earl2727

Just a little background in case it helps.

I bought a 1994 Civic LX in July of last year, had no problems until this past March.

If February, I drove from Vancouver B.C. to Portland and back with no issue. However, a week later, I was idling at a red light, it turned green and my car began to lose power and almost die.

This happened a couple more times, and then the engine would actually die as I tried to accelerate from an idle. I could restart it right away, but it would sometimes happen twice during a drive that was less than 20 minutes.

Finally, I drove into a gas station one day, parked, and shut the engine off. I came back to the car and tried to start it up again but it would crank and not turn over.

It had plenty of oil and fuel, but couldn't be jumped - so I thought the battery (or alternator that had killed the battery) might be the issue.

I got a new battery, and the car started right away. Worth mentioning is the fact that I disconnected the old battery in reverse (positive first) and connected the new battery in reverse as well (negative first). Unfortunately, I also didn't know that new batteries need to be given time to charge by leaving the engine running for quite a while, and I turned the engine off after only a few minutes.

About an hour later I went to start the car again but it wouldn't start. It also couldn't be jumped, but all the interior lights and headlights, as well as the horn and wipers worked normally.

Could this be a bad alternator that's killing the battery? Did I just not allow the battery to charge (but why could it not be jumped)? Or is there most likely a problem with a fuse or starter of spark plug? Or is the battery just the issue, and did I mess it up by disconnecting/connecting them backwards.

I'm not too mechanically inclined but this seems like it should be an easy fix given the symptoms. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

waynesumner

distributor????? ignition or ingniter coil may need to be replaced maybe with the cap and rotor. had this issue with my car it would turn over but not start. and ive read post where peoples distributors would work every now and then but when their driving the car will lose power or just die and be able to start back up. if you decide to get into it make sure you get spark plug wires connected in the right order and replace the oil seal if you remove the distributor. if the battery stays charged after the car has been running its not the alternator. if the car cranks over its not the starter. if all power works its not your battery.

Ryan Lwin

Why are you keep connecting the battery in reverse? Twice? Maybe you fried something already. ECU?

S2BumpsticksGSR

Yes, Wayne mentioned the cap/rotor. Take it off and inspect the terminals for built up crud. People often overlook these. If there's build up, you have weak spark to start with.

instrument

I had the same thing happen and it was just the cable.

axis11

What do you mean " it couldn't be jumped"?
Next time the car won't start, check for spark and listen if your fuel pump is priming.
If you are missing any of the two, test your distributor and/or main relay.
5G civics have a history of failing main relay.