Hi everyone,

I recently bought a 97 civic dx coupe, 5 speed. The previous owner blew the engine, and got a complete running engine from his friends 96' civic and installed it. He could not get the car started, so it sat for over a year. I bought the car for a good price and began troubleshooting today. I charged the battery and and try to start the car, it turns over fine, tested for spark at the plugs, and no spark. When I turn the key to "on" I do Not hear the fuel pump at all. I've checked that all plugs on the carsharnessare plugged in properly, and I installed a new distributor cap and rotor, also checked out all the fuses, all are fine. Now the strangest part, while testing for voltage with a testlight in 2 different locations (at the fuel pump under rear seat, and at the main connector to the distributor) I could hear like a buzzing sound coming from my PCM.

Any help would be greatly appreciated guys, I'm just trying to narrow this down so I don't have to buy tons of parts that I don't need. Thanks in advance!

 

Have you checked whether the coil is faulty (spark problem) and whether the main relay is working (fuel pump)?

Also, is the ECU properly matched with the replacement engine?

 

Yeah take a look at the main Relay because that control you fuel pump...here is a link [&:]!!!!

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


Civic Main Relay Locations
96, 97, 98 and 99 - 00 Civic Main Relay Removal Procedure
The relay is located to the right of the glove box along the wall of the right kick panel.


Steps
[ol][*]Remove the glove box by removing the bottom panel under the glove box (several screws.)[*]Look upward and remove the screws holding the glove box's hinges.[*]Lower the glove box, if not possible then squeeze any tabs necessary (do not bend till it breaks.)[*]With a 10 mm socket or wrench, reach deep inside and at the top of the relay there you will feel a bolt.[*]Unbolt it. (If you cannot unbolt then you may dislodge the relay from the relay case.)[*]Bring the relay down and unplug the connector by squeezing the lock flap then separate the connector from the relay.[*]Installation is the reverse of the procedure. [/ol]

 

Definitely a main relay or bad ECU. Any chance you have a friend with the same ecu you could try out?

 

Check the ground wires on the engine and elsewhere under the hood. Forgetting to reconnect them is a very common cause of not starting after replacing the engine.

 

Thank you for your replies, but does a bad main relay mean my fuel pump wont work AND I will have no spark? I firmly believe the root of these two problems is one in the same. How do I positively test my ignition coil?

 

I assumed a 96 ecu would work fine in the 97,I thought 96-00 were nearly identical. Also where is the PCM fuse located?

 

The main relay function is described in the picture. I assumed that a faulty main relay could only explain the fuel pump problem, but now I am unsure.

[IMG]local://upfiles/25538/E901ED2E2DE94316A5605440863E5550.jpg[/IMG]

 

At longest it's the same model the ECU should work..Yeah a faulty main relay can shut down the fuel pump. I posted earlier a link where it trouble shoots the MAIN RELAY.


How does a good main relay sound like?
[ol][*]Turn the ignition to ON = click and fuel pump whirls.[*]After two seconds = click and fuel pump stops whirling.[*]Turn to start = click[*]Turn engine off = click
[/ol]


What does the main relay look like?

Look for the "RELAY ***'Y. MAIN." Below, the image on the far left is generally for the Honda/Acura made after 1998. The middle main relay is usually for the Acura TL, RL and the Acura Legend. The far right is the basic model which fits most Honda and Acura even though the part numbers are different. Mitsuba makes two version of these which usually have their starter switch terminal displaced from each other.

 

Any 96-00 integra or civic ecu would atleast start the car. Maybe with a cel on but it would start.I'd say it's the ecu though. Open it up and look for anything that is not uniform like a small burnt place or something along those lines.