I recently purchased a 1993 Honda Civic Del Sol from a gentleman who was the first and only owner of the car. I got it for an awesome price and couldn't be happier with it. two weeks into owning the car I found what appears to be an ignition immobilizer but never heard of one being on a 1993 before. I removed the chip key from the reader and sure enough it made it so I could not start the car. I do not have electronic or chipped keys. The starter uses mechanical keys. It does not have power door locks either. I placed the chip key back in and bam the car starts again. I thought how cool is this we have anti-theft on our car as well which is a great discount on auto insurance right?!! Well last Saturday I removed the chip key overnight for the first time since there was a few parties happening in my neighborhood. The next morning I place the key back into the reader and no start/no crank nothing. I removed the key and placed it again and still nothing. I have been doing research on what to do and there is only one other fella in the civic forums I found who even has one like mine and he cut his out only to cause more problems. I do not want to cut mine out just reset the darn thing if possible. I keep hearing techs from back in the 90s saying they eaily removed these card readers from the ignition and just rip it out. Okay - no I'm not just going to rip it out. I know it is not part of the ECU like OBD-2. I have a D16Z6 engine that was manufacturered in Susaka Japan. It was purchased from a Honda Dealership in Washington State so how it got this immobilizer in the first place beats me. I called the dealership and they said I need to tow it in but I don't have the money to do that. Does anyone know if this thing can be reset and how to do it??

 

first make absolutely certain that this is the no-start problem. if it is, i'd just uninstall it. there should be some videos on youtube.

 

I have been searching for any kind of information on how to remove, reset, bypass, etc this immobilizer. I have a OBD-1 P28 ECU and the brand of immobilizer is Auto Guard. I do not have chipped keys only mechanical ones. There is no chip inside the ECU it is attached to the steering column. One guy on this forum said to just detach the brain. Yeah okay that makes a lot of sense. I which someone would just post something specific on how to do this instead of should be on youtube or look up on google. I have spent three days searching for an answer.

 

Call the manufacturer.

 

there's a contact link at the bottom of this page.

https://www.aagi.com/options.aspx

 

trace the wires back and remove that junk. Those crappy immobilizer devices were added but they're more of a nuisance than security. One of my old cars had that when I bought it (used). Removed it the same day.

 

Thank you everyone that responded to my post. Yes I am going to remove the darn thing. I did end up finding several videos on how to remove it. What helped finally was finding out what the darn thing was called in the first place - "Vehicle Starter Interupt Disable System Removeable Key Style. Geeze can it get anymore wordy?! It was put in aftermarket by the Honda Dealership as an option to the customer. The dealership in which we called was not at all wanting to help even though provided ownership proof. They wanted us to tow the car to them. Most likely since it has been 29 years since that was placed in the car. I talked to the prior and only other owner yesterday and he asked me if that is why he was constantly having battery issues near the end. He did tell me about that but I was unable to answer that question. I do know the battery has since drained dead again since not being able to drive it for 7 days now. Any clue to what might be draining the battery? Is it this anti-theft device? Anyway I am excited to get it out of the car and I have all the tools and parts needed to correctly patch the wire that was cut to insert this device. Wish me luck. I am a female with very small hands so I am the one who gets to do the wire tracing, cutting, and patching. :-) If it doesn't work by chance, what parts would I need to replace? The entire ignition system? I am hoping just the ignition relay or ignition switch.

 

Well I managed to remove the old Starter Interupter and I took pictures of it and the fuse box and the steering column. If you simply connect the two black with white stripe wires that the green and white wires were attached to it still does not start. It is interesting that the white wire from the starter interupter had a 30 amp fuse attached to it so it has to be the power right? I know I am missing something. If you look at the starter relay on the fuse box, is there a wire missing from it? I appreciate any help! I have a new job starting next week and if I can't get my car going, I will lose my job. Please help! I also took a look at the clutch safety switch to make sure everything was intact and it is. Had to use a dental mirror to see up in there. Man I feel sorry for you guys with large hands cause no way to even see it outright unless you remove the clutch. I did discover why my cruise control does not work however. Yup the pin and the stopper piece are both missing. So it looks like I just need to replace those eventually.

 

the ignition wires (3 large ones from fuse box to ignition switch) are correct, just 3 wires even though the plug connector has 6 spaces.

Those 4 wires are ground. Make sure they aren't going to other components besides that immobilizer device.

Yes, that immobilizer was an "aftermarket" option installed at the Honda dealership.

 

This device is a really simple and robust product... I had one in my 1994 Del Sol as well. It was installed by the Honda Dealership before the car was sold brand new. I am not convinced that this device is your problem. Can you try to explain EXACTLY what happens when you turn the key to the START position ? You mentioned that you found parts of the cruise control switch pad on the floor... so it would not be a stretch to think that your clutch starter interrupt switch pad could be damaged/missing as well.