Hello,

149000 miles. full tank of gas no other known problems. until last friday morning.

this post is in regards to my 2001 honda civic. She wont start. When I tried to start it the other day, it cranked fine but didnt start. thought i needed a jump but that wasnt the case. pulled the plugs, no spark. i checked all fuses and i hear the main relay click when i turn the key to on position. No CEL or codes when i hooked up the computer. tested voltage to ecm/pcm as good but no pulse voltage is going out to the plugs. I just want to verify that it is my ECM/PCM that has gone bad. my father in law is a mechanic and has been one for about 20 years now and has only had to replace 2 ecms. any help would be awesome.

Lars

 

Does the CEL cycle on and off like it should when you turn the key on but don't crank? That indicates the ECU is running to some extent. Usually the problem is the crank sensor-- without it the ECU doesn't know that the engine is turning. Check that the sensor has power. It's common for the wires to get caught in the belts and damaged. Also check that the coil units get power-- both with the key on and while cranking. The ECU ground wires on the thermostat housing are also vital for proper operation.

The rule is to rule everything else out before replacing the computer. Honda engine computers are called ECUs.

 

CEL cycles normally. for the ground wires and the crank sensor...do you have pictures or know of a place that does? yeah about ruling everything out, i agree because from what i hear the ECU rarely quits working all of a sudden with no warnings. This civic has been perfect since ive had it. except the AC went out about a year ago. i dont need it in hawaii though.

 

Going to find a new ECU to see if that is the problem. after checking all the voltages going into the ECU as good im fairly certain this is the problem. I will repost if and when the problem gets resolved or when i install the new ECU.

 

So, the new(ish) ECM/PCM didn't work. And since I've probably cranked the thing 100 times in hopes that my efforts finally bore fruit, my battery is dead. Gotta steal my wife's battery from her car but my neighbor and I both think it is the Crankshaft Position Sensor (ckp). Gonna go ohm/multimeter it and see. Will repost when fixed.

 

Did you happen to get your key copied? I did that thinking it would be good because I only had one key. Well turns out there's a chip in the key and the engine will sound like it's starting but won't turn over if you don't use the non-copy key.

 

so after ruling out the ECM/PCM, i thought I would focus my efforts on the CKP (Crankshaft Position Sensor). I Ran over a brake rotor in the Highway a couple months ago and the mechanics said the only damage was to the tires and wheels nothing else. but after looking under the car, i noticed i have a class 1 leak on my oil pan on the same side where the rotor hit and the plastic cover ( the one that covers the CKP) is cracked open. also the rubber boot on my strut is half missing. Im going to take it to the hobby shop and pull the engine to get at the CKP. Anyone know of an easier way to remove it? Dont really wanna pull the engine.

 

so i pulled the crankshaft pulley, going to replace the water pump, timing belt and CPK. also gonna fix my AC. when i pulled the lower cover off it was cracked in like 4 places and full of debris. should have a working car by this weekend pending any more setbacks. Didnt have to remove the engine. just the drivers side tire and Crankshaft pulley to get to the sensor.