1funryd

I have a cousin who owns a 93 Civic coupe with the stock D16 vtec SOHC.

It us unmodified pure virgin car, 5 speed no AC.

We have done the Timing belt, water pump, belt tensioner two years ago. And he has his reciepts to prove it.

Description:
He was driving to work two weeks ago on the freeway, he was slowing down to get ready to take his exit and downshifted like normal, when he downshifted to 2nd gear he noticed that he lost power and started to give more gas, but kept loosing power, then motor went dead and coaste to the side of the freeway.

What was done by us to try and fix:
1. We tested for spark - no spark
a. We noticed the #2-3 plugs were black and wet
2. We tested for fuel - we got fuel
3. We used starter fluid - still no start
4. We purchased a new Distributor, got spark back - no start
5. Called it a day and waited a week later to work on it again, which was today.

Second try:
1. We replaced all spark plugs - no start
2. We checked Timing, pulled timing belt and just replaced it again. We noticed it was a tooth off.
3. We checked tensioner, was solid, so kept it, it is only abou 30,000 miles on it since the last timing belt replacement two years ago. And the belt was good.
4. Battery seemed drained but was still cranking enough to get motor to start, but I suspect its still too week from last weeks testing.
5. Checked the ignition and all seemed good, but did not test wire by wire.
6. Tried to jump the car with my Van, cranking stronger - still no start
7. Final attempt, we rolled the car to try and jump start that way - still no start
8. We give up and told him to take it to a shop to do more intense Diagnostics and resolve.

For all intense and purpose, this car should have started last week after the distributor replacement.
I am thinking possibly, TPS, faulty injectors but not sure about that one, and possibly ignition switch, other than that, I have no idea what else to check.
Maybe start with a new battery?

One more thing to add, my cousin keeps his car in good condition, and does his regular maintanence like oil changes and such, but runs the bigger jobs through me and my friend who was a mechanic before. So there is no abuse on this car because he needs it for his daily driver.

So, after reading all that, I would appreciate it if someone could add some light to the situation if I overlooked something? I would appreciate the help.

We have been working on our own cars for years, but I have exhausted all my abilities at this point, and could use some fresh eyes on this.

I thank all in advance for your assistance.

Sean

delsolintegra

You replaced the distributor and got spark back temporarily and then lost spark again? Maybe something is shorting your ignitor which is under the distributor cap? I believe you can use a meter and check the ignitor. I think a broken or disconnected spark plug wire can also cause a ignitor to burn out.

1funryd

No we lost spark and kept trying all different techniques to see if we can get it working again, but did not work so we purchase a brand new distributor and just replaced it to eliminate anything else.

So the distributor is now brand new and we tested spark and we are getting spark on all four plugs. Still no start.

And we still have fuel as well.

Former User

--->Have you compression tested the cylinders? Are you sure the mechanical timing is perfect?

Also,

Is spark bright white at all four plugs?

Does the fuel pump prime and do the injectors spray fuel when the engine is cranked?

Any CEL codes?

1funryd

1. Have you compression tested the cylinders? - yes
2. Are you sure the mechanical timing is perfect? - yes
3. Is spark bright white at all four plugs? - yes
4. Does the fuel pump prime and do the injectors spray fuel when the engine is cranked? - yes
5. Any CEL codes? - none

Former User

Some aftermarket distributors can be installed 180-degrees out of phase.

Spark plug wires or injector wires installed in the incorrect firing order?

1funryd

Can you still get spark if the distributor is installed out of phase?

I have not seen this.

Former User

Absolutely. You will have normal spark if either the plug wires are installed in the wrong firing order or the distributor is installed 180-degrees out of phase.

Also check the firing order of the fuel injector plugs.

1funryd

We will try this out and report back.

1funryd

Update:

Ok I had my cousin turn the distributor 180 degrees the opposite direction to see if it was 180 out.

I was on the phone with him when he tried to start it, and it jumped like it was about to start but then he freaked out and turned off the key. He only had enough juice for that one start and it was done.

So, today I drove up to pick him up from work and jump his car, well it did not start like I though it would even with my car hooked up and running.

But when I took a look at the way he reinstalled it, the top two bolts where flushed but the bottom one was not, and when he tried to start the car the distributor was moving.

So, I took it off and after comparing the old one with the new one, I discovered that the distributor was assembled 180 out from the factory.

Here is the way it is supposed to be setup:





But instead the index markings and the rotor are complete the opposite direction.

So out of the box, the new distributor was out of phase 180 degrees.

We took the new distributor and the old one back to Orielly's Auto parts, and had them take a look and they agreed it was definitely a defect.

I knew that something had to be wrong, because we were getting spark, fuel and air, but no start???

So they ordered two extra distributors to be shipped to that store tomorrow so we can have something to compare them too, and I believe this should resolve the no starting issue.

Stay tuned.

1funryd

Final Update:

Ok we took the new distributor back to Orielly's and they had ordered two new distributors to ensure we that it too was not installed backwards from the factory.

We compared the new one to the newer new one, and Bam!!! We were right, the factory installed the rotor 180 out. So while we were getting spark, it was way out of the correct firing order.

It took us about 10 minutes to get the car started because it was sitting for 2.5 weeks and the battery was drained, so I had to give him more juice to get it up and running.

But issue resolved, so for all those who need to trouble shoot their starting issues, this is an example of how your ignitor or ignition coil can go bad while the car is running.

Resolution:
Purchase a new distributor, but it was more than likely the ignitor or ignition coil inside the distributor that went bad instead of the whole distributor.

My cousin chose to just get a whole new one in order to bypass wasting time and money, but as you have all read, you can still get a bad product out of the box.

The funny thing is that the box says that it is 100% guaranteed to work right out of the box, LoL!!!!! I guess they lied.

End of Story.

Former User

This story provides yet another reason to avoid aftermarket distributors. It's best to spend the extra money and buy an OEM distributor.