Hey guys, so I own a 1990 Honda Civic EF and it's been driving just fine after some tune ups. Today when I got home from work, I needed
to head back out to get something for my fiancé and my car wouldn't turn over. No noise whatsoever. The AC will come on, stereo, lights. So I don't
think it's the alternator at all. Maybe the starter or a ground?

The only thing I did to it today was take 4 screws out of the lower lights near the bumper and replaced them with new screws.
I don't know what I could have damaged in the process of that... huge event, but I suppose it's just coincidence.

Does anyone know what it might be?
I've tried rolling a start, starting in 1st, starting while pushing back in neutral. No luck whatsoever.
The clutch has resistance, wheel isn't locked.

So you have power to the car, but the starter wont engage?

And you tried pop starting the car? Was the key in the "on" position when you attempted this?


There will be a smaller gauge wire that hooks into the starter - that leads to your key (when you turn the key you complete the circuit). Once you find that wire, you can easily jump it back to the battery + and engage the starter manually.



If you didn't say that your interior lights and accessories still work, I would tell you to first check your battery connection. Seems less likely in your case, but it is still a good thing to double check. The starter needs a fair bit of juice to spin the engine - that's why it is usually first in line from the battery.


Lots of ways to do it.

This post was edited by OldAndyAndTheSea on Mar 30 2016 08:34pm

So, what's the permanent fix there?

So, when I turn the key on with the clutch fully engaged, it's almost silence. The check engine light will pop on for a second after the turn and shut off.
The AC will work when the key is turned and when I try to turn it over, it shuts the AC off to a dead quiet (other than the seatbelt moving and radio turning on)

Lack of vtec resulting in failure

Check the battery connectors for corrosion. Make sure key is in ON position, engage clutch, put in first gear, roll the car forward, then quickly remove foot from clutch. If it doesn't start, remove your starter and take it to your local autozone, advanced, o'reillys, what have you.

Removing screws from the bumper isn't going to cause the issue you're having. Sounds like starter isn't getting enough juice to turn over. Ready Andy's suggestions

It ended up being the neutral safety switch. :\

Didn't even know that car had one of those lol, where's it located if you check this again

On the transmission of most any modern automatic

On the actual transmission or inside the vehicle?

I guess the way he said it sounded like he accidentally hit a button inside lol

most 90 civic EF's were 5 speed IIRC

On the trans, normally close to the shifter linkage