damn... well, i was driving and it started shuddering so i pulled off on a side street... and when i came to a stop the idle dropped and it just died...
the car's a 1990 crx... im running a zc in it right now, with a pm7... so i switched it with a pm6 and it still has a solid cel. what could cause this?



symptoms:
-solid check engine light

things i've done:
-checked fuses (under hood and steering column)



could it be a ground somewhere? the main relay clicks once when i first turn the key, but since the cel doesn't go off, i dont know if it's working or not. i also wasn't able to hear if the fuel pump was priming since there where alot of cars passing (kinda loud...)


any input?

 

Will it start? If you can get it running, have someone keep it idling(since you said it wouldn't) and look at the motor closely. Check the header flanges for any fluids coming out(water or oil).

Also check that CEL, it's not lying so if you weren't pulling a code before, it'll tell you the problem.

 

^ What he said. Checking the CEL code should probably be the first thing you do.

 

dude... its a solid cel... that's ecu error...


but i tried a known good ecu and it still displayed a solid cel... could a main relay be the cause of this? fluel pump? fuses? grounds? ghaaaa... so many things to check

 

check engine lights dont flash bro, its on and will stay on until the ecu is no longer detecting a malfunction, or the lack of a connection.

If someone told you to check the code and count the flashes, they are talking about the ecu itself, its obd0 so there is a LED on top that will flash out a code. You can search and very easily pull up the OBD0 codes.

a CEL is not a big deal, they are meant to be able to easily diagnose a problem. Have you started the car since it died? You're complaining about the CEL not flashing at you?

When you have a problem, and there is no CEL, thats when you need to ask for help, until then, do what we said.

 

Are you talking about a solid CEL on the Ecu its self or, in the gauge cluster?

That'll help us a lot right now.

 

Yeah on an EF the ECU's light will flash but if it is solid then its usually the ecu. The CEL in the cluster is going to be solid. You can try the Main Relay if you want it happened to my car. Try tapping it with a small box wrench while you start it.

 

alot of times for this car its the MAIN RELAY. i had 3 90 civics/crx and all them went out.

if you wana try a relay of mine just pm

 

yea, the red led on the ecu itself stays on... i tried another known good ecu also... and it had the same problem.



my question, is what could cause that if it's not ecu related? (which i think it isn't)

 

Ok, the light on the ECU is not a CEL, thats why we were confused. Try a new relay then and get back to us, I've had many OBD0 hondas but never had a relay go bad.