Whats up Community,

I have had this issue for about a month or so now, At first I figured it was a routine / minor issue, I swapped the Main Relay out of the 91 CRX that I own, The car ran for about a day or 2, and then I came back upon the same issue i was having prior, inwhich I was unable to start my car, So the first thing that came to mind, Was check my grounds, I've checked every ground To my knowledge especially the one near the hood latch.

Grounds = Checked

Then I went checked all my fuses, Even if they did not relate to the issue, figured while I was under the dash to check them all. Every fuse has a non corroded contact point, and appeared to be fine.

Fuses = Checked

Tested the Fuel pump its self to ensure connection is good, Crossed Sending wire (yellow / black ) with power wires (black / yellow) Fuel pump kicks on no problem. So its clearly not my fuel pump.

I started messing with the relay, checked all the solders for a dry joint or sign of overheating and a cracked solder. No signs of any evidence of a bad solder, so i started checking for shorts in the wires,



As you see above, I've started de pinning the plug in order to closer find the short, All the while I've taken alot of precaution to ensure i do not bump anything together, The Green And black (2) wires that is in the 8th position seems to be where the short is, BUT To test if it was a short, Just today i clipped the pin off, re wired / pinned the wires, and plugged it up, Still no dice, So the connection is good now, so thats out of the picture.

The relay I currently have is only 2 days old, So its 100% out of the picture that its my issue. I always hear the first click, But the 2nd gate is not creating the finished connection



What is really confusing me... is how when i am able to jiggle the wire and sometimes enable my relay.... but fresh connections has not helped at all. I am at all loss been researching and working on it for some time, Something tells me its something entirely too simple and i am over looking it, but i cannot put my finger on it.


Thanks for any and all help in advance.

 

So I know this is frustrating, but I want to be clear. What I understand so far....You have a new main relay and you have rewired the harness. When you turn the key the relay is not fully engaging and you don't hear the second click = no start. But then you can jiggle the main relay/wiring and it will work?


Here is what I would do:
1. Meter all the wires one at a time, while the car is in a "no start" condition. (note which wires had voltage or ground)
2. Then meter all the wires while the car is starting. (note which wires had voltage or ground)
3. What changed? This will point you toward the connection that is failing.

Another possibility
A relay is a mechanical device with moving parts. Open the relay so you can see the coil and the contacts inside. Then connect the relay and cycle it. You should be able to see the contacts move and physically check that the connections are engaging.

 

check your icm (ignition control module) thats located in the distributor rotor, check the coil as well while your at it...

 

So I see you did some electrical stuff, but what is the problem?
Starter not cranking, fuel pump not whirring, etc... what?

http://techauto.awardspace.com/mainrelay.html
Take a look towards the bottom of this page.
In your diagram, #2 and #8 are grounds.
8 goes to ECU
2 grounds at your thermostat housing.
Everything else gets powered up when the relay is working.

 

Its not entirely rewired no, Just the 8th pin connector with the green/black wire (to ECU) A12/A14 pins


I recently had my multimeter stolen by an old roomate...Ill need to pick up a new one tomorrow,


Ignition control module is good, I already swapped my brand new distributor with my other crx's distributor,



Most things under the engine bay is new and been replaced, even the engine harness, The problem is definitely between the igniton, Main relay and Ecu.

Another possibility
A relay is a mechanical device with moving

I actually did just that with this one and the last relay, And inspected all the solder tips they appear to be intact. I don't Jingle the relay its self, When I would get the relay to click over, i would simply hold the relay still in my left hand, And nudge the 2 green / black wires in the 8th pin slot slightly (remember i have the entire thing depinned) and it would then humm after some time of fidgeting with it, and turn the key over it would crank no problem.

If you have anymore advice im all ears, Ill be working on this again tomorrow, hopefully will be able to either fix the issue at hand, or atleast get those voltage readings with a multimeter.


I really appreciate all the help thus far, i actually have never used honda tech, DSO / Crxcommunity are my main sources of boards. So Thank you once again.

 

Can you give some more detail?
Please.
"I was unable to start my car" is very vague.

Does the starter crank?
Does the fuel pump hum for a couple seconds when you turn the ignition to on?
Does the CEL come on for a couple seconds and then go off when you turn the key to ON?

 

Sorry If i was vague,


Car turns over, has spark,

I can use a paperclip to cross the Yellow and black wire with the black and yellow power wires and fuel pump turns on. Everything does as it should, except the relay, My car can literally run, if i was to fidget with the green and black wires in the 8th pin (to the ecu) to get the relay to prime the pump, once it primes the car cranks on the 2nd compression stroke every time, once its on, it'll stay on, until i turn the car off, upon turning it off, i would have to play with my relay again until it actually re engages the 2nd gate on the relay,


So to answer the question,

1. Yes it starts cranks sparks and has fuel when the relay successfully engages

2. CEL comes on, and the Relay Clicks when in Key position 1 upon entering the next key position to prime the fuel, nothing happens. CEL stays on until i actually engage the relay by moving the wires almost as if it was to have a short, (which i have already checked for by cutting and creating new connections with new pins). So i do not believe it has a short.

3. When I mess with the wires, I am not violently shaking the relay, Im simply moving just 1 pin slightly until it reacts.

4. The car runs flawlessly upon starting.

 

This is GREAT NEWS. You know exactly where the problem is which can be the hardest part.

Just complete the connection.

 

Yep, Its a brand new relay, the lady at honda always helps me out when i need it and replaced the main relay for free of charge for me even though most electrical parts are a 1 time deal,

i have few posts on here, and im not great at electrical, but im not entirely an idiot about it either, haha Still learning about electrical, but when it comes to mechanical things I am FARRR more comfy with those issues haha, I think i'd almost rather strip my entire block down and put it back together then handle this bullshit issue

Its been a pain in my ***, as I've been trying to complete that connection, I do believe that the connection loss is on that connector 8 to the ECU, i think its either grounding out some where due to age, Fried, or old dried up copper became brittle and broke some where and i have a faulty connection through out my main harness,

What Planned on doing tomorrow was running a new wire from the 8th pin connector to the ECU.


Now this is where i am kinda confused, Where are the pins located for this,

This is a 91 HF, with a obd1 Chase bays harness, So there is no jumper of any sort, its all 1 piece, From what i have gathered, Its A12/14 on obd0 application, but on the obd1 application, these are for a radiator fan and temp sensor lol.

So basically, Which pins on the p28 obd1 ecu do i need to connect to, To try and complete this circuit.

and im not hacking wires, i actually have the pins that i need to re pin this new line im creating. Upon getting it fixed ill replace the entire wire and neatly place it all under the dash and tape it along the main harness.

 

I know you think you have it narrowed down to the main relay, but have you gave thought to the ignition switch? Is it maybe a touchy key? Next time try figiting the key around (slow turn, quick turn, hard push, soft push, etc) instead of playing with the relay wires.

I had symptoms such as you, replaced the ignition switch and it solved my problem!

 

A7 and A8 on the P28

 

Ty good sir.

 

So I got off work today, And took a strand of wire, from the 8th pin on the relay, and popped open the Ecu and pressed the end of the wire onto the 7A pin behind the plugs going into the Ecu, Relay primed as it should, tried and tested about 10 times, everything is working as intended now, its nearly dark though so tomorrow i should have everything re pinned crimped and tidied up back under the dash.


I really appreciate your help 4drEF and gringo7718.

 

Would ur starter crank with a bad main relay?