So this weekend I was working on my 1981 Civic due to some problems starting. I got it fixed but it turned out to be a major pain in the rear.... So I figured it'd be fun to see what people would have suggested be done and I'll post the fix later (perhaps tommorow).... Here's what happened....

I went outside to start the car, got in it turned over fine but wouldn't start, so I poured a little fuel into the carb and then it fired up and ran until the fuel ran out indicating a gas problem, so I pulled the the fuel line off at the carb and sure enough no fuel was coming out when starting it (electric fuel pump klein carburator) or when the key was in the on postion. Due to the cold weather and the fact that it sat for about 3-4 months since being started I figured perhaps there was water in the fuel line. I pulled off the fuel line coming directly off the pump and got the exact same reaction. No fuel, so I ran to an auto parts store and picked up a fuel filter and a fuel pump (in case I needed it).... Where would you go from here? I will mention ahead of time that all the fuses were fine and I was getting power to the fuse from the ignition.... thoughts, ideas, guesses?

 

But ,, were you getting power at the fuel pump ?? you have to chk that before you condemn the fuel pump ,, could be a bad fuel pump relay. and believe it or not i have seen ignitors on those early years cut the power to the pump ,,

if there was power at the pump , than i would had to guess a bad pump, clogged screen , or some inside the tank , clugged lines,

 

I bought the fuel pump because time was running out and the parts store was going to close, so If I needed it I had it if not then I could return it (as long as it wasn't installed), so I replaced the fuel filter (it needed it anyway), and tested for power, nope, zip, nada, so I removed the fuel pump relay and jumpered the ignition to the fuel pump and low and behold, I have power! but still no fuel... obviously since I had power to the pump at this point and no fuel (I had the line directly off the fuel pump disconnected) the pump was in fact bad, so I replace the pump and with my fuel relay jumper in place I've got power, replaced the fuel pump relay and no more power to the pump.... now what?

 

poor ( bad ) connection at fuse box where the relay plugs in ,, a faulty ( new ) relay ,,

 

Sir_Nast:
How about the distributor rotor having a crack in it and also corroded tip..then check the resistance between the coil primary terminals, if the coil fails check it and replace with a new Part"(s)

WheelBrokerAng

 

I checked the resitance at the coil and it was fine, bought a new relay and put it in.... same problem... so I was beating my head against a wall at this point... removed the distributor cap and it looked a bit dirty so I cleaned the contacts a little bit, still wouldn't start (I had the fuel pump relay back in place at this point, so I'm still getting spark and fuel but not running) tired starting it a few more times and then all of the sudden it worked.... replaced the main relay (the origonal, put it back in) and car still started and ran fine, put in a new cap and rotor and haven't had a problem since, it starts and runs like a champ now.... I'm just dumb founded that a fricken distributor cap/rotor did this.... I had never seen that before... the rotor looked fine, the cap was a bit dirty but no signs of it arcing elsewhere, and I was getting consistent spark when I tested for it.... but now it's all good.... just about drove me nuts though since it was freezing outside and I was litteraly sliding under the car on a sheet of ice that had formed below it....

 

ok, now you got me confused,,,,,,,,you said that after you installed the new relay there was no power at the pump.........a distr rotor will not cut off power to get to fuel pump ,,

 

You can understand my confusion now as well.... with either relay in place the car failed to supply power to the pump, if jumpered it worked fine and after the troubleshooting it started to function normally with either relay in place.... I don't know if disconnecting the coil for testing rest something or what but all I know is that this problem was a major headache...

 

the coil, rotor or distr cap has nothing to do with it..........I am wondering if you had ( have ) a poor connection at the fuse box where the relay gets plugged in and by removing and installing it is make a connection now .. I have seen that on a few occasions ,, but since it is fixed no need to wonder unless it acts up again

 

if it happens again I'm just going to jumper the SOB and not worry about it.... It was all very coincidental but none the less it made for a major headache.... but like you said it's working now!