ACK94

So i just bought an 86 CRX DX, carbed 1.5L. And as i start digging more into the car, i start finding more things wrong or that bother me. The started has an external wire hooked up to it. The wiring includes a switch and a relay. Now i know people install these as theft deterrents, but my problem is when i try and hook the stock wiring back up, i get nothing, wont even attempt to turn over. I am not sure if there is a relay that might be bad, or some other wiring that might be the problem. With the aftermarket wiring the car will start, here lies my other problem and main questions. The car takes a long time to start, about about 10-15 secs it will fire, but then it will either just die right away, or it will rev up to about 4500 and then die? I have checked the accel pedal and line it is not pulling, and the carb flap is not open. When it does start it will blow out some good amount of smoke, and without an exhaust doesnt help. It is slightly white smoke, but doesnt seem horrible? My main questions are where do i start? I know nothing about carb's, and i have worked on hondas, 94+ before but this is just a new ballgame with the carb, it is really throwing me off!! Please help, any suggestions or possible fixes please send them over.

1grex

Will it stay running on ether ("starting fluid")? open the choke, (the "flap" of which you speak?) crack the throttle a bit, start unloading can of ether into carb while cranking. If it stops running when you stop spraying, probably need to rebuild or replace the carb. If it does the same thing you're losing spark or have a massive vacuum leak. Did the car sit for a while before you bought it?

ACK94

Yes it sat, i have no idea for how long. When i bought it the guy told me that it used to run then stopped. Come to find out it stopped cause the ignition coil was not plugged in. I have been trying to troubleshoot solo lately, so i have not had a chance to start it then make it up to use the fluid. I have sprayed some fluid in before i fired, didnt seem to change anything. Vacuum leak is a possibility, as there are like a million lines on this damn car!! And i have no idea what needs to be hooked up and what doesnt? Any idea on how to troubleshoot that also? Thanks for the help so far!

1grex

do you have/know how to use a remote start switch? turns this into a 1 man job. You probably have carburetor work ahead of you.

VitalBodies

Here are a few ideas and classic suggestions:

All in all, you want to secure your investment by doing a compression check first thing so you know "what you've got" and how much to invest, if any, if that is a show stopper.

Check the vacuum lines against the sticker in the engine compartment and replace AND NUMBER as needed. They are numbered and you will be glad they are as there are so MANY.

Our original idle/starting problem (with the die or high RPM then die issue) was caused but a vacuum leak between the carb and manifold. For our rig there is a large thick rubber seal there. You might want do a vacuum test ASAP.

Our 1986 Wagovan needed all the classic things of the age: Timing belt, thermostat, water pump and having the carb rebuilt. We only had one issue with the vacuum lines once the manifold/carb leak was fixed.

On cars this old one should consider the timing belt, water pump and thermostat.
If the timing belt breaks that can toast the motor, and they often do at that age. Give the fuel lines a look over and consider new fuel filters.

Rear wheel bearings are highly likely also.

A tune up with fresh spark plugs, cap and rotor and wires if needed.
Fresh fluids like oil (oil filter too), coolant and tranny fluid is nice.

The coolant and oil got replaced in ours and new tune parts helped. The car when running gets over 40MPG.

If that were my car I would try to get it running smooth before messing with the starter.
We invested in the Factory Repair Manual from Honda - glad we did.

ACK94

No i have never used one, i thought abut picking one up, just dont spend alot of time on the car right now to justify one to the wife. But i was able to have my brother help me out with it, he was spraying the starting fluid and it did get started and i was actually able to feather the throttle to keep the car running. And it would either rev up then want to die or it would rev about 3 times by me then it would go to 4K and just sit there for a second then kinda choke and want to die, i could keep the engine running by doing this, but it just didnt seem like a good idea to force it to keep running.

Vital: The timing belt looks fresh, i am starting to have the idea that the engine was rebuilt! The car actually had a box of internal pieces in it when i picked it up, it had things like valves, bearings, and a few other things. I have never done a vacuum test i will have to look into that! And i havent one a comp check yet either, will try and get that done one day soon. Now rebuilding a carb, is that expensive and how hard is it? Would you suggest it to someone who has never done one? I do have the mech skills, just not the knowledge of the carb. And also what do you mean by the large rubber seal? What and where is that? Under the carb? Well Thank you for all the advice!! Now i just need to be able to implement it!!!

VitalBodies

I think on cars that have so much emissions stuff (like the older Honda) and use a carburetor, vacuum is really important to get right - or it ends up being really difficult to get the engine to run right, get better MPG and not pollute more than needed. Plus you can spend way to much time and money tracking odd problems down and not really know where to start. Our Honda has countless vacuum lines and emission devices for example. So many, in fact, it gives the old schoolers a long moment of pause and even the shops in town would try to farm some jobs out to others.

There is a thick rubber like gasket that the carb sits on and they tend to be prone to leak - that can cause an epic vacuum leak causing the car to either not run or make the idle go way up and down - depending on the size of the leak. Our ran right, then would not run, the would idle wildly and would cycle through all kinds of symptoms.

Having a carb rebuilt at a shop tends to spendy in the $250 and up up up range from what I have seen. We found some mechanics that charge $25 an hour and so ours only cost about $75 to $100 to have done. Not so sure the actual REBUILDING is super hard but it helps to have experience and know cars when you reinstall it. Like they know what should happen when and how much gas is to much gas and what to do if the fuel pump needs to be primed and stuff like that. I personally think of that job as an advanced job as the car will not run or run well until the last screw is turned - and there are so many variable that ride on each other. If I did the job I would need tools like and RPM gauge, vacuum gauge, and to really get right a 4 gas analyzer. Where the old schoolers just know cars so well they can tell by the sound, smell and vibration and stuff like that, and hit it pretty dead on and get the car running and idling right in minutes after reinstalling. This is not a take four things off and put four things back on in the reverse order type job for sure.

ACK94

Well then that stinks, as i am just really trying to spend little money on the car and put it up for sale!! I was hoping to not spend more than like 4-500 on everything, which includes fenders, carpet, headliner redone, side moldings, and maybe a quick primer job!! Now the engine has come in and really trying to take over everything!!! Thanks again for all your help!!! I will let you know how it stands, if you are interested.

VitalBodies

Well, you never know. One tends to do things one way if they plan to sell and another if they plan to keep. It will be fun to hear how this works out for you. We were trying for a reliable weekly driving car that gets great MPG. Getting ours running right has cost more than we would have preferred so cosmetics have had to wait. What things cost in your area with your resources might be totally different than here also. The spendy stuff are parts that you can only get from Honda. We do not have junk yards all that handy here though.

1grex

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...rchText=hon234

410$ after core. just a thought. vital said some good stuff up there too. i'd get it running right before i did appearance stuff

ACK94

Yea i dont think i am willing to spend over 400 for the carb at this point. I would rather finish up the interior and exterior first, that is more important to me. But thank you for the help with that.

VitalBodies

You still might find someone to rebuild it for much cheaper than a new one.

ACK94

Yea i am not sure if i am gonna worry about it now. I think i am just going to work the exterior and interior then see what people think about it with the engine as is. I wight even just get the rebuild kit and try it my self!! Wont matter if i mess it up, if it doesnt run anyways!!! But thats just my thought.

1grex

You are trying to resell it then?