88 honda civic hatchback will not start. Checkengine does not go off when key is turned on and engine will not start

If the car shuts down after the service engine lights on, possible problem is the igniter on your ignition coil. You have to replace the igniter. I had the same problem before with my esi 93 and honda car shop fixed it by replacing the said part. It is better to have the code scanned first. If it gives you 1 long flash followed by 5 short flashes, definitely it is the igniter.

coil

1988 Honda Civic Car Stereo Radio Wiring Diagram
Radio Constant 12V+ Wire: White/Blue
Radio Switched Ignition 12V+ Wire: Yellow/Red
Radio Ground Wire: Black
Radio Illumination Dimmer Wire: Red/Black
Radio Antenna Trigger Wire: N/A
Radio Amplifier Turn On Wire: N/A
Front Speaker Size: N/A
Front Speaker Location: N/A
Left Front Speaker Wire (+): Blue/Green
Left Front Speaker Wire (-): Gray/Black
Right Front Speaker Wire (+): Red/Green
Right Front Speaker Wire (-): Brown/Black
Rear Speaker Size: N/A
Rear Speaker Location: N/A
Left Rear Speaker Wire (+): Blue/Yellow
Left Rear Speaker Wire (-): Gray/White
Right Rear Speaker Wire (+): Red/Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Wire (-): Brown/White

Here can find the Stereo Wire Harness OEM Honda Civic 86 87 88 89 90 (car radio wiring installation parts)

Hope help with this.

Did you hooks the the spark plug wires right. If these are not in the right order then you will have a misfire. If enough of them are out of place then you wont have enough fire to start the engine.

Well, go to Auto Zone and have them read the error code it is setting. They'll tell you what the issue is. Usually, if it's not running hot and the oil light is not coming one, you can drive it for a while. It could be something you need to have repaired, though, or it may cause more damage.

Your emission system (including vacuum lines) should be on a diagram on the bottom of the hood of your car. If not, leave a comment, and I will investigate further.
Hope this helps.

I need more info the engine light will come on when you turn the key on it is natural it dosent go off until the car starts. but on that car you need three basic elements and it will start gas, air, and spark. the car turns over? if it does pull one of the spark plugs out plug it back into the wire lay it on top of the valve cover and have one of your buddies crank the car you shold see a spark. No spark check the fuses first then see if the distributor has power. if so you might need a distributor cap, rotor, spark plug wires. how long has it been since you had a tune up? that pretty much tells if you have spark. Next gas pull the air cleaner off look down the throat of the carburetor then hit the gas you should see it spray gas if not you could have a carburetor problem or a fuel pump problem check the fuel pressure should be between 4-6 Lbs of pressure.
then air cant mess that up unless the air filter is really dirty.

paul
www.carburetorexchange.com

Get a 88 Civic CRX. I've installed one in mine and it work fine

Could be coil or ignition module starting to fail