So my baby (92 Si) hasn't started since the end of November.

My girlfriend's Dad (hereby referred to as Dan) helped me take a look at it, and it appeared to be a coil problem. No spark. Picked up a coil, and it started. The next day, on my way home from work, it didn't start once, then it did start, and I drove home.

That night, it wouldn't start again. Took the coil back, got another one. Car now starts intermittently. 1 out of every 3 or 4 times it'd start. Okay...try an ignitor. That day a friend with a 96 was around, so we took mine out, put it in his car, and started it. Worked fine. Okay...not the ignitor.

We decide to try to drive it over to his house where all his tools are so we can work on it a little better. I get it to start once, and drive it about...oh...a mile before it dies. Get my Mom to come up to Santa Cruz, and call Triple AAA for me. They tow my car to Dan's house.

We decide to replace the distributor because the insulation on the wiring inside it is flaking off and wires are being bared. Get one off of eBay, and while it's for a 92-95 Civic, it doesn't fit. Mounting bracket is slightly off. So, I rip the innards of the new one out, and put them in my old distributor. (Surprisingly easy to rebuild a dizzy)

And she starts, instantly. Hallelujah, she's running. Let her warm up, set the timing, and off we go.

And we get another mile away. Son. Of. A. Bitch.

Early the next morning when there is no traffic we grab his truck and rope tow it back to the house.

I hop online and grab a copy of the service manual (Thanks to whoever had that) and do some searching here on Honda-Tech and the web in general.

Also sounds like it could be the main relay. The symptoms are identical to what I'm seeing. Intermittent starting problems, getting worse, no fuel pump priming when the key is in the On position. Pop that out and take a look at it. It looks like there might be some cracked solder points. Try resoldering them, and don't really like the results. I no longer trust my main relay, so I pick up a new one. The next day I go down to his house, and put it in.

No dice.

Okay then. Start going through the diagnostic steps in the manual. All fuses are good (had checked this way back in the beginning...I'm not dumb). There is power going to everything. Check engine light isn't turning off like it supposed too, when the key is in the On position. Huh. It's not the MAP, EGR, or TPS sensor (maual said to disconnect one at a time when the check engine light doesn't turn off after two seconds) So...when the key is on, stuff that's supposed to happen isn't happening. Okay...ground the fuel pump line...it runs. Okay...fuel pump is good. It's a new main relay, so that's gotta be okay.

Well then...what controls the check engine light and gives the ground for the fuel pump? That's right...the thing down at the very bottom of the diagnostic steps.

The ECU.

So...is the ECU getting power *tests the Yel/Blk wires* Yes. It's getting power. So...with the key in the On position, is the main relay getting ground from the ECU? Nope. Well then.

So, I troll eBay for a few days, watching, and waiting for my target. Nabbed a chipped ECU for a little over 100 + shipping. I always say that if you've gotta replace something that can be upgraded, do both.

Got it last night, and unplugged the old one, and plugged the new one in. Turned the key to the on position. Bickety bam. Fuel pump primes and the check engine light goes off. Try to start the car, and vrrrvvvv...bleah.

Lost charge on the battery. I guess that's what happens when it sits for two months and tries to start many many times and never runs. Pop the battery charger on it while I replace my stereo. My third stereo. Fourth if you count the Alpine tape deck I replaced. Ever tell you how much I hate thieves? Both times they've taken the face plate, and just crushed the head unit trying to get it out. The first time they broke my dash, and the second time the dash was fine, but they went in through my drivers side window. So, new Pioneer MP3 deck in the dash, and I pull the charger out of the engine compartment.

Here goes...vrrrvvrrrvvvboomgrrrrrrrrrrevrevrev.

Let it warm up with the heater and defroster on for about 10-15 minutes while I cleaned up all my tools (My girlfriend's family Secret Santa'd me a whole crapload of tools because of my car problems. ) Took her for a test drive, and this time she made it TWO whole miles. [edit] Since this has been asked about on both forums I posted this one, yes, the car is running fine. The joke was that it died after one mile on the last two test drives. The last test drive it made it two. Then it made it home, and to work this morning. She's purring like a Mugen chipped kitten.

Not sure if it feels better because of the chip, or because I'm coming back from a beater 88 Dodge Dakota that my stepdad let me borrow for those two months. Midrange feels a lot smoother, and the car feels less peaky, which I'm pretty sure is from the chip. If my gas mileage goes down, I'll assume it's working.

So...anyone know how to get out that funky musty smell your car gets when it sits in the rain for two months and slowly gets...moist?


Modified by Mojo-Jojo at 9:14 AM 2/3/2004

 

Automotive Febreze.

 

soooo. did you actually fix it? Read the bottom 2 times and I still cant tell if the car is running right.

 

my roommate had a similar problem to urs that led to him replacing everything on the distributor, main relays, etc etc...


finally one day im watching the motor as it starts and i see a loose bolt...we tighten it down...and boo bam, all problems gone...

it was a loose ground lol

poor guy i didnt know if he was pissed that the problem was so simple or just relieved he got the car running normally again

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">soooo. did you actually fix it? Read the bottom 2 times and I still cant tell if the car is running right.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Heh, yes, the car is running fine. The joke was that it died after one mile on the last two test drives. The last test drive it made it two. Then it made it home, and to work this morning. She's purring like a Mugen chipped kitten.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">finally one day im watching the motor as it starts and i see a loose bolt...we tighten it down...and boo bam, all problems gone...

it was a loose ground lol
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was starting to worry that it was going to be somehting dumb like that.