fresh99si

car:
1990 honda civic
d15b2 dpfi
5-speed transmission
new headgasket, waterpump, timing belt, distributor cap, rotor, wires, plugs, full gasket kit.
all new parts have about 3,000 miles on them

issue:
this is my daily drive that i drive about 35 miles a day and use to deliver pizza on the weekends. a few weeks ago i parked the car and shut it off, but then tried to start it right back up and it would crank but not fire. I tried cranking it a few times and got nothing. I called AAA and had a tow truck sent out. so i waited about 5 min and tried again. this timed it was very slow to fire, but did start. i had to give it some gas to keep it idling, but it started to idle fine and i have been driving it for the last week. yesterday I had the same problem again, so I waited and it started again. i drove it straight to my garage and parked it. my first idea was the main relay, but i also have questions about the fuel pump as well since when it did start, i had to feather the gas to get it to idle. im gonna go to the parts stores to see if i can find a main relay, but just wanted your opinions as well...

...that was the post I first made on ohiohondas 2 days ago. ok, so i have an update. i have been driving the car the last few days. just got off work at 6 and drove the car about 15 minutes to a UDF, to get some gas. put 10 in the tank and got back in the car. the car cranked, then fired, then died. i tried to start the car again and all it did was crank. grabbed the extra brand new relay out of my glovebox and put it in real quick. no changes, just cranking but no firing. I waited about an hour and came back to the car. it cranked, fired, and sputtered but i had to feather the gas again to get it to idle. but it did idle and i just drove it home. when i parked the car, i got out and could smell fuel pretty bad, but i assume, it from when i was trying to get the car to idle. has anyone seen a problem like this before? or can anyone think of where i can start to diagnose this problem?

dr_latino999

Sounds somewhat similar to an issue I was having, where on some starts nothing right away. I see that you just did major maintenance, and as such I would highly recommend you check your thermostat grounds. My problems were rectified when I cleaned mine up, including the actual thermostat housing.

sik_sedan88

my car will crank but won't start, just did the mpfi conversion though and it's throwing an IAT code! it won't start without that sensor will it? i don't have a plug for it on my harness how do i wire it?

fresh99si

thanks for the info, ill double check all my grounds tommorrow.

dr_latino999

It will start without the IAT sensor, I've done it more than once when I forget to plug it back in during testing - mine is located on my intake tract, which I usually remove during large maintenance. You always have a plug for IAT on your harness, as it is a integral part of your ECU sensor loop.

sik_sedan88

ok well i have ALL my dpfi plugs used except the two injectore plugs i cut. there is a wire hanging with a plug on it from the back of my IM that has a black/yel and a blue wire, what is that for do you know?

fresh99si

ok, i didnt get a chance to do anything with the ground last night other than check to make sure it is tight. I do have 2 other grounding straps on the engine that are heavier gauge than the tiny stock wires. this morning i had the same issue. i drove the car for 15-20 min and stopped in at a gas station to get a drink. come back out 5 min later and the car cranked, then fired, but did not start. so i try again and all i get is cranking. i let the car sit for 5-7 min and then try to start it again. it cranks, fires, sputters, and i have feather the gas to start it. after it starts i do get a strong fuel smell, obviously from the hard start but could the car be flooding itself out. i think im gonna try to do an overnight pressure test and see what i find

mjfubar101

Flooding itself out sounds like an option with the fact that you smell fuel, might be an injector just staying open, maybe. Try to reseat the clips and check the wires for any problems. maybe a fuel pressure gauge to ensure everything is correct there.

frankiebseries

it sounds like it's your ignitor in the distributor is going bad what happens it heats up and stops working once it cools down it will work again

91whiteEfcivic

mine did the same stuff come to find out it was the coil in the dizzy so got new coil starts up ever time now . may help..

fresh99si

i didnt quite think of the ignition side of the equation. i will check it out and see what helps. thanks for the help guys, ill keep you updated with what i find