1993 honda wont start when it rains

6 months ago when it rained, The Honda would not start. I replaced everything. Distrib cap/ rotor/ main relay/ fuel pump/ battery/ fuel filter/ new injectors/ timing belt/ water pump/ crank pulley/ timing gear/ it still would not start. A mechanic came by my house and spent 5 minutes with his test light and was fiddiling under the hood by the fuse box, testing, then boom. i heard the fuel pump initilize and it started. hasnt rained since. The mechanic said the computer got wet, and needed to be reset. It was not sending the ground to the injectors or the fuel pump. He never would show me how he did it.

Last friday it rained again. this time it was under the carport so the car is completely dry. however its still not starting, and the fuel pump wont initialize. The 15a and 7.5 amp fuse has to be removed to reset the ECM, which i did. I also pressed the brake down to drain the capacitor. still nothing.

Ive searched all over the internet, and found this is very common issue, but no where have i found a solution that works. Everwhere I search, its the same thing. Mechanic says oh its the relay. Problem is the relay is fine. and this has somthing to do with the computer sending ground to turn everything on. and its when it rains that the computer fouls? So its a bad ECM? and when i replace that and it rains again. then what?

Somewhere out there there has to be someone who has experienced this. Or at least someone that can tell me that the car is broke. And there is no way to fix it, because its a mystery that Honda has had with the civic since 1993. And there is nothing you can do.

If anybody has any idea what else i can do, please help. Ive replaced everything that everyone tells me to replace. now its looking like the computer?!?! really? how do they know? And how would a new computer change anything? its still a computer that was made in 1993.

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Be not guided by morality, but rather, integrity.

Probably the same ol' same old. Disconnect & reconnect all connectors (and rotate fuses etc).

In this case I'd say discon & reconnect the ECM or whatever parts are near the fusebox.

If you hear the FP kick into life you might then know what the problem is.


As to a 1993 mystery that no one has solved, I find that hard to believe.
Then again...

Next time it rains, sit in the car with the key in the on position and listen carefully for the relay to click. It will take a minute or 2. Once that relay clicks you will hear the fuel pump power up, then start the car.

I have no idea where the relay is located, but I know that it is your problem.

So it might be the main ECU relay, or pump relay...
Therefore maybe moisture across terminals (tho that usually causes non-release or undesired turn ons) or contact contamination.

Maybe some INOX or WD40?

its not the relay as i replaced that. Honda said there is nothing left to replace except the ECM computer. $400.

Should have bought the Prius.



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Be not guided by morality, but rather, integrity.

If it was Honda that said replace everything else...

But IMO that is not the solution. An EMS does not suffer from moisture and then recover...
What I mean is that there will be some way to fix - maybe conformally coating the PCB tho more likely fixing bad connections (WD40 or silicon spray etc).

Of course if Honda say to replace the EMS (despite that mechanic previously fixing it without replacing the EMS) then Honda can obviously tell you what the fault is with the EMS, or what version number the new fixed EMS is.   


This reminds me of a mate's problem but his mechanic wasn't as talented as yours.   Wet weather caused problems. Despite ME telling the mechanic how to test the fuel pumps (it requires real high stuff called electrical wire, or jumper leads) I still ended up spending hours removing mine only to later be told it wasn't the pumps. (Der!)
Over the 2 week period of his non-fix he managed to also blow the EMS.
My mate found the problem when he brushed against the battery +12V flinks - the system kicked to life. It was nothing more than bad fuselink connections at the +12V battery terminal.
My mate later reminded me that I had advised/warned him a few months earlier that those flinks needed fixing - 'should be ok for now but they'll soon cause problems'. (Yeah I know - FIGJAM!)

Next time it rains, sit in the car with the key in the on position and listen carefully for the relay to click. It will take a minute or 2. Once that relay clicks you will hear the fuel pump power up, then start the car.

I have no idea where the relay is located, but I know that it is your problem.

I did not say that the relay was the problem, I am just saying that you need to leave the key in the run position for a minute or 2 and then the car will start.

I had same problem with opel. Cold start air regulator was the problem.