The wiring details need a pro to look it over, not a custom shop but someone who has experience specifically with Honda OBD-0 and OBD-1 wiring and ECUs. maybe someone here on the forum can assist if they are local. Without sharing specifics what general area are you located in? I think getting eyes on it or even a facetime call would go a long way.
introduction
hello everyone! i am new here to the community and car modification in general! i’m a college student studying fashion design and photography. i recently purchased truthfully my first car all on my own. i’ve had several before this under my parents. ‘97 Cavalier > ‘06 nissan altima, ‘14 Civic > 16 Lexus is350 f sport > and now my very own CRX!
i’ve had friends who have always been good at the skill sets needed to modify your own vehicle. skills like welding and in general they just seemed to “know” about cars. they would help me change my oil occasionally and tell me when it felt like my rotors were warped. and i admire and thank them for that immensely. but i always felt like “damn, i should learn how to do that” but it always felt daunting and too far ahead for me to ever catch up.
my three dream cars have always been the porche 964, bmw e30, and the honda crx. if i’m being honest, it was the supra first, but i felt like liking the supra was the “cool” thing to do and i like underground artist that you’ve never heard of, if you catch what i mean. so i went crx, and now, I OWN ONE!
i’ve been up and down these forums and HT and all over the internet researching for what i’m going to do with my little machine. already fixing some issues and have modification parts on the way and all that’s left is getting in there and doing it.
more specifics on the car:
1991 CRX USDM base chassis in white with blue interior
stock everything inside minus the seats. it is in amazingly great shape. all door trim and fittings still attached and functional. no door damage from seatbelt. trunk “lid” still in tact and carpeted. and even the spare tire and jack. all working dash lights and gauges. and even a fully in tact even lights up temperature control unit. the ONLY thing missing is the stock radio. but that’s it! lucky me!
and for the engine:
b18c3 dohc vtec
from what i can see there’s been an AC delete, and a few other things cleaned out of the engine bay. the vtec wasn’t engaging, which i used to drive the price down during negotiations. but i already ordered the appropriate ECU. and i found a guy with a full 91 crx ac system i can take for $450. so i’ll be able to drive in the heat soon!
exterior is as good as a 30 year old car can get. all parts still attached faded trim and chipped paint on some trim parts, tiny bit of body rust on the rear drive side fender. but other then that. it’s just an old car. AMR engineering suspension is on the way. as is a few other suspension pieces. upper control arms and the sort.
anyway. i got carried away. if you read all that, kudos to you. we’re friends now. haha thanks for welcoming me here everyone. i’ll post pictures of my crx on here!
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i’ve had friends who have always been good at the skill sets needed to modify your own vehicle. skills like welding and in general they just seemed to “know” about cars. they would help me change my oil occasionally and tell me when it felt like my rotors were warped. and i admire and thank them for that immensely. but i always felt like “damn, i should learn how to do that” but it always felt daunting and too far ahead for me to ever catch up.
my three dream cars have always been the porche 964, bmw e30, and the honda crx. if i’m being honest, it was the supra first, but i felt like liking the supra was the “cool” thing to do and i like underground artist that you’ve never heard of, if you catch what i mean. so i went crx, and now, I OWN ONE!
i’ve been up and down these forums and HT and all over the internet researching for what i’m going to do with my little machine. already fixing some issues and have modification parts on the way and all that’s left is getting in there and doing it.
more specifics on the car:
1991 CRX USDM base chassis in white with blue interior
stock everything inside minus the seats. it is in amazingly great shape. all door trim and fittings still attached and functional. no door damage from seatbelt. trunk “lid” still in tact and carpeted. and even the spare tire and jack. all working dash lights and gauges. and even a fully in tact even lights up temperature control unit. the ONLY thing missing is the stock radio. but that’s it! lucky me!
and for the engine:
b18c3 dohc vtec
from what i can see there’s been an AC delete, and a few other things cleaned out of the engine bay. the vtec wasn’t engaging, which i used to drive the price down during negotiations. but i already ordered the appropriate ECU. and i found a guy with a full 91 crx ac system i can take for $450. so i’ll be able to drive in the heat soon!
exterior is as good as a 30 year old car can get. all parts still attached faded trim and chipped paint on some trim parts, tiny bit of body rust on the rear drive side fender. but other then that. it’s just an old car. AMR engineering suspension is on the way. as is a few other suspension pieces. upper control arms and the sort.
anyway. i got carried away. if you read all that, kudos to you. we’re friends now. haha thanks for welcoming me here everyone. i’ll post pictures of my crx on here!
1 - 4 of 23 Posts
On the ECU, if you can take photos of your existing ECU (the logo and sticker/label) and also all wiring coming out of it, as well as the wiring from the distributor (red below) to the coil on plugs (COP, green below) we can steer you in the right direction. COP is not available without a daughter circuit board being installed in the ECU typically, so you cannot just swap to another ECU unless that ECU also has a COP daughter board modification.
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Dana (YoungStatic) on Youtube has a good video explaining COP install here:
If I were in your shoes, I would convert back from COP to stock distributor, spark plug wires, and standard spark plugs. Maybe I'm old school but that's my personal preference.
Dana (YoungStatic) on Youtube has a good video explaining COP install here:
If I were in your shoes, I would convert back from COP to stock distributor, spark plug wires, and standard spark plugs. Maybe I'm old school but that's my personal preference.
2
Ouch, that ECU wiring looks rough!
You need to decide, do you want to stick with COP or do you want to go back to OEM style distributor + spark plug wires?
As stated originally, I think a pro that is experienced in Honda OBD conversions is needed.
You have an 88-91 car which is OBD-0.
You have an engine which is OBD-1 (92-95).
You have to convert from OBD-0 to OBD-1 to run your engine (which is that red wiring plug adapter you have).
Here are some pinouts that may help clean up the wiring. Wish I was local, I could help out. I'm sure someone near you has the needed experience.
Here is a "how to" showing a fresh install. You are unfortunately working with someone else's botched work which adds some complexity.
OBD-0
![]()
OBD-1
![]()
You need to decide, do you want to stick with COP or do you want to go back to OEM style distributor + spark plug wires?
As stated originally, I think a pro that is experienced in Honda OBD conversions is needed.
You have an 88-91 car which is OBD-0.
You have an engine which is OBD-1 (92-95).
You have to convert from OBD-0 to OBD-1 to run your engine (which is that red wiring plug adapter you have).
Here are some pinouts that may help clean up the wiring. Wish I was local, I could help out. I'm sure someone near you has the needed experience.
Here is a "how to" showing a fresh install. You are unfortunately working with someone else's botched work which adds some complexity.
OBD-0
OBD-1
1 - 4 of 23 Posts
