i have a 1989 honda civic dx hatchback 5 speed. and the alternators been actin retarded since i got the car. and i took it to generator exchange in north denver, colorado and he took a long bar and hit the alternator. the ****er started charging. but the "hitting the alternator" only lasted so long. so i got a new alternator. i had someone put it in cuz i dont know **** about cars. and now the car wont start. the jackass was in a hurry "proly cuz his wife threatened to lock him out of the house again" and he put it in, tightened it. and we tried to pop the clutch to start it. the battery was not completely dead, but too dead for the starter to turn. and i kept tryin 2 pop the clutch going down a hill. wouldnt start. and we stopped it and tried to jump it with his vehicle, nothing. then i looked and the jackass didnt put the plug harness in all the way and it fell out, i snapped it back in and tried to start it. it turns but will not start. did i blow a relay or something electrical. its funny the damn car worked before he got his ****ing mits on it. but any ideas on how i can fix this? i took the front driverside wheel off and looked for torn wires, nothing.... i took out the ecu and took it apart to look for broken solder points, ecu looked damn new. so i remounted it back to the firewall. ive gotten 2 suggestions that i blew a camshaft sensor, or i blew a relay. ive been without my car a month now and any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks for reading my post

 

check all your fuses also check the alternator and see if the other wire is attached.

 

Also check whether the alternator belt was properly tightened. If the alternator seems fine, then check whether you have spark at the plugs when the engine is cranking.

 

if you have fuel, spark, compression... car should run check those things

 

Turn your key just till before you try to start it...check to see if your ECU is throwing any codes...if it is you will see a flashing red light...count that if it blinks and you should be able to look up the code and pin point your problem....if it goes through the ecu.

 

I wana thank all of you for your replies to my post. but well go in here in order, 94civichatchback i checked all the fuses an yes the green plug is snapped in and the latch is in the clip and the small wire is bolted down tight, ronj i checked the belt it feels pretty tight and as for the spark. thats kind of hard to do unless thiers another way, but the problem is my spark plugs are deep, and their must be a 1 inch spacing from the tip of it till u see any metal that grabs the spark plug. and my grandfather tried testing it and he said their too far up . my94civic, the fuel, im not sure i smell fuel when it turns on and they told me to check the fuel relay, they said u should hear a click when u turn the key, and i heard that click. as far as the ecu goes hailchristian. i noticed it. when i turn the key it blinks once, then it turns off..

 

Regarding testing for spark, some useful information may be found here:

http://www.hondacarforum.com/honda-2...-cranking.html

 

Your CEL is meant to go on for aprox 2seconds, and then go off when you first turnthe ignition on, you should also hear a faint buzzing kind of noise this is the fuel pump priming,

Pull your plugs one at a time, attach the HT lead again, and touch the metal part of the plug on a metal part of your engine DONT TOUCH ANY METAL theres big zapping power there... and get someone crank the car, you should see little sparks in the spark plugs gap

i think thats explained in the link above...[:-]

Fuel: just pull a fuel line off while cranking you should see some juice fly

Compression: im sure Forty has done a how to one that.....

yup he did https://www.hondacivicforum.com/m_386770/tm.htm

Also after alot of trying to start it you can flood the engine, take plugs out leave it 30mins or so

 

but see heres the problem guys. i know everyones telling me to check for the fuses and all that stuff. but the car ran before that jackarse put his hands on it. the day atfer christmas i was gona go to my gramps n it was night, and here in colorado we got plastered with snow, i charged my battery with my moms cavalier then i put it back, got it started, then got it stuck in the snow twice. got it out and went around the block. damn headlights killed the battery and as i was coming down the hill the engine died, i tried to pop the clutch but the parking spot i park in was comin up so i swung the car in and it sat crooked all night. the next day i charged it again with my moms car but it was daytime. i ran a couple of errands and miraculously the damn car didnt die on me. so i parked it. car sat till the first then i bought the alternator. a certified rebuild one from autozone. came home. the 3rd the jackass came, lifted the car and pulled the alternator "he didnt have to take the wheel well out, that slumped down on interstate 76 and the wheel caught it and tore it off the vehicle lol" and he got the new alternator in. now see i remember when he went to get it out he dropped it and it hit the suspension and fell on the ground. i didnt give a **** because the old alternator didnt mean **** to me. but it makes me wonder could of he had it still connected and he facked up the cable? or maybe grounded something and blew a fuse/sensor/relay. what dont make no goddamn sense is the car ran fine before he put the alternator in. since the car has a ecu, if it dont detect an alternator would it refuse to start? im a computer tech and i sorta understand the ecu and what it does, but could it have safety measures that if something went wrong it could not power the fuel pump? meh i dont kno shyt about any of that but ppl say a relay/fuse/sensor i could of destroyed? all of this dont make sense. and if the car wont start because of a defective alternator? i read the sheet of paper it came with and one of those 4 lines form the alt goes to the ecu. thats what im wondering what kind of internals it could have? if it could of had a diode on there and it blew from him grounding something on accident. i dont know im lost. ive been spending the last 2 days freezing my **** off looking for something wrong and im totally clueless. my grandpa keeps telling me to part out the car or sell it and get another one but i like my honda. always wanted one since i was a kid and im keepin my car fucc all that happymeal *** horseshyt

 

The check engine light coming on then going out and the fuel pump running are a good sign. Those actions are controlled by the ECU so it is not completely dead. You really should check for sparks next. Also open the fuse box next to the battery and check the fuses in there if you haven't already.

Sometimes it is helpful to step back and forget what was done to the car before, because there is a small chance that changing the alternator had nothing to do with the problem now. Pretend like someone just gave you the car and all you know about it is that it won't start. Then check everything from scratch.