car wont start need help (problem solved engine runs better)

General engine questions/issues that aren't specific to the other categories
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car wont start need help (problem solved engine runs better)

By luv-d-eh3
- Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:20 am #342451 yesterday i was wrapping up some wires that were loose (previous owner) and i noticed that some of the wires were spliced bad on the thermostat ground i decided to take off the ground and make em look better. but after putting it back together my car didnt want to start it cranks but wont start. could it be the ground or another problem?
Last edited by luv-d-eh3 on Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
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By teal_dx
- Tue Feb 11, 2014 2:17 pm #342461 That thermostat ground has some important wires grounded and the car won't start if those aren't grounded properly. I'd check your connections and clean the ground contacts up and try again. :thumb:
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By luv-d-eh3
- Wed Feb 12, 2014 2:38 am #342518 cool thanks right now im in the process of putting the wires back im pretty sure my ecu is an OBD1 so im following the wiring diagram from the wiring section but i have a problem. it says that the thermostat ground has 4 wires going into a looped connection 2 blacks, Red/black and Brown/black but on my harness there is only the red and brown and one black and a green wire there isnt another black wire soo im kind of stuck on what to do :?
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By teal_dx
- Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:06 am #342521 Did you put the wires back exactly how they were? Strange the car was fine and now doesn't start. :? Did you do anything else?

Is it not getting spark or fuel?
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By luv-d-eh3
- Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:24 am #342523 i honestly forgot how the wires went so im trying to find a pic of how the grounded wires are, and aside from taking off the ground there was nothing else i did that i can think of :? but after troubleshooting a bit we thought it was the fuel pump, so we ran a wire to a fuse straight to the fuel pump wires and now when i turn the ignition switch i can hear the pump whirring better. i dont really know if the fuel pump is supposed to keep whirring or not cause im pretty new with cars but im sure that its getting fuel throughout the system. we took out some plugs to check for spark and they reeked of gas and there was no spark that we could see
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By teal_dx
- Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:39 pm #342538 It worked before, so I'd put everything back the way it was. Running wires directly to the fuel pump is not fixing the original problem, but will only end up creating more issues in the long run.

I'm pretty sure one of those grounds on the thermostat housing is the ECU.
There should be 4 black wires total and 2 connectors, each square connector has 2 black wires going into it. They're not too long, so it would be hard to lose them unless the engine harness was hacked up. Not sure why 2 of yours were different colors... Please tell me you didn't buy a car with a wire tuck done by someone who didn't know what they were doing... troubleshooting that stuff is going to be a headache.

Image

Image

In the future, snap a pic of something with intricate wiring before taking it apart - I do it all the time just in case :thumb:
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By brandoff88
- Wed Feb 12, 2014 5:22 pm #342545
teal_dx wrote:In the future, snap a pic of something with intricate wiring before taking it apart - I do it all the time just in case :thumb:


god this has saved my ass so many times lol...
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By luv-d-eh3
- Wed Feb 12, 2014 5:33 pm #342546 cool thanks teal for the pics and the tip im going to take pics from now :thumb: . im going to try and put it all back together today after i get back from school. would you suggest taking off the wire i put on the fuel pump? and no there was no wire tuck attempt on my car just alot of bad splicing :thumbdown:
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By luv-d-eh3
- Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:32 am #342620 so i put back the grounds just how they are in the pic and in the wiring diagrams but it still does not want to start. i took off the wiring i did from the fuel pump but now without the wiring it doesnt seem to work. when i turn the ignition on i dont hear the pump :( my thermostat sensor and and coolant sensor are both busted could that have something to do with it?
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By teal_dx
- Fri Feb 14, 2014 3:46 am #342621 How are they busted, like the clip is broke or they're not plugged in at all?

Is the engine properly grounded on the valve cover and transmission? What exactly is happening when you're trying to start it?

Is it getting spark?

Did you disconnect the battery before messing with those wires? It could be possible that you damaged the ECU when arcing some of the wring wires. If the pump is not priming, it could also be a bad main relay.

It's hard to guess without knowing every detail and how hacked up the wiring is and the history of the car/mods and what all has been done to the wiring.

The more details you give, the better :thumb:
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By luv-d-eh3
- Fri Feb 14, 2014 4:31 am #342623 on both of the sensors the wires have come off so no connection whatsoever,

i just finished checking the grounding and i finally wired it right so the fuel pump is working without the extra wire but its still not starting im having a crank no start issue. the engine is grounded properly on both the valve cover and tranny when i turn the key it just cranks, sounds like it wants to start but doesnt.

i did a spark test using the spark plugs and there was no spark that i could see

i did not disconnect the battery before messing with the wires so a messed up ecu could be a possibility, i replaced the main relay a couple months back so idk if that could be it.

i checked all of the fuses and replaced some that were blown. found out that a couple of my car features actually do work (heater, power mirrors, etc)

but i have a 92 civic si with a b18b swap, dc headers i think thats the only mod engine wise. i believe it has the obd1 harness some wires are completely cut off from the sensors such as the thermostat and coolant sensor, a Yellow/green wire is also cut off that belongs to the distributor
connecter, and 3 other wires are loose they are a Yellow/green , Green/yellow, and Blue/black

thanks for all your help teal i really appreciate it :thumb:
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By luv-d-eh3
- Fri Feb 14, 2014 6:51 am #342625 So i finally got the car started.

the problem was the Yellow/green wire on the distributor it seems to have just fallen off from wear and tear but i spliced it back and it started up

but now the idle is a little rough and i believe its backfiring a bit also. any ideas on how to solve these problems?
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By teal_dx
- Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:23 pm #342632 You should repair all the broken sensors on your motor before trying to get it running properly.

Also I'd look over the wiring for any more problems.

Does the check engine light come on when it is running poorly? (if the check engine light works)
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By luv-d-eh3
- Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:41 pm #342633 the check engine comes on as soon as i turn the ignition, and stays lit the whole time the car is in operation, im going to check the ECU today and see what codes it gives me
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