jrob1989

1987 Honda Civic 4DR
1500 CVCC Engine
California Emissions Spec
48000 Miles

The car ran when it was placed in a garage over 10 years ago and a trickle charger was hooked up. About 9 years ago, the owner of the garage tried to start it up and move it. The battery had been destroyed by the defective charger, a new battery was installed and the car refused to crank. Car was then left where it is now for the better part of the decade.

I have been attempting to get it running for the owner. Here is everything I have done and the results from each step...but the car refuses to run.

Checked battery - approx 9 volts

Installed known good battery and connected to charger - 13.8 volts No cranking or lights

Removed battery cables & wire wheeled connectors - lights work and starter solenoid clicking

Removed starter and took apart, gently wire wheeled commutator, re-installed - starter turns engine over at correct speed

Removed air cleaner and attempted to start with starting fluid down all 3 carb barrels - no fire

Removed spark plugs - plugs sooty and clogged with carbon

Purchased new plugs and tested spark on all 4 cylinders - white spark

Installed new plugs with correct gap & attempted to start with starting fluid - intermittent, infrequent fire on one or two cylinders at a time

Added fuel to gas tank & discovered leaking tank

Connected external fuel tank to fuel inlet & return on pump - verified fuel pump works

Removed fuel cutoff from rear of carb & freed stuck pin - verified operation of cutoff

Examined sight glass on fuel bowl - no visible fuel

Removed top half of carb, cleared needle valve & checked float operation

Cleared the 3 main jets and all accessible passages

Tested carb with compressed air down barrels - all 3 barrels now flowing fuel consistently

Put carb back together on engine

Cranked engine & carb filled to appropriate fuel level - still no start

Removed plugs & tested compression - 150 or so within +/- 3% & rising on the second rotation of the engine

Plugs wet with fuel - dried plugs and blew out chambers then re-installed

Connected vac gauge and cranked engine, couple inches vac at main tree on only starter

Cranked engine while pumping throttle & engine almost runs

Removed plugs and found them to be wet with fuel & sooty

Tested spark again - still white

Re-installed plugs with wider gap and attempted starting, still only occasional cylinder fires

Removed & installed plugs again with short gap - no change

Plugs always wet and sooty when removed

Pumping the throttle causes the engine to overrun the starter, but as soon as you stop pumping it, it goes back to its occasion one-cylinder-now-and-then pattern. You cannot actually keep it running by pumping the throttle without cranking, but almost. Adding fuel down the manifold will also not make it run.

Is this a weak coil? Does the preburn chamber require a that strong a spark to light?

The coil, wires, cap, rotor, and plugs all look brand new.

Thanks for any advice on this...I really do not understand this engine very well, much less the vac system.