My_EFsedan

Ive been wanting to drive my car on the streets from time to time. but the problem im having is that the car sometimes die on me and i cannot turn it back on. this just recently started doing so. never before.

91 civic sedan, built LSV-t. everything under the hood is new. the main relay is new and no fuse are missing or blown. the temp stays under half always.

the car starts up fine, warms up and idles @ 1k. drives fine and so on. when coming to a stop, i put it in Neutral and the idle just drops all the way and car is now off. i cannot turn it back unless i wait like 10mins. when attempting to turn it back on, the lights all work, the sound in the crank is strong, but doesnt turn over. eventually it will turn on but i dont want to have to sit there in traffic or at the light waiting.

now if i come to a stop and neutral ahead of time, but this time holding the throttle at like 1200rpm and letting off slowing to regular idle, it will idle just fine.

when the car dies, i CAN push start it. but again, i cant do this if i die at a light. ive changed ignitior with a known working set (2) and still the same thing. ive changed a whole another dizzy from my daily and still the same thing. i didnt even check the coil cause the "symptom" is the car wont start at all (waiting 10 mins or the next day).

my friend said that sometimes the solder? on the back of the ignition switch goes bad? the white part? (20+y/o car)

i havent really driven my car after the tune back in june and i would love to drive it from time to time without having to worry. anyone with any ideas, please help. tia.

Former User

Might be the ignition switch.

Does the starter fail to crank or does the starter crank but the engine won't start?

My_EFsedan

starters new, it cranks but dont start. healthy crank.

Former User

When the engine won't start, listen for whether the fuel pump primes and also check for spark at the plugs (see Spark link in my signature).

My_EFsedan

fuel pump still primes. but i didnt check spark at the plug.

My_EFsedan

http://youtu.be/SVM5tajn-ts

Former User

My_EFsedan

according to your sig, i dont have another spark plug at the moment to do that. ill do that when i do change my plugs.

Former User

You could also remove a plug from the engine. For the test, remove the injector clips so you don't flood the engine.

Does the fuel pump prime when the engine won't start?

My_EFsedan

yes it does. you can hear it in the video.

Former User

okeedokee

frankiebseries

did you figure it oUT?

My_EFsedan

havent got to it

My_EFsedan

new problem. not really worried about the shutting off part now cause im able to drive it around still as long as im hitting throttle a bit slowing down.

i took the car for a wheels and meals meet. got on it a few times and i notice my car cuts off at around 5-6K. car just jerks back like im hitting the brakes hard, let off the gas and it drives normal again. im not sure if its ignition problem on that or im not getting fuel? < which i do not understand as this just started happening when i drove the car 2 days ago. im at a total lost and probably going to drop my car off at my friends shop.

crvtectim

Sounds like you need to make a trip back to your tuner. You could be hitting a boost cut or temporarily blowing out your spark. What are your plugs gapped at? Even your previous problem sounds like it could be tune related.

My_EFsedan

im going back for a retune soon because i found the fittings for my mvr gate to run my boost by gear. im running the ngk 4554 gapped at 26. there were no problems on the dyno. no problems driving it the month after that. this whole problem ^ started like towards the end of july?

crvtectim

Hmm, that's odd. I'm sure your tuner will be able to help you get it sorted though once he can take another look at software settings/live data.

My_EFsedan

well lets hope so, i want to drive this bad girl for the reason i built it for.

being 300 miles on the engine, i would have though the top of the piston would of been black? i can see the silver still from the CPs that are in there.

here are the plugs. but i didnt not start the car because i dont have a dizzy and a starter. i lent them to a friend that just finished his swap.

My_EFsedan

ok so i had a second hand today.

installed my start and my gsr dizzy. turned the car on (just fine) 900-1k idle after warm up. temp under half on gauge. shut the car off. waited a few seconds. try to turn on but again, all it does is crank. has spark, checked by putting a screw driver into the spark plug wire and ground it. sparking was flashing. had a second eye on the fuel gauge, it was between 40-45 psi on the gauge during crank. still no start. i pulled the plugs. no discoloration of any sort. all the plugs look like this.



only has 260 miles on them and the engine total. text Dave @ DNR and he guided me through s300 smanager to make a few adjustments. changed a few numbers he thought would cause this, still the same. i will going back for a retune anywho because i got the fittings for my mvr to run the boost by gear. until then i still need to figure this out.

also mentioned, i found a new problem. when i creep or even going straight to wot, my car chokes out at 5.5-6k like the dizzy cut or boost cut or something. im unsure if i have any boost creeps that would hit my boost cut @17.2 psi while my cars tuned off the gate @ 1bar. this just recently started happening as well. ill report back sometimes this week as i will be taking things apart again to over look everything.

My_EFsedan

ohh, before i started the car, i pulled my plugs and they were all gapped around 20-21..which is weird because i gapped them all @ 26. double and triple checked before they went in. somehow the gap got smaller. regapped to 26 using the spark plug gapper and a feeler gauge. still help much lol.

My_EFsedan

back from the dead. changed the ignition switch. still doesnt help with the car turning back on after turning off. i really dont know where else to start with this situation. tracks this weekend and the car does this crap.

new alternator
new starter
new main relay
new ignition switch
new spark plugs
working dizzy
fuel pump primes
there is fuel
has spark

makes no sense.

jdm_rb20

I've seen that you said in the past that you are going to get it RE-tuned, so I need to ask: Are you running a chipped ECU? If so, I know hondata has all kinds of settings for IDLE ADJUSTMENT and TIMING ADJUSTMENT. Hondata will let you change the timing based on conditions such as engine temperature.....

Please tell me:

If you coldstart it, it will crank, ya? Immediately turn it off while the engine is still pretty much cold. Try to recrank it. If it is reliable to recrank while the engine is cold, it's logical to think that your problem is related to "closed loop" or the chipped ECU's adjustments to "closed loop" settings.

If I am wayyy off-base, I am sorry.. I'm sleepy and thinking out loud. You will know if any of my nonsense applies to your situation..lol

My_EFsedan

its running on hondata s300. my tuner did do some adjustments to the idle and timing and its still the same. also did something with the fuel, but i really dont know. saved and sent me my map, same problem.

if i cold start it, it takes a good while before it even turns over. theres fuel and the fuel pressure is up. i'd turn the key back off and crank it again then it'd eventually turns over. on a cold start.

after the tune the car drove fine for a month. when it turned off and died on the freeway one night (where the problem with not turning back on occurred) i never really drove the car since then (270miles since tuned in aug 2012)

My_EFsedan

i take it back. there is no spark after the car is shut up and attempted to turn back on.

jdm_rb20

By "turns over," do you mean that it does spin endlessly without cranking, but does NOT combust and try to fire up the engine?


Please be more specific. I know you said it won't restart after you turn the car off. I want to know if this happens when the engine is still less than 100degrees Farenheight...."still COLD"...not operating temperature...not "closed loop" at operating temperature. If you park the car for 24 hours, start the car...turn it off in 10 seconds. Restart the engine....does is start and do you have spark (or ECU codes)??