Check Engine Light Flicker, Ticks & Car Won't Start
 

Hello Everyone:

I'd just finished installing the clutch to my 94 Civic Vx and when I went to turn the key, all I got was a check engine light that flickers, lights up almost solid, makes a consistent clicking noise, and the car would not start.

I checked my ground connections, followed by attempting to jump the battery with a battery booster; but I'm still getting the same symptom.

I thought maybe there was something wrong with the starter, and given that it's under warranty, I took the old one back and got a free replacement that I plan to install tomorrow.

When I got back home, I was curious enough to put the key back into the ignition to see what kind of dash lights I would get and sure enough, I got the same symptom with the check engine light. To be clear, I did not attempt to start the car.

Additionally, the car has been sitting for about a month, so I'm starting to wonder if it may be something as simple as a drained battery or if I have a bad ground somewhere.

Bump

Honestly it sounds like your battery voltage is low. Do you have a way of checking it?

Check the battery to make sure it is fully charged and capable of producing enough power to crank the engine.

Engine to chassis ground
Bad battery
Dirty battery terminals
Replaced aftermarket terminals with corroded connections (power or ground)

Use a volt meter to test for bad grounds-connections. Start at the source of power and ground connections, the battery.
A bad ground will give you a voltage reading along the ground circuit itself. Connect the meter to the engine block or other metal part and the negative battery terminal of the battery.

If, when you try to start the car you see a voltage reading of over .25 volt, start at one end of the circuit and clean connections until you no longer get a voltage reading. It could be one bad ground or numerous bad grounds. Once you get them straight it should operate normally.

regards
mech

I just dropped my battery off at Oreily's to have it charged and will install everything later in the day. If that doesn't work, then I will most certainly breakout the multi-meter to check for a bad ground.

I will keep everyone updated on my progress.:thumbup:

Milwaukee is a rust factory, clean and grease both ends of the battery cables clean their corresponding area where they must have a good connection. If they have pinch clamps make sure that additional (not factory) connection is clean.

regards
mech

Okay guys, I've just installed a new battery, given that the old one turned out to bad along with with a new starter...I'm still having the same problems.

So instead of trying to describe the problem, I've decided to upload two videos.

The first video involves what's happening when I've got the key in the ignition and attempt to start the car. If you pay close enough attention to the video at the 14 second mark, you can hear a persistent humming noise (i.e. the so called ticking noise) and see the check engine light flickering intermittently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr2Tou_mxAs


The second video depicts what I have going on in the engine bay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGmrbhbGbqU

My best advice is to pull the ECU fuse to see if there is code that needs to be cleared. Wait five minutes. Re-install the fuse and try again. As that's an older car, double check all ground connections use sand paper and brake clean if you need too.

As an update, I just wanted to mention that I gotten the issue solved. It turned out to be the main relay.

In addition to this site, I'd gone to a few Honda forums, whereas the over general consensus of what my problem involved was the "main relay".

After attempting to address his issue with the other suggestions, I'd broken down decided look at my main relay. Sure enough, I was able to see a crack in a solder joint.

So instead of attempting to fix a 20yr. old part with solder, I decided to get a new one from NAPA, which was reasonably better priced than the dealership. Shortly after plugging it in, the car turned right over. :thumbup:

Glad to hear you got it fixed up. :thumbup: