KimvdLinde

You are right, I must have missed the word when I was tired yesterday evening. I will check both.

Animefun

iTrader: (1)

My car don't crank at all, when i turn the key to start it it just dies.. No cranking, no anything!

Checked all fuses, cleaned wires, checked that all groundings were in place and bolted in right, everything is fine..

Could it be the main relay? I pulled it out and it was quite dirty in some of the solders and maybe some had cracked too .. The relay clicked when i turned the key to "start" when it was plugged in

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Are any of you following the steps outlined in the very first post before you post into this thread?

KimvdLinde

So, check the ignition timing, which was fine. Did the compression test, which showed a that cyclinder 4 is the problem (160-180 on 1-3, 50 on 4). Did the wet compression test, and that was within specs. The head gasket is already bad, so I am going to take the head of and fix the pison ring at the same time.

KimvdLinde

So, did head gasket and piston rings and the car is running smooth again.

JJT211

^^^ Nice!

Joshka89

This needs to be stickied since reading the FAQ is too long for some people and they still post "HELP!!1! CANT START" threads

Bknapp

Have your alternator checked for free at most parts stores

Bknapp

You can re-solder the connections. make sure to do the all because sometimes the problem is on the other side of the green board and its not visable

TomCat39

There is a bit of a flaw to the "4 things" needed to run the engine. Oxygen was forgotten. You can have good fuel, good spark, good compression and good timing and if there is zero oxygen in the air, the engine will not run.

It's the same premise why combustion engine planes stall out at a certain altitude.

Other than that one flaw (which is pretty irrelevant for most discussions), great info.

Just getting over technical. :p

SpeedOFsmell

Service publication for 1994 civic

SpeedOFsmell

If you answered "NO" to the question "Does the check engine light come on at all?" here are the next pages for that flowchart.





If anyone needs anything more specific, wiring diagrams, or something completely different feel free to message me.


.

TomCat39

The only thing questionable about the diagnostic flow of the FSM is they point to the ECU first in the no start condition when in practice from previous discussions it's typically other issues long before the ECU is the cause of the no start. But then again, the FSM assumes timing is set correctly and many times it's less experienced folk trying to do timing for the first time etc.

Bknapp

I had a similar problem, I took the distributor cap off and the rotor fell out, saw the washer from the set screw sitting in the bottom of the distributor. I then looked long and hard and sure enough found that little bitty screw on an edge of the block just above the starter...all this after being towed home10 miles and countless hours of trouble shooting!

Torch Walker

I have a ek(96) it starts on jumping it but once i turn it off it won't start again it the dash and radio will come on but it jus does nothing when i turn the key to start

hondale

so i had to have the wagon towed home yesterday.today i checked all 3 spark,air,and fuel...everything "checked out".expirencing a "no start" symptom,which involves a "almost want to",then nothing? borrowed a main relay from orielys...nothing...HELLp!

turbohatch96y7

iTrader: (15)

Spark
Air
Fuel
Compression
Timing

TomCat39

brians356

OP wrote:

1. Check to make sure the timing belt is turning the cam. (Can be done by removing the top cover, or simply by taking the oil cap off and watching to see if the cam is turning when someone turns your car over).

Does the disty rotor turning also indicate the timing belt is turning the camshaft?

'92 Civic VX was running great, 45 mpg city, then while idling it suddenly quit. Cranks freely, won't start. No spark at plugs.

W95civicEXcoupe

Yes.

stankewj

Just starting to resurrect a 90 CRX Hf in Armada Michigan. Will definitely be referring to this post. Thanks.

stankewj

Any suggestions for lubricating cylinders before I attempt first start in 14 years?

brians356

You could remove the spark plugs (should check them anyway) and squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in there, then let it soak for a few hours at least. Use a flexible tube so you can direct the oil around the perimeters of the pistons, you just want it to penetrate down the cylinder walls obviously. If you can turn it over manually (not sure how on these engines, can you even get a wrench on the crank pulley bolt?) slowly at first, rather than use the starter, that's always good. But with the plugs out, if you just bump the starter a few times, to nudge it, listen for bad sounds and of course verify it's not frozen. The let the starter spin it for a few seconds.

I'd like the opinion of some real experts on these particular engines, but those are the generic tricks.

TomCat39

You can pop the spark plugs out, poor about a teaspoon of oil into each cylinder. Then use an air compressor and a pneumatic valve holder ( I made my own by changing out an old compression tester gage to a quick release air hose connect ) to pressurize the cylinder and push the oil through the rings.

After that, put a 17mm socket on an extension and put it through the hole in the driver's side fender well onto the crank pulley bolt. Then you can turn the crank counter clockwise to see if it's frozen or moves freely.

If it moves freely you can slowly rotate it counter clockwise and see if you feel the pistons hanging up anywhere through the cycle. If you feel any roughness when hand turning you will want to borescope the cylinders to see how badly the rings pitted the cylinders.

At least this is how I would go about it.

brians356

Just curious, why counter-clockwise, and how critical is the direction here?