Well as the title says my friends car won't start. She parked it in front of her apartment the other day then came back out and it wouldn't start. It is a 92 honda civic 1.5 liter. I looked at it today and found that it does turn over, but the fuel pump is not running. I checked all the fuses and they all ohmed out fine. I also removed the fuel pump relay and tested all the terminals by putting power to them and ohming them out. I also jumped out the 5 and 7 terminals on the relay harness and the fuel pump started working. I got these two methods from my Haynes manual. So here is where I'm at, the fuel pump is good and the fuel pump relay is good and there are no bad fuses. I think there is something else in the control circuit that is not energizing the relay. I talked to my dad about it and he said it could be the ignition switch. Anybody have any suggestions on what it could be? She has also been complaining about her shifter not coming out of park when she hits the brake. She says she has to take the key out of the ignition and unlock the shifter. This also just recently started happening. Thank you in advance,

David

 

http://techauto.tripod.com/mainrelay.htm

 

The ignition switch (where you put the key) is also connected to the starter solenoid. So if the ignition switch was bad then your starter should also not turn. You did alot of testing, which is good but what i think you forgot is the most basic thing (which kills you everytime). It takes 4 things to make an engine run. Fuel, Spark, Air, Compression. If we assume that you have air and compression then that leaves us with fuel and spark. You tested everything in the fuel system but you didn't write that you actually tested for spark. Usually when i come across a car that doesn't start, the first thing i do is pull the spark plugs and check for spark (assuming it turns over). If you can narrow it down b/w fuel and spark then it will be hella easier to find the problem. You might have already checked for spark and just not wrote about it but if you haven't its a good spot to start.

 

when you say ( it does not turn over ) do you mean it won't crank or it wont start

if it wont crank you got possible battery, cables, starter , ignit switch issues

if it cranks ,, it acts like a bad main relay ...when you say you jumped 5 and 7 you are suppling power to the fuel pump by jumping the relay,,

also as agent says,, chk for spark .. pull a plug wire and insert an old plug into the wire, ground the plug and while someone crank the car you chk to see if there is spark at the plug

 

he said that it does turn over

 

When did you get here Desert?

 

The car does turn over. The car will not start though. I had no fuel pressure at the fuel filter and that lead me to realize the fuel pump wasn't working. I removed the back seat and had no voltage to the fuel pump. So I did the ohm check on the main relay. It all ohmed out fine. Then I jumped out 5 and 7 on the harness and the fuel pump worked then and I got fuel pressure at the filter. When I plug the relay back in the harness the fuel pump won't run. Should I just get a new relay anyway and try that? I also read that link someone posted and am going to try to see if I hear two clicks when I start the car.

 

i would say: get a new relay.
or better yet - do the link i posted

 

Hook up the relay and find the wire that provides power to the fuel pump. Check for voltage at that wire. If there is 12v then chances are that there is a bad connection/broken wire.

 

I am going to look at the car tomorrow. I was suppose to look at it today but I told her I was too tired from work. For some reason I think it is going to be the ignition switch.