grahamH17

Hi All,

I've been searching high and low for the answer as to why my civic won't start but have tried everything i've found so thought i would post here.

My civic was running perfectly fine for a while, then one day it decided not to start. The car cranks and cranks and cranks, but just doesn't fire.

-First thing i checked was spark plugs, all 4 are sparking.
-Next, i checked for fuel pressure by loosing the bolt on the top of the fuel filter and putting the key in the On(II) position. Fuel went spewing everywhere.
-Next i checked that i was getting ~12v for all for plugs for the fuel injectors when the key was On(II). Every single plug on the yellow/black wire read 11.72V. Seems good enough

From this point i thought that it may be the fuel injector module that has broken and is not telling the fuel injectors to actually inject any fuel into the cylinders, so i took mine out, and replaced it with another one (used) that had the exact same P/N.

Tried to start my car and it still won't fire. I took the spark plugs out to see if it looked like the tips of the plugs were wet, It looked like they were kinda wet but i'm not sure if that's just left over from before, so i took a light to look into the cylinders from the plug holes and couldn't really see any liquid in there.

My battery is starting to get low now, so i'm going to charge it and try again, although i doubt that will make any difference at all.

If anybody could guide me in the right direction or tell me something i'm missing i would very much appreciate that. Not having a vehicle sucks

Thanks

AHEKS97

check your main relay
by the sounds of it your problem is definitely electrical this happened to me once i had all the right things for the car to fire but it just woldnt do it it turned out to be a stripped wire on the engine harness took me forever to diagnose it

slodelsol

+1 on the relay. that was part of my problem with very similar symptoms

grahamH17

I've taken the main relay out from the passenger side and looked at the soulder joints, my dad's an eletrical engineer and we both seem to think all the joints look fine.

My thoughts were that since the fuel pump and fuel filter are working then the relay should be fine? is that a bad assumption?

Also is there any way to test the main relay?

Thanks again

Former User

What color is spark at the plugs? It should be bright white.

Have you checked the mechanical timing to see whether the timing belt skipped a tooth or two?

Have you compression tested the cylinders?

End3rx

Would be interesting to find out what the issue is. I have a friend with a similar issue. Hasn't checked the Main Relay however.

Former User

A main relay problem is unlikely given that there is both spark and fuel.

grahamH17

I don't know how and haven't checked the mechanical timing of the timing belt or the compression of the cylinders. Are there certain tools you need to check the compression of the cylinders? Also how do i check whether the belt skipps a tooth or two?

Thanks

grahamH17

Also the spark on the plugs looks fine, (2 of them are brand new) but i don't think that matters anyways, because then atleast one of the cylinders would fire, but that is not the case

Former User

You're not thinking about this correctly. You must check for bright white spark at all four plugs.

grahamH17

The 2 new ones are definatley a bright white, the older 2 look a little more yellow.

Does every single plug have to have a bright white spark in order for even just one cylinder to fire?

Former User

This^ indicates a problem cap, rotor, wires, or plugs for the cylinders with yellow spark. Fix this problem first.

I don't understand your point. In general, your engine won't run when only one or two cylinders fire.

grahamH17

right... i just figured that if atleast one spark plug had a bright white spark then i would have atleast a misfire. I think that 2 of them are a bright white spark just because they are new spark plugs.

I tried this before but will try it again when i have time tomorrow. I'm fairly positive that if the new spark plugs are in any of the plug wires they will give a bright white spark, and the old plugs will always give a more yellowy spark

Former User

Do whatever it takes to get bright white spark at all 4 spark plugs. My guess is that the problem is bad wires or a bad cap and/or rotor.

Then try to start the engine.

grahamH17

Just bought 2 more spark plugs that are both sparking bright white, put them in, and tried starting the car but it still won't start... hmm

Former User

Are all 4 spark plugs now showing bright white spark? If so, check the mechanical timing. B16a2 engine, right?

MrRush

When i picked up my old 91 si hatch,it was doing the same thing. The guy had if for 3 months and couldnt get it started,it was getting fuel and spark also. As soon as i got it i checked the main battery fuse,and it was bad. Replaced it and it started right up. You should check yours.