o0kensmith0o

I was driving my 97 Civic DX the other day and it decided to die while I was driving. Luckily I was able to pull over to the side of the highway. My brother in law, who is a mechanic, was with me and we checked it out but no easy fix was foreseen.
We got a tow back to the house and checked it out...
Spark...check!
Fuel...check!
It just kept trying but would not start. So we replaced a few parts that were already in need.
Timing belt
Water pump
Distributor
Cap
Button
Plugs/wires
Still would not start. We finally read somewhere about a MAIN RELAY. Went and got it, put it in, and she started right up.

So now the problem is that it is rubbing sluggish, especially in 2nd-3rd. Could it be timing? Or what? Also, for a whole now I have had a rattling type sound under the hood that goes away when I push in the clutch, any ideas?

Thanks...
o0kENsMitH0o

ezone

If it ran fine BEFORE your bro in law touched it, then the most obvious answer is triple check everything he touched.



Occams' Razor.

mikey1

that would be the first place i would start, check the timing marks

o0kensmith0o

Yes, it did run fine before. But it was in great need of a tune up. Everything was done properly, but the timing could be off a bit I suppose. I will check all of the points again. Thanks.

Any idea about the rattling noise?

o0kensmith0o

It died again and now keeps lowing fuse under the hood, help?

ezone

Could you be any more vague?

Matt_75

I think he could have been if he said just a fuse blew and not mentioned under the hood. Just sayin.

o0kensmith0o

Sorry! I started writing then had to run. It's fuse 44 Fi Em 15 amp. If the main relay is unplugged it does not blow. I know it's not the relay, I recently bought a new one, an then thought that might be the problem so I replaced the brand new one and it's still doing it. I also did the manual check of the relay. Not sure where exactly to look, but everyone is saying it must be a short. I need to get it back on the road because my truck is killing me in gas. Also I want to narrow it down so I quit having to buy fuses.

Also, it's turning but won't crank.

Matt_75

Deleted. Forgot you're not seventh gen.

ezone

Yes, it probably will be a short causing the fuse to blow.

Look in a wiring diagram.
Look at what that fuse powers after the main relay is turned on.
Fuel injectors and IACV and PCM. All are fed by that fuse #44 on the yellow/black wire.

I would set up my test equipment on that yel/blk wire at the main relay (so I can see when the short is present and when it is gone), then go to the engine harness and start wiggling wires to narrow down the exact location of the short.




A common place to find a wiring problem would be the same place under the intake manifold that this bulletin describes for a different problem.....A ton of different wires run in that area, and any of them can be affected by a short: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...42661473,d.aWc

o0kensmith0o

Thanks! I'll check it tomorrow and let you know. I hope it works!!