Okay-

Hopefully I will give enough detail here to give you an insight into my problem. Months ago my Honda started acting up. It would intermittently stop and immediately start while I was driving, I thought it was just the road but no it was actually cutting out on me. Since it wasn't consistent I thought water maybe in the gas tank; so used an additive and the problem seemed to go away. Now the car won't start at all.

Here's what I know ( sorry I am not very car savvy )

1. Car attempts to turn over but never start
2. After turning on the ignition:

Check engine light goes out after a few seconds
Can hear the fuel pump start but also hear it stop after a few seconds
Do not hear a click from the Main Relay ( don't know if I am deaf or retarded )

Pulled the main relay.. no excessive damage was apparent and no dry sockets on the board.

I had a similar problem a few years ago and had the ECM replaced with a used one. I am suspecting this maybe the problem since I see rampant failures of this module throughout the postings. Its an expensive part so I am a little leary of picking this as the first piece to replace.

Can anyone provide the detailed specs ( okay looking for pictures ) of doing the test on the ECM. I saw the post on checking the D19 / D21 connection; would this be included in a Shelton manual; is it worth buying?

Hopefully I haven't rambled on here.. but I would really appreciate any help. The car has 162,000 miles on it and has been a good commuter car (wife would love to see it go) but I just can't.

Thanks for any help.
Jon

Reading sections A and B below should help you get your Civic running again:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-trucks/faq-how-troubleshoot-repair-maintain-hondas-46563.html

It doesn't sound like the ECM is bad. Focus on the Ignition Control Module, coil, and distributor itself (sensors may be bad). Be sure to test all under-dash and under-hood fuses with a test light or multimeter:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-trucks/faq-how-troubleshoot-repair-maintain-hondas-46563-3.html#post252145

Sweet!

After working through all the steps the problem was a bad ignition coil - replaced the distributor cap and the rotor while I was there - but the coil was the problem and the car is humming like a champ again.

Thank you so much for the help. All the autoshops I talked to wanted to replace the fuel pump first but reading your posts I had a gut feeling that wasn't the problem.

Thanks AGAIN!

Super job! Only 3 hours from originally posting your question to having it solved. Yes, a lot of people want to replace Honda fuel pumps; however, I have yet to find one that really needed replacing. 90%+ of "crank but won't start situations" are electrical-related, not fuel.

I have a similar problem... change spark plugs, main relay, cap and rotor, fuel filter... thinking about replacing the fuel pump, instead change the ECM (from junk yard) and everything working fine.

The main difference in my problem; following the checklist was the fact that my CEL function normally ( always shut off after 2 seconds ). I wasn't sure about the main relay until I read closely the ( do you hear or feel the click ) so I put my finger on the main relay and could feel the click. So everything in the check list pointed to a ignition problem not the ECM/Main Relay or the Fuel pump. So glad you fixed your problem.. The checklist from TXGREASEMONKEY rocked!