euphanom

1998 Civic LX d16y7

The other night my civic decided it did not want to start. It ran just perfectly until I went shopping (figures).

I checked the fuses for the ECU, Fuel Pump, and coil -- they were all fine.

There was no whining or priming noise coming from the fuel pump, and no clicks from the relay. I got a new relay and plugged it in, still nothing.

I'm about to replace the fuel pump, but I wanted to know if the Ignition Control Module would prevent power to the fuel pump if the ICM was bad.

The car wants to turn over, but the tach does not move while trying to start.

Any help/suggestions would be great.

Thanks

Former User

Does the starter crank the engine when the key is turned to ON(III)?

In ON(II), do the dash warning lights turn on and does the CEL turn on and then off after 2 seconds?

Did you check hood fuse 44 and dash fuses 31 and 18? Do these installed fuses get battery voltage?

euphanom

Yes the starter cranks. My CEL light is always on due to a bad o2 sensor/possible bad cat converter.

I will check the fuses you mentioned, thanks for your help

Former User

One of many problems with having a solid CEL and not fixing it is that you don't know when new CEL codes pop up. Pull the CEL codes now and post them.

Also check whether the important G101 ground wire attached to the thermostat housing is clean and tight.

dohc_sedan

Check all engine harness grounds. And clean them all with a wire brush. Just had the exact same problem with my 97 sedan. Been fine since. He's rite^^^ usually thermastat housing ground is the problem.

euphanom

I'm going to where the car is tomorrow, I'll certainly check the harnesses. It just seems weird that a bad ground on something totally unrelated (thermostat) could cause such a problem.

Thanks for your advice, much appreciated.

coupejordan27

I deff agree with the guys up.top check the thermostat ground believe it or not but a lot of my friends have had that same.problem use a little die electric grease and a lock washer that ground controlls all the engine sensors and works to link to the ecu also

euphanom

I went to the car, popped the hood, and was unable to find G101 Ground. I located the thermostat housing (passenger side of fuel rail), I found the temp sensor sticking out (green, black wire), but I could NOT find a ground wire anywhere near it.

Is it underneath the thermo-housing? I could not find any other engine harness ground other than the one on the drivers side of the engine, in the front, looks like it comes off of a bracket that holds the pulleys on. That one looked a little corroded, but at the time I didn't have a wire brush.

There's always tomorrow... I'll search for other diagrams, but I just could not find the one that was pointed out... g101.

Thanks for all your suggestions/help/advice

euphanom

Problem solved!!!

The ground wire on the harness (near the drivers side shock) was melted and separated. Twisted those ends together and tada, car fired up. Finally!!

** PLEASE NOTE** -- The wires I twisted together could only reach if I brought them to the FRONT of whatever reservoir that is. Normally they would be tucked and clipped behind it.