Please Help!!!!!

Ok so I am currently installing a clutch and flywheel in my car. If you guys have noticed we are currently getting hit with a huuricane in new york so i had no electricity so i finished working with a flashlight tonight. And i accidentally hooked the battery up backwards :shakehead then turned the key on to roll up a window. Well I started smelling some ozone in the car and realized what was happening so i shut the key off and checked the battery realized what i did and fixed it. So now everything is finished. all i have left to do is adjust the pedal under the dash. I have about 4 inches of freeplay in the pedal when i should only have about 3/4 inch or so. Now I can't open my door far enough to work on the pedal cause of crap in my garage, so i decided to start it up and back it out a little to do it. Well anyway she won't start she won't even turn over? battery is not dead. The lights in my dash come on but thats it. no cranking. (starter is installed correctly.)

Did I fry something by hooking up the battery backwards? shouldn't fuses have blown first? Or is it just because the clutch isn't adjusted yet so that safety thing isn't engageing and allowing me to start the car?

If ANYONE has any ideas I would love to hear them
(by the way feel free to call me a dumass for the battery thing :shakehead )

If you smelled ozone something was probably arcing.

Good luck

i just thought of this. could I have fried the starter??

well i hope not, hopefully its just the clutch cable adjustment

Did you smell anything else other then ozone? Perhaps a burning smell? You might want to look over the electronics in the car, see if something looks burnt.

Sorry, I dont know enough about cars to offer you more then simple advice.

seriously doubt u fried the starter...the starter can spin either way with no prob. you may have frid the ecuu or the main relay...anything that is sensitive to voltage may have fried....damn dude good luck with that.

The starter is always engaged to the fly wheel right? Can the engine spin the other way?

All hell breaks loose with electronics when you run reverse current though it. :banghead:

starter gear needs to be modified to spin the motor in reverse...it can be done. ive seen desiel generators engines modded to do that. all u need is a new cam.

i think it is your alternator. If you hook up your battery backwards it gets fried. :swear:

If you normally have to press the clutch down, you probably didn't reconnect a ground or something. I'm not sure how that works but the car probably thinks the clutch isn't down.

i think it is your alternator. If you hook up your battery backwards it gets fried. :swear:


what would a fried alternator have to do with the car not starting as long as the battery is charged?

the reason its not starting is because the clutch pedal is not in contact with the switch. To make myself more clear, hondas wont start with out the clutch pedal engaged and to the floor. If you have 4" worth of play, you need to rebleed it. Once you rebleed it, the car should start. If you need some help on rebleeding it, reply back in here or send me a PM and id be glad to help.

-Bryan

^^^^ Exactly, if you just finished putting in a new clutch, you need to bleed and refill the clutch lines, no pressure, no contact, no start.

the reason its not starting is because the clutch pedal is not in contact with the switch. To make myself more clear, hondas wont start with out the clutch pedal engaged and to the floor. If you have 4" worth of play, you need to rebleed it. Once you rebleed it, the car should start. If you need some help on rebleeding it, reply back in here or send me a PM and id be glad to help.

-Bryan

'93 has a cable clutch not a hydraulic? so isn't there nothing to bleed?

so if what I think you are saying applies to hydraulic clutches then would the same apply for a cable? all i need to do is adjust the cable?

I thought that the clutch safety switch was under the dash behind the clutch pedsal on the braket that it is attached to, but I have never had to mess with mine so I dunno. But I would go ahead and adjust the clutch, then see what happens. I fstill no start then I would recheck every single electrical connector that you had to mess with during the clutch install. Then if still no start then I would chech the starter solenoid on the starter.

my clutch saftey switch is under my dash hooked up to my clutch pedal....as with almost all hondas. so explain to me how bleeding the clutch will affect starting?

ok so tonight i got the clutch cable all adjusted properly. and it still won't start :banghead: . Anyway. how do the starters on integras work? is the small wire ground and the larger one positive?or are they both positive and one gets jumped to the other when starting and its grounded through the bellhousing? when i check with a tester the larger one always has power going to it even with the key off and the smaller one never has power. I tried jumping the starter and I couldn't get it to work.
Also when I try to start the 3 lights on the left side of my dashboard (check engine, battery, and something else i think...) get dim and there is like a clicking or buzzing noise coming from behind my instument panel.

Are there fuses somewhere for important things in the car like fuel pump, starter, etc, etc. in the two fuse boxes that the book lists there is only crap like blinkers rear window defroster and such. the book says that there is fuses behind the engine somewhere but to have a acura dealer replace them? could it be something like that and does anyone know about them?


I guess this is what happens when you rush :banghead: :banghead: ....

the lil wire is the starter wire off the ign key....the big wire is a direct pos link....the starter is grounded to the motor by the casing.....clicking....u may have a dead or weak or bad battery...try having some one jump start the car.

the lil wire is the starter wire off the ign key....the big wire is a direct pos link....the starter is grounded to the motor by the casing.....clicking....u may have a dead or weak or bad battery...try having some one jump start the car.


no the battery is fine.

so if the little wire is the lead from the key switch what would make it not get power when i turn the key on? bad switch? fuse?

and if I jump the little wire from the battery or from the direct pos lead shouldn't the starter go?

could i have blown the starter and the switch or fuse?

did you check the fuses under the hood? I am sure you have but thought I would put that out there.
Also The little wire should havce power only when the key is turned all the way to start. If it does not then there is something wrong with it between there and the switch. Also there is a relay in/on the under dash fuse block. Try looking there and see if you can find it. It will have four prongs turned flat/horizonal. This could be the problem also, try unplugging the relay and then turn the key to start and see if any of the wires in the socket ( not the relay) have power when the key is turned, then see if any have power when the key is in the on but not start position. There are four wires in the harness, one is a ground, one is a constant power, one is from the switch and one goes to the starter solenoid which is on the starter, the little wire is the one that should go to the relay. If I have confuse you just hoop on AIM and hit me up and I will help you as much as i can.

Make sure your clutch is adjusted correctly, then try bump starting the car by pushing it or having someone pull you. If she starts then you can check a few things off your list. Good luck man!

Make sure your clutch is adjusted correctly, then try bump starting the car by pushing it or having someone pull you. If she starts then you can check a few things off your list. Good luck man!


That is a good idea except if it does not start you have to push it back. However it does not take alot of speed to start the motor.

Try this, take the little wire off of the starter, then take a peice of wire and attach it to the point that the little wire came from, and with the other end touch it to the positive battery terminal. Don't hold it there just breifly touch it to it. You are lookling for the starter to spin over. If it does not spin over, does it click? If it clicks and you have power on the large wire,then there is a problem inside the starter. If it spins then the problem lies somewhere in the switch or relay.

well i finally got to work on her again, I tried jumping the starter like whtteg said but i didn't get anything (no spin, no clicking just nothing). And the key was on for this. also i tried locating the relay that you said was under the fuse block, but couldn't find it? I don,t see anything under the fuse block inside the car? did you mean behind it when you said under it?

Anyway, when I turn the key on there is a kinda buzzing sound coming from under the dash sorta like a shoting sound but i'm not sure. it sounds as if it is coming from right under the steering coulumn I tried turning the key with my head under the dash to see if i could tell and it is not coming from the computer or at least what i think is the computer, like i said more like directly under steering column. What could this be? I checked all the fuses under dash and they are all good, found one called starter signal but like i said it is not bad.

Also if this helps or it may just be coincidence, but my cd player doesn't even turn on anymore. And the fuse is fine. All my other power accesories like windows mirrors, sunroof all work fine. only thing bad is cd player and the damn thing not starting?

Man I really don't know what to tell you. Your ECU is on the passanger side under the carpet all the way to the front on the floor.The only thing I could suggest is disconnecting the battery for 10mins or so and try it again. And double check all the fuses, you should have the ones under the dash and the ones under the hood. Now just looking at the ones under the hood may not tell ypou if they are bad or not. The best thing to do is get a volt meter and test both sides of the fuse for power. I would try this first, then if no solution then I have no other suggestions. As much as I would like to give you the answer it is also hard to diagnois a problem without working on the car in person. If I think of anything else I will let you know.

Ok here is a pic of where your starter relay should be

Also check the integrated control unit, I have attched a pic of it also it is the thing the arrow is pointed to

i would assume there are diodes installed just after your battery to stop as much damage from happening as possible if you put your battery in backwards. i would say to check all your fuses you make sure its not something simple like that. make sure the battery isnt dead; turning dash lights on requires a few amps at most, whereas starting an engine can require several hundred.

put a charger on it for ahwile and see what happens

thanks anyway guys but i already said that the battery was fine. And anyway I got her running tonight, turns out i just wasn't getting a good ground on the tranny. I disconnected the ground strap cleaned it up with a wire brush and she started right up, I never thought I could be so pissed and so relieved at the same time! the clutch feels stong, the short shifter I put on feels good and I can't wait to hit the road. My speedometer isn't working but i think i just plugged it in wrong or something. other than that shes perfect.

thank you guys for all the advice and help.

oh yeah my stereo did get fried by the backwards battery thing and that must have been the ozone i smelled. melted the fuses then hit the deck...

Ok so I am currently installing a clutch and flywheel in my car. If you guys have noticed we are currently getting hit with a huuricane in new york so i had no electricity so i finished working with a flashlight tonight. And i accidentally hooked the battery up backwards :shakehead then turned the key on to roll up a window. Well I started smelling some ozone in the car and realized what was happening so i shut the key off and checked the battery realized what i did and fixed it. So now everything is finished. all i have left to do is adjust the pedal under the dash. I have about 4 inches of freeplay in the pedal when i should only have about 3/4 inch or so. Now I can't open my door far enough to work on the pedal cause of crap in my garage, so i decided to start it up and back it out a little to do it. Well anyway she won't start she won't even turn over? battery is not dead. The lights in my dash come on but thats it. no cranking. (starter is installed correctly.)

Did I fry something by hooking up the battery backwards? shouldn't fuses have blown first? Or is it just because the clutch isn't adjusted yet so that safety thing isn't engageing and allowing me to start the car?

If ANYONE has any ideas I would love to hear them
(by the way feel free to call me a dumass for the battery thing :shakehead )

I have a 92 Civic. I hooked up the battery backwards and blew the main battery fuse. Well I replaced that and drove about 200 miles and now car won't start again. I have checked all fuses, alternator, starter and all electrical stuff. Nothing is bad I think we fried the computer. Any luck yet?