Help, Codfishing
 

Hello: I made a wiring change to my 89 Honda Civic last night, to make it so I could have a separate switch, just for turning off the power to the fuel injector's, so that I can Codfish without fiddeling with the ignition/key switch.

My effort was to attempt to be able to turn off the engine, without messing with my ignition key, since it is wayyy to easy to turn the key off, lock up the steering and all of that business. The problem is that on the Honda, it apparently is monitoring other output's, from the engine, so that the ecu goes into a mode where it seems to shut off the fuel supply, entirely AND sometime's it won't allow it to turn back on until the ignition is turned all of the way off and then turned back on.

Unfortunately, just shutting off the power to the injector's causes the engine to stop, Ok, but it throws a check engine light which doesn't get cleared until the ignition is turned off and then back on.

So, the cut-off of the power to the injector's doesn't just disable the fuel flow and then when I reenable the fuel flow, allow the engine to come back awake. Does anybody have any thought's or other idea's of how I can set it up, so I can shut down the engine for engine off, disengaged coasting, without using the ignition switch and without shutting off the key, entirely, to reinitialize the ecu, so that the engine will restart?

Any thought's, idea's suggestion's?

Let's see. MetroMPG used a kill switch connected to his ignition coil.

To kill the engine you have to eliminate fuel, spark, or air. I know that air shutoff valves work on diesels:

https://www.rodadeaco.com/sitepage/mainfs.htm

Beats me if it would work on gas engines.

Spark is obviously the ignition coil and the key. Any way to put a kill switch in the ignition itself so you can bypass the key?

Fuel. Well, injectors (which you've tried). Kill switch on the fuel pump? Or what about a valve closing the fuel delivery to the injectors so the car acts as if it runs out of gas?

Killing the fuel pump sounds pretty good. On a Honda you can do this at the main relay.

I wouldn't put a valve in the fuel line...you'd esentially be dead-heading the fuel system, and all D- and B-series honda engines run on a return fuel system...you'd probably end up burning op your fuel pump or bursting a line/seal somewhere.

Oh right, I didn't think of that. Pump would keep pumping and build pressure in the line.

Actually this sounds like a good idea to me. If you put in a momentary push button switch that would "backwards" (meaning turn system off when in) you could push the button and shut off the car but when you let it out you would be ready to bump start at the bottom and go.

Please someone smarter than me (not that that narrowed anything down much) please tell me how if at all that could be done.

hm my check engine light and oil pressure gauges light up but the engine light goes away after 10 seconds or so with the engine off. I'm glad IG II and IGIII allows me to still have control over my steering wheel, although your car does not sound very "Honda" at all ;( as it looks like you need to put it into IGI just so you can get control of the wheel again. When I bump my engine all the lights go away and things go back to normal.

Although one thing is bugging me is the Daytime running lights that are apparent when I codfish however putting into IGII turns them off, as well as my speedo, odometer and mileage reading ;(

Now what I want is a switch for day time running lights, since they are useful as well when the day is beggining to get dark but you don't want to use the full headlights just yet :)

Jack: Basically what you've described is what I was trying to accomplish. The problem seems to be that the ecu somehow is aware that their isn't any fuel flow and consequently it goes into it's lost in neverland mode.

The fuel pump and the injectors power both come off of the same relay. However, the relay is controlled by the ecu, I presume so that if the ecu loses it, the worst that will happen is the fuel will get shut off. However, their is something else, also going on, but I haven't figured out what. If I get it sorted so that it will do what I was trying to accomplish, in the first place, I'll let everyone know what I did, that worked.

I'm not sure I would do that. If you shut off the fuel pump the injectors are still cycling away with no fuel/lubrication until the engine dies. Not good-injectors are big $'s. It sounds like Honda makes it difficult to kill the engine with the have-to-shut-the-key-off-first thing. Sounds like the ignition approach may be best?

You might look at the wiring to the ignition switch and use a push button there. You'd still have to have the key to start it, but you wouldn't have to have the key to shut it down.

So on the "downstream" side of the ignition switch you'd bascially interrupt the + wire. It would act just like switching the key off (so you'd still have to put it back in run position to record your mileage), but without the chance of locking the steering.

See, thaaat's why I asked you guy's for help! I think this is a very valid consideration cause I definitely don't want any further challenges, if I can avoid them. Good point!!! Thanks!