive looked forever for a crx and finally found one. now it wont start
again, no spark to plugs
no fuel pump noise, it tries to start but just wont fire up. someone said bad distributor? but if thats the case then why does the fuel pump not make noise when you first start the car? bad ecu? thats rare i believe

could it be cuz the engine is a zc? everything bolted right in
thanks in advance for any help. all these people that claimed to know crx like the back of their hand couldnt come up with anything

 

How many clicks do you hear from the main relay (What you called a fuel relay) when you turn the key? -Later, BR

 

no sounds whatsoever. no clicks no whines from pump. 0

the only two sounds the car makes is the door open jingle and the engine trying to turn over

one guy even said the ecu is supposed to make noises or flash lights?? either way it doesnt. something is just completely missing or disconnected.

 

Sounds like your not getting power to the main relay. Check ALL fuses in the engine bay and under knee bolster. Also, check the yellow with black stripe wire on PIN A15 (ECU plugs, the big white plug) for a connection. -Later, BR

 

change your main relay!! that happened to my friend after you do that if you have no spark then its your distributor, make sure all your grounds are down and tight in the right spots!!!

 

ill check the fuses again. ive changed the rz0063 relay 3 times still nothing. and if the distributor was bad, wouldnt the fuel pump still atleast make some kind of noise?

 

Also check and make sure your ground by the thermostat housing is bolted down. -Later, BR

 

check your distrbutor. make sure your rotor is still attached. had this happens to me. sounnds like it would turn over but not. on your fuel there may be a short in your wiring. get a volt meter and start tracing your wire so see were short is. Forgot to add it may be your fuse box under the hood. The ELD inside the fuse box can be not working.

 

The fuel pump should 'prime' for a second or so when you first turn on the ignition. If you unplug the distributor or the o2 sensor you should get a blinking LED on the ECU.

If you're not getting a click from the relay, a blink from the light, or a buzz from the fuel pump (and you've double checked the thermostat ground) the only thing left to do is get a wiring diagram and a meter.

 

i think you have some loose grounds. maybe where the water thermostat housing is

 

so it turns out one of the 10a fuses under the knee bolster was bad. the car now makes clicks from the relay and the fuel pump primes but the car runs very harshly and the engine shakes. Its not smooth. engine sounds like someone playing a drum. misfire maybe. and it wont stay on if i take my foot off the gas.

but it now starts (with my foot on the accelerator) but runs rough and the engine shakes like its not getting something.

any thoughts?

 

Rod knock? Check your cam timing. -Later, BR

 

no no knocking. the engine runs, just shakes to the same rythm if that makes any sense, i wish i could post a video. its getting better tho. still shakes but its starting to smooth out.

 

you prolly need new motor mounts. is your ecu throwing any check engine light codes?
does your ecu light flash any?

 

you said you did the timing belt so you might be a tooth off. one or two. it could be off and you still wont here any interferance when turning the motor over after doing the belt. make sure your tdc's are perfect and then while the car is running just very slowly turn the dizzy till it starts to smooth out. you may also have the spark plugs in the wrong spots on the dizzy causing it to fire in the wrong order. just double check everything you have touched and try again.

 

motor mounts are fine i believe. in the beginning it was a violent shake but it started to smooth out. i know this is going to sound ridiculous but if you have ever listened to a wrx with full exhaust in first gear accelerating slowly, the wrx sounds like it has a miss right? thats what the crx sounds like. bad example i know ha.. its cutting off pretty much, deprived of something

anyway i will change the plugs, wires and fuel/air filter. and i guess ill have someone check the timing.
whats tdc? and you want me to remove the distributor cap bolts off and move the cap around while the car is running?

 

tdc is top dead center. when you have your timing belt cover removed and the valve cover off, its the marks on the cam gear and the crank shaft gear. you will see what i mean when you look for it. they should be perfectly lined up when installing the belt or your valves will not be in sync with the pistons and fuel delivery and air supply. it messes the "timing" up if its not installed right. and if you didnt have new plugs and wires that can def be a problem. when all that is done just loosen the bolts on the distributer and adjust it. do not completly remove them. your dizzy could move and chew up the cam or dizzy.

 

get your self a haynes manual and read it every car i buy i buy a heynes manual for evey car i buy and study it before i even start anything

 

i changed the plugs and it got much better but still the engine shakes too much. then i moved the distributor around and it really didnt do much. moved it down and it got worse then moved it up and it got better. still not smooth.
but atleast now the car stays on without holding the gas pedal down. ill change the rotor and cap and the wires too tomorrow. i really dont want to change the wires cuz they are the thick red nology ones and they look nice but they are atleast 3 years old so we'll see

 

Any CEL coming on? What shop did you go through? Zero lift?

 

It sounds like a missfire, which can be cause by incorrect cam timing. Check that, even if you didn't touch it. Why are you spending money on things when you haven't checked everything yet? -Later, BR

 

Timing is off..

 

plugs were worth it, everything im doing is worth it i believe. the plugs helped out and im sure a tune up wont hurt you know, but i guess it all comes down to timing like you guys are saying. dont know how to check it but ill figure it out. ill post some pics. body is being redone too. it'll be nice hopefully. but its nothing if i cant get it running right ha.. will update. and no, not the zero place. thanks

 

and no cel light, no lights at all unfortunately. this car is confusing. tachometer does not work, no lights on the dash work. they did before the fuse that was bad was changed (the one that was causing the relay and fuel pump not to prime) now the battery light only comes on tthen the car starts. even the fuel and temp guages dont work.. crazy

 

i have your last problem only my battery light and brake light work nothing else including gauges, also when you turn on the hi beams both gauges fully spike out to the top, idk