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I am new to this forum so here goes, Currently my 1989 Civic DX 1.5 FI turns over but not starting. About a month ago I had no spark so I looked all over the intenet and finally replaced the ignighter with a Honda part $120.00 and it started. Now it seems to be doing the same as before. Only this time I can not hear the fuel pump coming on when the key is turned. The first time I ran into the this issue was a few months ago and the car failed to start in my driveway. Now it is at my work parking lot and I am trying to decide to tow it home or to a mechanic. Getting real tired of the same problem. A few years ago I replaced the relay(Main) not sure. It is located under the dash near the hood release. I thought this was bad again and picked one up at the dealership but it was the wrong relay. It had 7 spade connectors mine only has 4. any suggestions?

 
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You have a car that is well past 20 years old.

There can be more than a hundred different reasons any car might not start.

Just because you fixed one thing a month ago and something else a few months ago, doesn't mean something completely different isn't broken now.

If you want to drive something that old, it would behoove you to be able to keep it running on your own.

This means being able to figure out what is wrong without firing the parts cannon at the problem. JMHO.

Here's a handy pic of a parts cannon (Y'all KNEW it was coming!):


Firing the cannon racks up the cost real quick.

I was young and poor once, I sure couldn't afford to buy a bunch of crap that wasn't even the problem in the first place. I had to figure out the *one* thing that was wrong.

That main relay you wanted to replace? A little knowledge of how it works combined with a few tests would lead to either KNOWING it is bad, or saving your money because it is good.

If you fire the parts cannon from DangerZone, it can lower the quality of your entire car. Most of it is the cheapest made in China junk they can stock the shelves with. cough*JUNK*cough
"AutoZone: Turning your Honda into a Daewoo, one part at a time."

You will rapidly exceed the value of the car if you pay someone else to fix it every time it breaks.


/rant
//deal with it


You need to approach the problem in a logical manner.
Forget what you fixed last time. If you fixed it RIGHT, it's probably still ok now.....

Start over, with the basics.

Start from scratch.

Any engine needs:
Compression, spark, and fuel.
In the proper amounts, at the correct times.

At least one of the above isn't "right". Which? Why or why not?

 
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Rant er...ezone,

More background...I hate shotgunning parts which is why I spent some three weeks researching and purchasing tools to help aid and diagnose the situation that I was in a month ago. After I replaced the ICM the car ran for a month with no issues. The car is old and has 247k of which I have put on the last 75k. You make a valid point if i have a car this old I should learn how it works. I am trying now. I like not having car payments and getting over 30mpg.

I came to this forum looking for advice on this model. I have not owned a car this old without a complete overhaul by this time so maybe this is the time. I am told they can run for a very long time. I did see several kinda similar problems on this forum yet no resolute answers were indicated.

When I first had the issue of no start just cranking over I started by checking for spark and that was not happening so I got a spark tester and went through and determined it was the ICM which yes it was purchased from a stealership, but I expected that these parts are better than AUTOZONE. This was the only part I determined was bad. Like I said after replacing it the car ran fine for a month. Now I have the seemingly very same problem with the car. This is what is puzzling if the car ran fine for a month and then starting doing the same thing as before and so if i replace the same part without knowing what is causing it to fail then that would be stupid. I have not pulled parts out like I did before and even though I said I got the wrong relay since I never opened the package it was returned. i have only purchaged plugs, cap, rotor, filters, and valve cover gasket. I have spent very little money on this car over the last 5 years. It is due for brakes CV joint and tires now and maybe a timing belt change too. Since it is my beater to work it does the job. Maybe it is time to retire the old girl. It also burns some oil or leaks it. I did verify the timing is still good although I do need to do a compression check as mentioned at the very end of the rant.

Thanks for the picture.

dhg1989

 
Rep Power: 518

Yeah, I went off on a tangent. I do that.

I even caught that you did the research first, and still went off like that anyway. Damn.


And yeah, OE parts that should last well past 100k are better than Zoo parts that might last 30k if you are lucky.

89 is far older than the cars I deal with daily. It's rare to see a 6th gen now for me.



What does this mean? Won't start? That's pretty broad.

Compression? Didn't break the timing belt? Cam is still in time? How or what did you verify?

Does it have spark now?
If it has spark, then your ICM must be good.

Fuel? Are the plugs wet or dry?