Hi.

About a month ago I bought a 1998 Hatchback Civic 1.4 Illusion & when I bought it the Engine Management light had been removed & it wasn't until my friend, who's a Mechanic, saw this that he plugged in another bulb in its place to find it was on.

I rang the Garage I bought it from and they have taken it back to plug it into the computer to see what's causing the fault. They say it wasn't them that removed it (I believe them).

My question is, when I start the Civic, I must listen for the Petrol to pump in before I start it. I have to leave it for 3 seconds or so before I turn the key. If I don't it'll turn for about 2-3 seconds before it fires up. The barrell in the ignition had been changed due to lost keys (so I was told), even though I found the new master Honda key in the Fuse box in the Engine bay and it starts the car (I know it's not meant to be used but since the ECU had been "updated" to bypass the Green light for the Immobiliser in the dash,it was ok).

The Mechanic from the garage tells me that I have to leave the Petrol pump through for 2-3 seconds before I start but any other Civic or Honda for that matter that I've started, it has fired up on half a turn or so, even 1st thing in the morning.

Is my Mechanic lying to me?

Any suggestions as to why my Civic won't start on the first turn & why I must leave it for 2-3 seconds before turning the key?

Any help would be much appreciated as I really want this fixed before my 3 monthWarranty expires & to make sure the Mechanic isn't pulling a fast one on me.

Kind regards,

JT
Ireland.

 

Since it starts instantly after you prime it, you're right that the problem is the fuel is running out of the lines and back into the tank while it is parked. There is a check valve to prevent that but it is built into the pump and thus the whole pump will have to be replaced to resolve it. It is normal for it to lose prime when the tank is nearly empty.

The engine light is a bigger issue, likely that is an oxygen sensor. They can be expensive and also if they inspect cars for smog issues where you live you'll legally have to have it. If the car will need to pass a smog test I suggest you have that done right now during the warranty period so you have recourse going back to the seller if it fails.

 

[hr]
Found out the problem at long last. One of my injectors is damaged but isn't causing a problem in relation to starting the car. Wonder if there's much work in replacing it? I can get one from a crashed Civic. 98 Civic with 55000 miles. Low mileage for an injector to be faulty. Thought Honda were solid.

 

Honda is solid, but not unbreakable, things do break. Sometimes this is not through normal usage, maybe a piece of grit got into one of the injectors somehow (for example) which caused it to break.

 

 

[hr]ok thrn, i won't be doing that myself!! Many thanks for the diagrams and explanation though.

Is it even worth changing it if it's not a problem? The only thing is I'll have a hard time explaining it when i go to sell the car!!