Hi there,

my wife's civic cr@pped out the other day ... doing just that

dashboard side:






at the intake side:


the sound you hear on the intake side is some sucking (vacuum tubes seem ok)



I thought the relay went bad and got a new one ... same story - so its not the relay.

I disconnected the ecm for 5 mins and the problem disappeared (got NO error codes!) ... but I know it will come back to haunt us in full traffic on a rainy night when trying to escape a zombie apocalypse ;-)


The problem is intermittent - so when DONT get the rapid clicking, the car starts perfectly...

any pointers on how to further proceed with my diagnose?

thx, I appreciate your thoughts/input
Al

 

CELs?

 

when this happens, the CEL blinks in tune with the klicks - some 5 times per second

so, whenever that happens, I cant diagnose off the ECM

thx
al

 

I left my valve cover ground disconnected after a mini-me swap last week and it did the same exact thing. Check that, and while you're at it check your other grounds as well.

 

Have you tried cleaning and tightening the G101 ground on the thermostat housing?

You may also want to replace fuses 31 and 24.

If these don't fix the problem, then you should probably start shopping for a replacement ECU.

 

ok, will do that ....

hope its not the ecu, as I am living in south america and an ecu would cost more than the car is worth

thx!
al