*CAR WAS AUTOMATIC AND WAS CONVERTED SOMETIME IN 2009**

Sup all..

1990 Civic Dx
D15B7 block
D16Z6 head
P28
Custom harness (not half assed)
5 speed


Anyways, ever since I purchased the car, it made a slight grinding noise from the starter. Nothing that was a nuisance, it just didnt sound like most cars.
About 3 months later I was driving the car and it just died. It wasnt dizzy or alternator and we couldnt pin point it so we swapped in a Z6 head with OBD1 stuff. I got the car tuned and it was running perfect.

Now the car wont start. At first it was making a horrible grinding noise from the starter, but since it had life time warranty we got another one. Sometimes it clicks and does nothing, other time it grinds. Weve gone through four starters and same problem. Then we found out fuse 15 for ECU was blown. We replaced it and it keeps blowing it. ECU tested out fine though, I tried out another P28 and same ordeal.
We thought the flywheel couldve been bad and maybe the plunger wasnt going in all the way so we swapped it out along with the clutch but it still has the same problem.

The cabin harness (pass. shock tower to interior) shouldnt be cut since it hasnt been messed with, and the harness that goes from shock tower to engine is new.

What gives?!?!?!?

 

and yeah who ever tells me whats wrong with the car and that solves it, will get $20 paypal'd.

 

ok my first suspect for #15 fuse blown is under the intake manifold close to the brace... (if yours still has it) there is a black and yellow wire in that loom that sometimes will short to ground from rubbing on bracket.. its a common issue i has addressed several times at my shop...take a look under and see.. and check with meter to be 100%.. report back on that and ill share a few more things that blow #15...


edit.. i know the above alone is not going to make the car run.. just would like to chase that demon down first..

edit.. also...by your wording you say you are having issue turning the motor over not that it wont crank and run..

edit...last edit... lol...please make sure your starter is directly grounded...sounds dumb but make sure..

 

my guess is main relay

but the starter making a grinding noise?? i know you replaced it 4 times... where the heck are you buying these?

 

This is a brand new harness and has new loom and electrical tape on it, so i doubt it had a short

 

Check your fuse #14. If the fuse looks good replace it anyways for good safe measures.

 

check your clutch switch like when you push it in to start it could be going bad

 

If you have converted to obd1 and you keep blowing fuses, maybe the adapter harness is messed up, what do you mean it is "custom"?

 

Why would you do that? Just check it for continuity with a $1 meter from a dollar store and know for sure one way or the other... Thats like saying, check your motor, if it doesn't start - or even if it does, replace it. Can't go about things that way, by that logic how do you know the fuse you put in is any good.

Just check 'em with meters or testers - not your eyes. Then there is no guess work.

 

When you say the car won't start - does it do nothing when you try and crank it? Have you lifted the carpet on the passenger side to see what codes you might have - assuming your engine light is on?

Lets get the basics out of the way - are you sure the battery has a good charge? The civics have a low voltage interlock/lockout system. They won't even try to crank unless the battery has enough juice. This saves you from burning out the starter in the first place. Are you sure the starter is bolted down cleanly? It pulls ground through the engine casing so that means your grounds have to be solid. From what I can see, a blow 15 fuse should not stop the car from cranking? Does it crank or no? Does it just not fire up but it does crank? It sounds like the starter needs to be shimmed to me.

 

short in the engine harness, check the o2 heater.

 

grinding noise- starter is not turning the flywheel or not bolted in right
fuse blown- my ef did the same i had to replace that fuse twice come to find out wen i swaped the head out i had pinched a dizzy wire wen i bolted it in. so try lookin for pinched wires or cut ones.

 

Fuse wouldn't blow unless you have a bad wire or connection.

 

No clutch switch, this car used to be autotragic.

 

Fuses can be blown even if they look good.....

I'd check your 0bd0-1 conversion harness as well. Check your O2 heater.

 

Whats the o2 heater?

 

The O2 sensor you have in your car is a 4wire heated O2 sensor. Make sure all your connections are tight/soldered/shrink-wrapped. I'm willing to bet that your problem is something very little and stupid that has just been overlooked.

 

try push starting it to see if it will even start that way...

 

ummm few q? who did the obd0-obd1 wiring, did u use a jumper? was it a dx before?

 

The "noisy starter" you heard was the solenoid not correctly disengaging the flywheel, this is a common problem when starters get old.

Since the old starter didn't bite the flywheel correctly (why you needed a new one), it ground down the flywheel teeth and made them out of sync. NOW, you have a new starter, however the teeth on the flywheel are damaged and will not allow the bendix to mesh with the flywheel teeth properly, hence your grind.

$20 bucks says this is your issue. The best way to prove it is to jack the car up and take off the bell housing cover/splash guard and look at the flywheel teeth. If they look bit to **** it's time for a new flywheel. I'd have that warranty'd starter replaced as well as the teeth might be a little screwed up from not meshing right.

This is what is happening to my Eclipse at the moment, which is why I understand your problem.

Here's a pic of what you're looking for
http://pic.phyrefile.com/n/na/nabste.../flexplate.jpg

 

he stated that he replaced the flywheel already...

btw dsm has alot of their own problems compared to civics really xD they like to have odd troubles...

 

My Eclipse isn't a DSM. Doesn't change the fact that what causes a starter to grind is incorrect meshing with the flywheel... end of story

It's like a kid trying to put the square block in the triangle hole. It's not going to work. Aftermarket flywheel ring gears are not a nice as OEM ones, is the ring gear OEM or aftermarket...?

Also, bell housing bolts could be busted, starter bolts loose, starter not shimmed correctly (if your starters need shimming at all), loose flywheel bolts, a cracked flywheel... plenty of things. I would open the access plate on the bell housing and have a look at the flywheel teeth like I said...

 

It does NOTHING when I crank it. I hear a slight click, but thats about it.
The batter has juice.
Cant check the carpet because I did an OBD1 swap to a P28 ECU.
I have a ground wire going from the chassis to the intake mani+fuel rail, and I also have another thicker ground cable going from the tranny to the chassis. Where else should I add ground cables too?
The starter is bolted down correctly.
How do I shim the starter?

 

Harness has been reloomed so its not that black and yellow wire.

Yah youre right, it wont crank or run.

How do I directly ground the starter? Ground cable from one of the 2 starter bolts to the frame??

 

"Prize" raised to $30 haha.