My friends has an ef style hatchback. it has a zc in it and we went out to go to the gas station and the thing won't start. It cranks forever but won't start. sometimes when we try to start it, then take out the key the dash lights stay on until i either tap the brakes or turn on the parking lights. Do you guys have any idea whats going on?

 

the main relay is bad. you can easily fix it if you have a basic knowledge of soldering and 12volts.

 

u sure it's the main relay that doesn't really make any sence. the fuel pump is still tuning on and priming itself when on the on pos. explain please.

 

your explination is "classic" symtoms of a bad main relay. the car cranks, but wont start. when the main relay goes "bad", the solder joints are cracked and seperating. you can fix this by re-soldering the relay or replacing it.
does it seem to happen when it is hot outside or car driven for awhile? this is a VERY common problem with mainly 4th gen civics.

 

I know that the problem is common for our cars. the car hasn't acted up in any way except for last week the distributor went out so i bought a new one. it's never acted this way before tho. i have two extra main relays from when my roomates went out but i don't think thats it.

 

try them, i would bet that they fix the problem. most of the time, main relays have no warning signs of going bad.

 

i'll try and see if they work but if not anybody else have any idea??? my friend said it sounds like the ignition switch went but i don't know, i've never had one go out on me.

 

ok i've put on a distributor that is known to work. didn't start. i put on a new cap. didn't start. i checked the ignition (1G) fuse which was blown so i replaced it. didn't start. replaced the main relay twice. didn't start.

WTF i can't think of anything else that could have failed to cause this no start condition. Please help

 

anybody have any ideas or am i just getting ignored?

 

maybe the two wires that hook up to the resistor box from the ecu might not be making a good connection well for me my car did this when i did my swap i know its not a swap but i just completly forgot to hook those two ******* wires up as soon as i did it started and has been running like a champ but its just something you could look at.....my car did everything u said had spark and fuel so yea later hope that helps!

 

thx for the help but it's not exactly like that. i have fuel but no spark. the resistor wires are fine i went out and checked. anyone else???

btw how come when ever a real problem rises here (at least for me) noone replies, thats not very helpful being a tech forum and all.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Fuzion &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
btw how come when ever a real problem rises here (at least for me) noone replies, thats not very helpful being a tech forum and all.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Sometimes with situations like this, typing on the keyboard won't find the problem.

 

The instrument lights staying on makes me think that you have a bad ignition switch. You also found a blown fuse in the right area so I would get out the manual and a good VOM and start seeing if you have power to the distributor etc.

You say you have swapped out the dist with a known good unit and the main relay, so about the only thing left would seem to be a lack of power distribution.

Hondas sometimes have a problem with the electrical portion of the ign switch getting too hot and melting down until the contacts no longer conect. Usually the symptoms are that the car starts and runs till you let go of the key and then it dies, but no lights are on in the inst cluster. You seem to be having the opposite problem.

 

so what exactly is the opposite problem??? solution???

the only thing i can think of being wrong is that when my car broke down the other week the dizzy went out, the car would still start but run completely backwards. ex: engine would blow out through the intake and suck in through exhaust. so the only thing i can think of is that while running backwards it sent a power surge from the dizzy to the ignition fuse and blew the fuse. i'm not completely sure because i haven't checked it with a voltage meter yet but i think the wire or wires in between the igniton fuse and dizzy got fried when the fuse blew. the only thing that confuses me is that it ran fine for 4 days after the new dizzy.

does my solution sound feasable???

BTW thx for the replys

 

it is possible your ignition pigtail is bad or if you havent checked your timing belt then it is time to check it

 

timing is fine i already checked that. but what exactly is the ignition pigtail??? i don't understand that.

 

i said the timing belt not the timing ..... open the oil cap and look inside while someone is cranking the engine if the cam isnt turning then your timing belt is broke this would be a good reason why you have no spark ... and the other thing is the ignition pigtail... it is the wire that goes from your ignition cylnder (where you stick your keys in to start the car) to the fuse box this goes bad every once in a while but i would make sure your timing belt is good first ....

 

timing belt is fine i don't have the upper cover on and its fine. can you describe how to find this pigtail?

 

he means the ignition harness. its the 4-5 thick wires that come off the ignition switch.

go into the car, take down the fuse cover thing, take down the platic piece under the steering wheel, and check that you have clean ignition at the fuse box from the wire that supplies it from the key. hes calling it a pigtail bc its a piece of wire that doesnt go very far.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Super Chicken &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The instrument lights staying on makes me think that you have a bad ignition switch. You also found a blown fuse in the right area so I would get out the manual and a good VOM and start seeing if you have power to the distributor etc.

You say you have swapped out the dist with a known good unit and the main relay, so about the only thing left would seem to be a lack of power distribution.

Hondas sometimes have a problem with the electrical portion of the ign switch getting too hot and melting down until the contacts no longer conect. Usually the symptoms are that the car starts and runs till you let go of the key and then it dies, but no lights are on in the inst cluster. You seem to be having the opposite problem.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree with this. main relay will cause it to NOT start, but not leave the dash lights on! the main relay has NOTHING to do w/ lighting.. but the ign switch does.

 

check ign. switch/harness, as suggested above. They're $44 at AUtozone. at least mine was...