My 95 civic will not start. No crank no click no dimming from battery. battery is good. My dash lights come on when I turn key on and I hear the fuel pump but when I turn to start the car. nothing. I checked power to starter. nothing. I tested starter anyway and it is good. I have power to distributor. I jumped my clutch safety switch. still nothing. All fuses are good. grounds seem to be okay unless I am missing one. I just put in a used ingnition switch that tested ok. still no go. I could not understand the test for the starter relay in manual but tried some random relays that fit (from other parts of the car) no go. I plan on picking one up tomorrow to be sure. My fuses are all unbroken but I did notice a 7.5 fuse for the ECU does not light my testlight. does this mean anything. pushstarting does nothing either. I am stumped. I thought I could save some dough by doing this myself. Now a week into it. a day off work and a part that did not help...... ugh.

 

No power to the starter is not a good thing. I suggest looking into that.

Can you take a wire to the positive terminal of the battery, and touch it to the smaller lead on the starter? Make sure the car is in neutral and the fuel system is primed.

Let us know if the car starts then.

 

The ECU fuse should be 15A, not 7.5A. A fuse can also be broken without looking apparently broken. Double check the fuse box cover schematics to verify I am right about the 15A fuse, then install the correct fuse. Post results.

 

this manual pdf I have says fuse #18 is a 7.5 for pgm- fi ecu, pgm-fi ecu main relay. I swapped it with some others already with no good results. I am headed out to try the batt to starter trick!

 

I double checked online and the under-hood ECU fuse should definitely be 15A. You can check the diagram on your fuse box to make sure – go by that, not the manual. I owned a 93 Civic and a 93 del Sol and I specifically remember a blue ECU fuse, which is the color for 15A.

7.5A is the correct amperage rating for the "BACKUP" fuse.

 

I will check again. To clarify though. the 7.5 fuse that is not broken but also not lighting is on my inside (under dashboard) fuse box. I was called back to work so still no progress. Concerning the battery to starter suggestion. Can you please tell me, does it matter what gauge wire I use? (heavy or light like speaker wire etc). So I just connect wire from battery to small wire on starter (while it is plugged into starter) then crank engine?
I appreciate the help everyone. I have been looking online and this seemed to be a handy site with knowledgeable folks. Most of the cars I have owned have been older than me so this little civic is an interesting little headscratcher for me.

 

I have never ran a wire straight to the starter before. Logically, I think that running the wire to the starter though will engage the starter without the need for you to crank the engine by turning the key. So I think what you need to do is turn the key to on but not crank it, and then jump the starter with the wire. You will have to remove the wire once the engine starts (so the starter does not keep cranking). Jumping the starter is equivalent to turning the key to start; that's all the ignition column really does... complete the circuit momentarily to run the starter.

 

The only reason I suggest this is because my starter would click, but not turn the engine over. Your situation sounds similar.

Unplug the little connector (from the engine harness) on the starter. Let it dangle wherever. I used something like 12 gauge wire. Not speaker wire though.

Turn your key to [II] so that the CEL comes on for 3-4 seconds and shuts off (fuel system priming). Put car in neutral or park. Touch wire to positive side of battery, and touch other end to the tab on the starter, does the car turn over/start?

 

Thanks for the details. Yes the battery fires the starter.

 

I jumped the wire to the starter. The car fires. I had already removed, bench tested and reinstalled starter. I know it is ok. Everything I read lead me back to the ignition switch but that did not help. Concerning the comment about the 15A ecu fuse. Yes under the hood it is 15A and it is ok. The fuse I was referring to was under dash. fuse #18 7.5 A ECU main relay. It is unbroken (and I tried other fuses in its place) but it does not light my testlight in ANY key position. SHOULD it light up? and when/how? I gather the ecu is the computer? Would this have anything to do with my problem? If so how can I test it etc? (as I said before, there is not even a click when I turn the key, no dimming of lights or anything)