[civic_ef9vtec]

hi all, any ideas? when i turn the key, i hear the fuel pump working , then the check engine ligt dissapears with the CLICK form the fuel pump relay, the starter cranks the motor, the car idles roughly and after 2-3 seconds the car just dies..
the fuel tank is half way full
i have new plugs, plug wires, and cap-rotor
the injectors were cleaned , the fuel filter was changed 10.000 kms ago , all fuses are ok
i noticed that some times, when ths key was turned to on position, i could hear a continyous clicking sound coming from behind the intakemanifold, where a small cylindrical motor ?? sensor?? is located

could it be something with the pump?
i can hear it working.. fuel pressure?? or the battery maybe?
when i tried to start the car by recharging the battery, the car idled for about 5-6 seconds and then died again..

could the battery be destroyed internally??

The car is a 13 year old euro ee9 factory b16a1 in perfect condition, with basic bolt ons

i m about to try a new battery tomorrow..
any ideas would be very much appreciated
john,
ATHENS
GREECE

 

[VTECsqznN2O]

If the car is cold it will idle like crap sometimes... When you start it..give it a little gas to get the revs up for a second...then see how it idles and see if the fast idle valve kicks in. If the car is warm, does it idle fine? If the motor is cranking..your battery is fine. If it is cranking weak..then it may be dead..but if the car is starting then it wouldn't be the battery. Get the revs up when you start it..I dont mean like 5k or anything..just around 1500-3000...jsut to get it moving and to get some heat built up. My car is the same way sometimes..It idles harsh for about the first minutes or so that I turn it on..but once I get the revs up a little it will start to idle better when i get off the pedal..your car may be really picky if its cold. What does it idle at? You may need to bump the idle up a thread or so..but try what I said first.Hope this helps.

 

[DaWickedOne]

yea I would recommend adjusting the throttle pins a little bit and see if that doesnt help any. If you try the heating up and adjusting the pins and it still does it then i would recommend taking it to a mechanic to get it checked out. Cause that would drive me crazy having to deal with that.

 

[civic_ef9vtec]

thanx for the help guys, it may sound weird.. but since i took off the main relay and sprayed it with contact spray, tha car is just fine.. but could it be that , or it just happened.. who knows
no problems since.. here the main relay costs 100$
we ve got the worst honda dealer worldwide...
the idle is fine, i never had a problem starting the car ever,, but sometimes when the engine was hot,the car would start, but would keep a very low rpm idle, that needed just a bit of throtle to become stable...
john
greece

 

[mls]

I had an old crusty CA20 carburettored Bluebird auto, ages ago. When the car was cold, you could start it but then it would just die practically a few seconds after starting. The problem was the automatic choke was stuffed. After I started the car, I needed to give the engine some throttle to bring the revs up in order to warm the engine up. After a few minutes of this, the car ran ok. Unless the Bluebird was fully warmed up, then it would just stall, not to mention the auto gearbox which would refuse to kick down after it changed up gears when cold (try driving up a hill in top gear going about 20km/h).

So, after all that, it could be your choke. Usually, if you let the car warm up enough, then it shouldn't give you any trouble, apart from not staying started...

 

[civic_ef9vtec]

thats interesting and i have si,ilar problems with my 89 1,6 pulsar, but the honda STALLED EVEN if i pressed the gas pedal.. it would just stall....
who knows...

 

[yellow90civicsi]

resolder the main relays contacts cause the relay primes the pump for 2 seconds with one relay and there is also another relay located in there to tell the injectors to turn on.
I ALSO SEE THIS ON CUSTOMER CARS WITH THIER ALARMS CAUSIN THIS PROBLEM

 

[civic_ef9vtec]

I ALSO SEE THIS ON CUSTOMER CARS WITH THIER ALARMS CAUSIN THIS PROBLEM

just for the record.... funny u say that ...
when i remover and cleaned the main relay... it had some wires (from the alarm ) soldered in the pins.. i remove those and i believe their purpose is to stall the car in case of theft ... the alarm was an old elser that had problems, and i removed it anyway..
maybe it had something to do with the problem,,
very interesting..