Ok... So I bought this car about 6 months ago. It ran and drove fine. Started up quick and idled fine. Needless to say its suspension was a mess, so i replaced everything with oem parts. The electrical was a fiasco. Yeah it ran but whoever wiretucked everything did a horrible job. the firewall leaked when it rained cause none of the grommets were in place and it was just a fire waiting to happen.

Welp i bought the appropiate main harness and the engine harnesses and its all in but this thing wont even turn over.

its a 91 civic si, i bought the si pgmfi harness so it would be stock. the engine is a d15b7 with the stock si cable trans. already have the obd0-obd1 ecu harness, the dizzy plug, i made the injectors work, i deleted the resistor box.

i havent put the dash back in yet cause i was wanting to get it to run before i put it all back together. ive gone over all the grounds. even found pdfs of all the ground locations. still nothing. i do know that i had the battery and alternator wire location on the under hood fuse box switched around. and all i got was the main relay would click very fast and it wouldnt turn over.

I since then switched the wires to theyre appropriate locations. cleaned and replaced most of the engine grounds. but the main relay isnt even clicking anymore no matter what i do. it was clicking fast and when i turned the key back and then tried to start it again it dosent do anything.

im not a honda pro nor do i think i am. but if its an ecu issue, it should still try to turn over. same with the main relay. i also deleted the neutral saftey switch but that also didnt do anything. and im really all out of ideas.

ive looked all over this site, and its really hard to search for an answer you dont even know how to simplify.

any help is appreciated. at this point im tempted to pay someone to figure it out or burn the car to the ground lol. if someone could post pictures of the under dash fuse box and the connectors on the front and back with wire colours that would be awesome just so i could double check them.

my buddy is going to let me borrow a main relay tomorrow so im going to try that out. Now before i did all of this. i took the cluster out to see what was wrong with the speedo cable (it was broken). when i tried to start it up without the cluster hooked up it wouldnt start. im not even sure if it would crank. idk why if done it before. this has confused alot of people but is this a possibility with this new harness as well?

 

Check your ecu fuse and main relay. Are you getting fuel and spark?

 

All the fuses are good. Im going to borrow a main relay tonight and try it tomorrow b4 work. It should still turn over tho. I cant even get it to crank to test fuel and spark yet. Theres no starter engage when the keys is turned n etc.

 

I've had a similar no start condition when I was working on my car once, dash removed trying to clean something up. When reassembled I left the steering column partially threaded back in. Car wouldn't start but at some point an arc caught my eye at the steering column so I tightened that up all the way and it started without issue.

 

Alright ill double check them. To make sure thanks

 

Sounds like you have more then one problem, the PGM-FI Main Relay has nothing to do with engine cranking, it supplies power to the injectors, ECU. fuel pump and some engine sensors/valve/solenoids.

The most common electrical problems with it is no ground, [grounded at thermostat housing] and cold solder connections on circuit board...
For the cranking, [if that is what you mean by turn over] ... https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-m...mp%5d-2961164/ to narrow down the problem. 94

 

As far as the main relay, im almost certain mines bad. 2 of the posts on it have no solder at all. But this really has me stumped because this car ran and drove fine b4. Im goung to try to track down this cranking issue tho. I know ive got good power at the starter. And all the grounds in the engine bay are golden. If i jump the starter posts it clicks but no crank so im going to grab anothee one and try it. The under hood fuse box has an electrical smell any time i have the baytery hooked up. Hopefully its not bad. But if it were youd think the fuses would blow.

 

If starter will not crank engine when doing a bypass jump the problem is the starter or starter solenoid, you said it only clicks, that points to either burnt high current contacts or a connection problem of the power or ground to the starter, the power being the heavy gauge cable to the starter the ground is it's mounting to the engine/trans, you said all the grounds are "golden", how did you determine that, best way is to disconnect/clean/reconnect, a tight ground that "looks" OK is not good enough.
So before you spend any money on a new starter redo your main grounds, batt. to chassis and chassis to engine, again, disconnect/clean/reconnect

If it is the power connections, high power contacts.... https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-...tools-3043958/ not all Honda/Acura solenoids are repairable. 94

 

At first i thought it was a ground issue. So i bought new ground for the battery, ran new grounds on the motor, cleaned them all and even scraped the paint and bolts down to bare metal. I tested them with a multimeter to see if i was getting a good 12v connection to the battery and fuse box with them. Since i cannt find my extra main relay im going to specifically focus on getting the car to atleast crank. I was getting power the the main relay. And it was clicking very fast. Then all of a sudden it stopped. When i removed the case 2 pins had no solder at all on them. Im going to try to make sure im still getting power to the under dash fuse box and i need to find a way to check the engine bay fuse box. Is there anyway to test the starter relay?

 

I just want to clarify the white wire on the engine bay fuse box is to the battery correct? and the black wire goes to the main harness for the alternator.
or is it the other way around. originally i looked it up and it seemed on eks that it was reverse so i tried it that way and i think efs are just the way i have them now. (i hope)

also it appears the 50 amp fuse for the igition wasnt broken but indeed was burnt on the sides of the copper to where you could barely see it. so thats where the burning smell is coming from.

again i apoloize for being a pita lol but i really need this thing running asap. my subaru is long due for extensive matinence. thanks again for all the help in advance

 

Welp i finally got it cranking now. i knew it was going to be something stupid. but having had so much done to it (replacing the main and engine harness) you forget about the small things lol. Now its time for me to slap everything back together. as soon as i get another main relay she should start up and run. time to put the dash in and check to make sure everything else works lol.

thanks again guys.

btw i just had to give the starter a few taps and it cranked right over. ii was too worried about wiring and etc forget to pound on stuff in the process. i dont think a new starter is due but i may try what fcm suggested.

if anyone has a picture of the tilt wheel controls that would be awesome

 

A new starter, [or rebuild] is needed sooner or later, banging on the starter motor to get it t work indicates a connection problem, high current contacts I would be willing to bet, if it happens again, [engine will not crank] try cycling the ign. switch between run and start rapidly, if it cranks the problem is the contacts
The white and black cables connected to the engine bay fuse box should be alt. lead and batt. lead, those two terminals should be bridged together so it makes no difference which way they are connected.

FYI when dealing with electrical, [harnesses and plugs, it is a good idea to test things as you go so as soon as all wiring is plugged in, before you bolt everything down and cover everything up test the functions, [all electrical functions] if there is a problem and you have to trace a lead it saves a lot of time if you do not have to pull everything apart again, like removing dash, if its just hanging there it pops off easy, been there done that.

Honda Automotive Parts 94

 

Yeah lol thats why i wanted to hear it run n etc b4 i put the dash back in. I priced the high current contacts theyre around 26$ here. Im probably just gunna buy a new one or just see how this one treats me. I dont want to spend too much cash on the d15 cause i really dont plan on keeping it long. But i might run it till it dies idk. My dream is an f20b swap but thats not in the budget atm

 

GL 94

 

dont miss fcm's thrilling guide lol:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-6/fix-your-starter-$5-$10-no-special-tools-3043958/

 

Alright i got the dash back in. The car cranks over fine now n etc. But the main relay is still clicking fast. The cel is solid and never shuts off. I tried a main relay out of a friends running car and it clicks fast also. I tried a diff battery also. I followed the steps on this posthttps://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/checking-main-relay-pics-2535047/ to check the main relay harness.
The first few steps went ok. I got good ground, 12v on step 2 , but steps 3 and 4 i got a little less than 12v and 10v. Tried jumping the fuel pump pins and nothing. Now does anybody know if your supposed to jump the pins and while leaving the multimeter in on the previous steps pins also?
And is there a plug for the fuel pump i couldve missed?

The stereo and blower dont seem to be getting power. Sunroof also not working. Is there a plug i mightve missed that controls all 3?. Headlights work

 

Turns out that the large round plug where the main harness and engine harness connect had 2 wires if moved the main relay would click normally, click fast or not click at all. So i cut the plug off and rewired the old plug in its place. When i get time to wrap them all up hopefully she starts.

 

Alrighty I recently purchased the 91 civic honda service manual and i have made some leway. As stated before the motor is now cranking. I have traced the wires for the main relay to the thermostat housing and it turns out the plug c211 had a pin that wasnt making a good connection.

So i fixed that and the main relay is now clicking properly.

Now the fuel pump is not getting power via the yellow/blk wire.
I check continuity between the fuel pump connector and the C402 connector and it checks out.

But there are two plugs that fit into that connector. Im 99.9% sure the blue connector is incorrect but the white /yellow connector has no continuity on any wire. And as stated in the service manual it should have the yellow/blk wire and it does not.

So i ripped the fuse box and etc under the dash hoping to find another suitable plug and had no luck.

If anyone can shed some light on this that would be awesome. Even if i just make sure im using the correct plug. I can just run a new wire between the main relay and C402.

Im hoping this is the last issue i have with this harness.