thequickman

To start off, yes I have searched.

I have a 93 civic(automatic) that I have swapped a 97 JDM GSR into it. I have been trying to trouble shoot an issue as to why it wasn't starting. At this point it had spark and fuel. I didn't check the compression because it was a healthy running engine before I yanked it out of a shell I sold. This may be a problem but I am doubting it.

My brother and I were trying to figure out the problem when we saw a spark from the corner of our eyes somewhere on the intake manifold. We tried figuring out where it came from but we couldn't find any "burn" marks on any of the electrical and we were unable to reproduce the event.

We went back and checked spark and realized that we had lost it, changed out the ICM in the Distributor and the spark was back. Here is where it gets weird.... I went ahead and checked the resistance on the coil and everything came back in spec. When we put the key to the ON position and checked the coil we were getting a solid 12V. I went to my daily driver which is a 96 integra GSR. Checked the coil on that and got the same result.(Note: the multimeter is set to DC 20v) So we checked what the reading of the multimeter when trying to crank and on the Integra it read -1 ohms, so I am assuming it went out of the 20 V range. Went back and checked the civic and it read 8 V at best. I am totally lost and have been dicking with this for four days.

I hope I provided enough information, if not let me know. Oh and yes I did try the steps provided in the advanced ignition guide on Team-Integra.

Thanks, TQM

egsleepercivic

how did you by pass the automatic shift lock out, not sure exactly whats called on an automatic, but on a manual you have the neutral safety switch, when you convert an automatic you have to jump the automatic version of it, which I think is called an interlock or something

thequickman

Damn serious deep moment when writing this. It cranks, the "neutral safety switch" has been looped.

It cranks, getting fuel, but weird spark issue.

I've changed rotor cap, button, and icm and it still isn't working properly. I think it has to do with the only 8v when trying to start it. But I don't know.

I'll be doing some more testing when I get back home come Monday.

tony_2018

What engine harness? There really isn't much to do on the automatic wiring other than combine the two big black wires.

thequickman

I'm using the stock 93 civic dx engine harness.

What black wires are you talking about combining? And what are they suppose to do?

thequickman

Okay, FINALLY got back to checking some things on my car.
ICM - In spec.
Harness going from the dist. to the ECU - Good
3 sensors in dist. - In spec.

I went ahead and changed the Ignition Coil to see if maybe something weird was going on. Went to crank it and it still didn't want to start. When letting off the key though the car turned in the opposite direction for a second(very minimal). I am not sure if that will matter at all though.

I am at a loss here. The only thing left for me to check is the ECU but I didn't have any problems with it in my other shell.

The only thing that I really changed was the distributor. When it was in the other shell it had an external MSD coil but I had to get a different distributor that was OBD1. Is maybe the ecu looking for the msd? I figured that the ECU would just send a signal to the MSD Box telling it to fire and the box did the rest of the work.

Please knowledge of HT, please help me. =P

Former User

Triple check the mechanical timing.

Check whether the plug wires are installed in the correct firing order.

Check whether the distributor is installed 180-degrees out of phase.

thequickman

Thanks for the reply.

Mechanical Timing has been triple checked.

Plug wires are perfectly fine. Wires are new and plugs are new. They are in the correct order.

You can't install distributor incorrectly. It only goes in one way. I have confirmed this as well.

I am eager to figure this out.

Former User

Post pictures. The engine reversing direction strongly suggests a timing issue.

Some aftermarket distributors can be installed out of phase. Not sure what distributor you have.

thequickman

Ok I will post pictures.

But even if it were off time it would have to only be by a tooth and in that case I should still be able to get the car to start. It would run like **** but it should start.

Ok the Distributor is a Frankenstein. The housing is out of a b16a2 I am fairly confident. The internals are out of a b18a1. But I am using the same distributor shaft that came on the engine originally. I can see it physically turning so that isn't an issue.

Former User

^Not necessarily.

Do all 4 spark plugs have bright white spark?

Do the injectors spray fuel when cranking?

Any CEL codes?

thequickman

Problem found. Although I tested all the sensors in the distributor(which came back in spec), one of them turned up being the problem. I was getting a low spark issue instead of a no spark issue.

So for future reference, if you are getting a low spark open your distributor and check the wires.

Former User

^How do you know?

thequickman

Took the distributor apart and rewrapped all the wires. Car fires up every time now.

tony_2018

rewrapped all the wires? Did you modify this distributor?

thequickman

I took the innards of an obd1 and put it in an obd2 casing. That's it though.