Does your interior light work? If I remember correctly, the OBD port should be Fuse #43 (7.5 Amp) in the underhood fuse box, labeled "Interior Lights".

The forum Search tool is your friend. Use it. Love it.

 

You are correct.

 

Normal OBD2 readers do not work on the Hondas, that's why Hondash exists. By these readers I am referring specifically to the ELM327 reader, you know, the blue one for 5 bucks on eBay. I also have the black, Wi-Fi variant and doesn't work. After much research, I learned that the Honda ECU is based on a protocol that is not programmed into the ELM327, so it can't read it. It will plug and connect but it cannot interptret the ECU information. If your intention is reading codes you can use the 2/3 pin jumper to make the CEL flash and compare to the code chart (you can google this). What I did is simply plug a momentary switch and whenever it throws a code I press the switch and check it, whether its running or not. It flashes fast for one digit, or slow and then fast for 2 digits, Slow if the first number, so if it flashes 2 slow and 3 fast its code 23 (this is the knock sensor if I recall correctly)
If you want to run an app like Torque, you will need to get Hondash from their site. It not that expensive (30 ueros) https://www.hondash.net/p/interface.html but other than this there isn't much alternative :/

 

OBD2 readers work just fine on USDM and CDM 96-00 Honda Civics.

 

That was news to me too. I have a cheapo usb cable adapter and the software consecrated it just fine.

ISO9141-2 is not some oddball protocol, it’s just old. If your tester isn’t even powering on you need to check the 12V in pin 16 and the grounds in pins 4 & 5 of the cars obd2 connector. You should have ground all the time and 12V all the time even with the car totally shut off.

 

My apologies here, I was meaning that the cheap blue ELM327 standalone BT from eBay does not work, other readers and computers would obviously work.

I did not know this one, I'm guessing it having software, it may be a more complete version with more protocols VS. the cheap blue ELM327 standalone BT from eBay, the protocol is just not loaded into the ELM327. I actually have 2 different of these scanners, the blue BT and the black WIFI, and neither works on my wife's Civic, its a USDM 96 EC, D16Y8, it connects and lights up and all, but just doesn't work, but works on other cars, I was using it on my 06 Ranger and worked just fine, the above I stated was after doing research as to why it did not work on my wife's civic.


This is the one that does not have the Honda Protocol, different ones may work though

 

Yes it does for the USDM market, can't confirm elsewhere.

 

Interesting, now I'm wondering if there is something wrong with my wife's car as the 2 I have does not work on it. :/

 

I’ve been doing some more work with obd2 stuff lately for my own enrichment. There’s a recurring theme in the arduino/raspberry pi/etc forums that every one of the knockoff elm327 dongles is a gamble. Many work fine, many do not at all. If you want to be sure it’s not your dongle, you need to make sure it’s a legit elm327 device. PLX and scantool.net are good sources.

 

When I had an issue with the OBD2 not sending power to the port. It was that my car needed more / proper grounds. Start with cleaning and maybe adding more grounds and try again.

 

Curious as mine actually works on pretty much all cars but Honda's (Ate least the ones I've tried out), and from Honda's half of the time they work and other half it doesn't. It worked on my sisters '06 Accord but it didn't work on my dad's '12 Accord. Does not work on my wife's 96 EX, and I cant test on my '00 SI becuase it does not have an OBD port for some reason, and many other hondas with mixed results.
I may go ahead and try the grounds as that is a good point