longpatch

Got a 1995 EX automatic with about 190,000 miles on it. Owned it for about 3 years. Engine never given problems before. Going down the road at 45mph one day and with no warning, the engine loses power, struggles til I get off the road and I shut it down. Try to crank it again and it will not fire. Plenty of battery, plenty of strong engine turn over, but NEVER CRANKS.

I had it towed to my mechanic (not dealership) and it will not crank. He checked and it was not getting fire. He has a distributor from another older civic, hooks it up temporarily, it cranks. Bingo. Orders and new aftermarket distributor, installs it, IT CRANKS. No other sign of trouble. I pay him $323 and go pick it up that night.

WILL NOT CRANK. Lots of battery power, but never fires; not even a sputter or a cough.

Day2. Tell the mechanic what happened. He goes out and IT CRANKS. They try several times throughout the day and it ALWAYS CRANKS. un...believable.

Sooooooooo......Do I have a problem, and what happened? (any help is appreciated)

EG9_808

Check spark plugs, spark plugs wires, ignition timing,

EJeff8

seriously bro, it could be as easy as your ignition is just dieing.

longpatch

thanks to both of you. We'll check that out. I know with electronics and house wiring, if there is a bad wire or connection, sometimes you can make an intermittent problem fail on command by wiggling, twisting, bending, tapping, etc. Do you think the same would be true with plugs, plug wires, etc?

EJeff8

A loose plug or plug wire would just cause you to lose a cylinder, it'll make it run like ****, it shouldn't cause it not to crank.

longpatch

special B, you mentioned ignition earlier. Isn't that pretty much all contained in the "distributor"?

EJeff8

I meant the key ignition.

longpatch

oh. the key ignition. It would engage the starter but somehow not allow fire to the plugs?

Former User

When the engine will NOT start, listen for whether the fuel pump primes for 2 seconds after the key is turned to ON(II). Then check for spark at the plugs. Click Spark link in my signature.

Any CEL codes?
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/how-pull-cel-d4-srs-abs-codes-code-lists-1901557/

longpatch

RonJ,
thanks for the simple instructions. If I don't hear the fuel pump (I do know the sound you're talking about), could it be something electrical, or the fuel pump itself? I keep going back to electrical because the problem is intermittent.

Former User

Are you saying that when the engine will not start, the fuel pump fails to prime for 2 seconds in ON(II)? If so, resolder the main relay:

http://techauto.awardspace.com/mainrelay.html

EJeff8

You're confusing me Bro.

Does the car not crank or does it not turn on when cranked? If it doesn't crank, then it could be an ignition, if it cranks but no prime it'll be a fuel pump problem.

longpatch

Sorry for the confusion. This whole thread, I've been using "crank" as meaning start or run; not just the engine turning over. I wasn't careful with my southern vocabulary.

So to restate the problem with better vocabulary, when the problem occurrs, the engine turns over nicely (cranks), but does not start. Since my last post, the mechanic tried to get my old distributor back, but the parts house had already sent it for re-man. But the parts guy said he would give us a new distributor (not remanufactured). So the new one is on the car now.

It's started many times with no sign of trouble. I would relax except for that one evening when, after the re-manufactured distributor was installed and it started for the mechanic, then it would NOT start for me.

So we're driving it again. My son's taking it 3 hours away from home next week to go to college. I have that one little doubt that it might leave him stranded if it won't start, like it did me last Friday night. But I don't think I have a choice.

You can't fix something that won't stay broken.

I do appreciate you all helping me out, and your patience.

Former User

If you wish to solve this annoying problem before next week, you must first do this:

To reproduce the no-start problem, you simply must drive the car near home a lot until the problem occurs. Bring a spare spark plug in the glove box so that you can check for spark. Have you tried to pull CEL codes? In the meantime, just resolder the main relay.