Johhny

Ive got a 2001 civic that i just picked up for a quick winter beater project and ended up with more then i expected anyways i got home and i was told the cars alternator was bad and not working properly so we charged the car up and drove it home, i was working on it and ended up turning it on and revving it up and my buddy seen sparks come from the alternator so we turned it off and looked and the alternator wasnt bolted in it was loose! probably why the alternator wasnt working so we tightened it up and retightened the belt and now the car wont start! My friend says i fried my ECU so we went and got a new one, im just wondering if theres a possibility i could of fried something else because ill have to get my car towed to honda to get my ecu synced.. Any suggestions?

mikey1

if its cranking faster then normal, that is usually an indication your timing belt has snapped or is "out of time",

first remove your oil cap and look in there with a flashlight while somebody else cranks the engine, you should see movement in there, if there is no movement at all your timing belt has snapped,

next do a compression test,

ezone

It won't run on another PCM until the immobilizer is programmed.
Reconnect the original PCM and try it.

Most people seem to say the engine will still run even though the burned PCM is in limp mode, but IDK, some do and some don't.

Spins fast??
Maybe it's flooded or something. Are the spark plugs soaking wet?

Johhny

I went out and opened my oil cap and got someone to role it over while i looked in at the valves and their moving so it aint my timing belt and i havent checked my plugs but i dont see how my alternator arcing would fry my plugs but ill check when its not pissing outside.. And yeah my friend had the same issue with his 04 em2 and he did the exact same thing but he could still turn his car on but i ended up rolling it over twice to see where the sparks were coming from and the third time i tried it wouldnt role over im pretty sure i completely fried it and yeah i got somebody who will bring my car to honda to get the ecu immobilized cause im going to take the old one out get it ready for them like my buddy did and give them less work to do cause i have a new ecu and it only costed my pal about 50 bucks to do his so im not to worried but i just dont want to replace it and realize thats not the problem.

ezone

The only thing proven is the belt did not break.
You cannot tell if it has jumped time (skipped a tooth or more) without more teardown and inspection.


It cannot "fry your plugs".

You said it won't start and spins fast.

I simply asked if the spark plugs are wet with fuel.

I guessed it might be flooded, removing and checking a spark plug is how one would find out.

mikey1

check timing marks,

check compression,

usually when an engine cranks faster then normal its a sign of little to no compression

Johhny

I went out and checked the plugs and the plugs look pretty old and burnt out but they werent soaked with fuel just a bit of oil like they should be.. and the only time it was cranking really fast was when we had the booster cables hooked up it was rolling relentlessly fast then when we took them off it was still a tad fast but i cant see my timing belt jumping on me cause then wouldnt of the car atleast forced itself to turn off last time i drove it? considering it made it to my driveway then i turned it off and then it would not turn back on?
and also my green key flashes as i go to turn it on which my buddy said is just my ecu not working .. and can i check the timing belt without ripping the whole valve cover off?

ezone

If it's flashing rapidly as though it's in theft mode when you turn the key on, that's one of the many symptoms.
Your buddy is probably correct, ruined PCM.


Like I said before, most seem to be able to run when this happens, others don't. I've not seen one that could not run, but it's in the bulletin as a possible symptom.