My Integra GSR won't start and I know it has no mechanical issues. It was running great, and then I went out of town for 2 weeks and when I came back the car won't start. It won't even crank or turn on the headlights. I thought it was the battery, so I jumped it, and it started making clicking noises so i thought it could have been the starter, so i replaced the starter. It still won't turn on.

The car has half a tank of gas and plenty of oil. The previous owner did a wire tuck job and the wires on the wiring harness are all hidden so I'm almost positive that he did a bad job and there must be a ground loose somewhere, or a blown fuse. Thing is I can't even find the fuse box on this thing because of the tuck job!

I know my way around honda's been building them for years, but I don't know electrical. Would i be able to just buy a brand new wiring harness and remove all of the "tuck job" and replace with the new harness?

 

Hi there, I see your in the Bronx, I lived off of White Plains Road.


When you replaced the starter is it still making clicking sounds? If so, check the direct wire to the starter (not the one to the solenoid) make sure it is secure and with a multi-meter have some try to start the car, and see how low the voltage drops, if it drops <9Volts the car wont attempt to start. Also, the starter needs unfused direct connection to the battery it can pull upwards from 100Amps. Your issues sounds very similar to what I had went through.


Also, I highly recommend to replace the battery and see if you can get your alternator checked out.


Just a few things you have to double check, if you are still going the untucked route:


Is the motor swapped? or converted to a different OBD? Are there any heavy modifications (i.e programmable ecu, different injectors, etc....)


Hopefully this helps.

 

I would start by checking and cleaning your battery to chassis ground connection and your transmission to chassis ground connection.

 

Dude if the battery is dead enough, a jump won't help. You're better off taking the battery out and letting it trickle charge over the weekend. Otherwise a new battery is always a good investment! Forgot to mention. I thought I had a bad starter on my integra. First time it was the battery. Second time, it was the ground wire to the body. Took it off, sanded down the wire and the body and added extra wire just to be sure. Then repainted.

 

fuse box should be under dash on passenger side, if OEM harness was retained... If it is a full custom harness (which I doubt) , it could be anywhere...

And yes.... you could get an OEM harness to replace and redo the entire thing if you feel more comfortable doing that.

IMO tucked looks way better. I would get a used OEM harness..... install it.... then compare to see what the other person did so that you can learn and do it yourself!

Most likely they isolated the wiring that goes through the firewall and then tucked them under the fendors to the front.... or in the hollow part of the subchassis.... usually drilled out on the sides , underneath the dash.

 

When trying to jump start your car, you probably connected the cables to their proper terminals, hopped into the drivers seat, and immediately attempted to turn the key to start. Maybe you didn't give the battery time to accept enough of a charge to start your car up.

If you decide to replace the harness on your car, expect to tear down the whole front end and dashboard to get the job done. I dont see why you would insist the wire tuck is to blame for your car not starting. You probably have an alarm on the car, left it on for the 2 weeks you were gone, and didn't expect it to drain your battery out. Or maybe the battery was on its way out anyways.

Get your battery charged (if it will still accept a charge) or replaced. That's probably the first thing you should've done instead of replacing the starter. Imagine you go through all the work of changing out your harness and find out the car still wont start?

 

Someone in the Chicago area should change the OP's battery for $300....
https://honda-tech.com/mid-west-sale...24300-3269746/