first off love the site, but a couple of months ago i bought a 92 honda civic dx, i spotted it on a dirt road so i swooped it up for 200 dollers, i got it to my house and the camshaft was broke, we decided to replace the whole head cause we found a deal on one, we installed it, new seals gaskets and everything, got it back together and it wouldnt start, iv checked the ground on thermostat, checked the fuses, and the ground under my driver seat and replaced main relay with a new one. i turn the car to on where the lights on dash come on and my cel light stays on, if i sit there for 30 minutes it will go off and right when it does it will run clean as a whistle. cranks up fine. but its really annoying waiting 30 minutes to an hour for that light to go off, iv checked the code but it never flashes. can anyone give me an idea what i could do to fix it? oh and the car is original everything except head,,car only has 129000 miles,

 

You have to jump the 2p connector on the passenger side kick panel for the CEL to flash and give you a code. Do that and report back the code. Hope this helps: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/how-pull-cel-d4-srs-abs-codes-code-lists-1901557/

 

i have already done that. it stays solid. never blinks once

 

but if i wait 30 minutes the light will go off, relay will click and fuel pump will run and itll crank right up, and when its running there is no cel light

 

Ignition switch? Might have a short that isn't tripping the relay correctly.

 

took it aparrt and appeard to be clean,

 

cmon guys someone has had to of had this problem befor and fixed it, im considering on buying a new ecu.

 

Can you borrow one?

 

Fairly new to them myself and you might wan't to go down the list of specs: Engine, Trans,
ECU, any known bolt ons or mods, etc.

 

i dont know anyone else with a civic, so no ron j, is there any way i can troubleshoot it before sinking money i dont need to spend on it?

 

and beatdx, only mod is cold air filter, exerything else is bone stock.

 

Identifying and letting us, others on here anyway, know specifically what those are might be helpful. Busting a cam @ 129k must have happened for a reason. Check the ecu, make sure it's the right one. See if it's been chipped or tuned. http://www.hondata.com/techecuid.html

Post pics of anything you might suspect is wrong or has been tampered with and maybe someone will notice something that isn't according to Hoyle.

 

its an obd1 ecu, and not chipped. the camshaft broke due to no oil, it messed up the whole head so we replaced it with an new one and had new seals and resurfacing everywhere. no corners were cut.

 

not sure if this matters but it says my car was from honda of canada..

 

and it dont look burnt, the body of the ecu has no rust or any water damage anywhere

 

It's probably the ECU, but there are electrical tests that can be done to verify.

 

not being smart or anything i respect you ronJ@HT with everyone you help but if its the ecu wouldnt it not work at all? whenever the light decides to go off it runs like a perfect car.

 

What makes you think that this^ is inconsistent with a bad ECU?

You can't directly test the ECU, but you can rule other possible causes. If everything checks out, then swap in a known good ECU.

 

i mean from what im told you cant run one of these cars without an ecu, maybe theres a short somewhere or maybe its not getting enough power till it builds up i guess, but why would it take an hour for the light to go off?

 

If the ECU is just faulty and not completely fried it might run in some cases. Do a search in the marketplace, P06 ECUs aren't that expensive. You should be able to get one to you for $50 or less and if that isn't the issue you'll always have a spare or you can resell it.

 

x2 on the ignition switch.

A family member of mine has an ej6 and the cel stays on just like yours does and won't start because the main relay won't click on. If I move the key around and get the lock cylinder in the right position the relay clicks and the cel goes off. You can try taking apart the ignition switch and clean off the terminals inside real good with some fine grit sandpaper like 1500 or 2000 grit and clean the terminals and inside of the switch real good with a rubbing alcohol soaked rag or paper towel. After the alcohol dries up apply some dielectric grease to the terminals and any moving parts inside the switch and the switch should be as good as new. Worth a try.

 

Do the above, and clean the plugs on the ecu. Common issue with Delsol's as well.

 

I have a fix, call me crazy but i dont gave a f. it was my ecu, i decided to put it in the oven to reflow it. i got the idea from when i had a ps3 and xbox 360 and they messed up. this came to mind, set it to 400 degrees for 5 minutes, stuck it back in and im good cheers

 

Great! I guess. It might not be a bad idea to look for a spare in the marketplace for just in case. CL and local classifieds are good places too. Ebay is usually super expensive but sometimes you can luck out.

 

I have this same issue with my type r crx. it only does it when its damp out side or the car gets wet for a period of time.