Luke67801

Okay here is the story a buddy of mines kid calls me up says his car wont start and it was at a friends house so I go check it out when I get there the car is dead i assume from him cranking trying to start it so I jump it and the car turns over but will not start so I checked for spark there was none I asked him what exactly happened he said he pulled up to the house sat there for a little while with car at idle then it just died he went inside never tried to start it again till him came out about an hour later the car still wouldn't start at this time so I pulled the plugs and checked them after we tried cranking again the plugs where dry no sign of any fuel at all so I checked to see if pump was priming and it was so I towed the car back to my shop I checked all the fuses under hood and dash i pulled up a flow chart for the main relay and volt tested and ohm tested all wiring to and from relay everything checked out good I can here relay clicking I then pulled the fuel line off the rail to make sure I was at least getting fuel to the injectors and I was I had a friend i know with a 99 non vtec sohc civic come by and I swapped distributors to just see and still no spark I tried his main relay and still nothing I dont know to much about alarms but this car has one it use to work and stopped working like 4 months ago the kid says and this alarm is rigged up underneath this car I dont know if this could interfere with it or not please any information will help thank you!

Luke67801

Forgot to mention I have checked all grounds and they are good as well I'm sure there's other minor things I forgot to mention but I'm open to any suggestions

Former User

Check whether the timing belt snapped or stripped.

Luke67801

Yes checked this as well cause did a timing belt job about 3-4 months ago on it

Former User

Remove the 15A hood ECU fuse and distributor cap. Crank engine and check whether the distributor rotor spins.

CEL codes?

Luke67801

K will try this when make it to shop tonight and let you know it has cel I haven't checked it yet he said had previous code for iac and vtec Sol. I don't have a reader cause work on pre obd2 vehicles so have to borrow one

Former User

No need for code reader. Just jump the service connector.

Luke67801

Okay I shall try that tonight as well wasn't sure if was an option on obd2 or not thank you!

Former User

Yep.

Pull the codes and write them down, and then reset the ECU. Crank the engine for 25 seconds. If the CEL is on steady again, then pull the codes again.

Post codes you pull before and after resetting ECU.

Luke67801

Not being a smartass but why do I need to check if distributor rotor is spinning if engine is turning over cam is going to turn the rotor?

Former User

Do you see the cam sprocket turn? If so, the cam could be snapped.

Luke67801

Yea the cam gear turns when cranking engine it turns over and engine sounds perfect just no spark no fuel I guess my question is what does pulling the fuse and checking the rotor determine I'm trying to understand what I'm doing instead of just trying a bunch of stuff people suggest I wanna learn from this experience lol

Luke67801

Camshaft is not snapped I had valve cover off to check belt

Former User

Be methodical and logical in your troubleshooting.

Your issue could be explained by the distributor shaft not turning.

Removing the ECU fuse prevents you from blowing the coil while cranking the engine with the distributor cap removed.

Did you turn the engine to see if the camshaft also turns when the cover was off? Did the distributor rotor turn?

Luke67801

K I will try that tonight when I make it to the shop and fill you in and also check the cels

Luke67801

Alright RonJ@HT i need you to enlighten me once again today after i read your last message bout camshaft snapping i started thinking to my self what would cause it to snap and hopeful wasn't something i had done during timing belt change then i started to remember when i was going over the car i remember the kid that owns it pulling the dip stick and saying something like i think i needa add oil and i remember the engine oil light on but i thought it was like an oil change reminder on the car so anyways just got home pulled the dipstick no oil i had the valve cover loose still so i pulled it off and had someone crank it over and there was no rocker arm movement at all not one wiggled and with cover off i heard slight clanking noise so i assumed the camshaft has snapped at this point i had to see for my self so i pulled rocker arm assembly off and the cam was in one piece but could tell ran out of oil and was metal to metal wear everywhere and small shavings im a little confused at this point? also quick question the distributor sends signal for spark of course but is it also what controls fuel signal to injectors? thanks for your time you have been helpful thus fa

Former User

Post a bunch of pictures of the camshaft. Was the cam sprocket turning but not the cam?

Yes. The engine lacked spark and the fuel injectors didn't spray because the CKP inside the distributor sensed no rotation. The CKP sensor signal is required for both spark and injector timing.

Luke67801

Yes the belt and cam gear were moving but none of the rocker arms moved at all this is the only picture I snapped before putting cam back in

Former User

The problem will be revealed by removing the cam sprocket.

Luke67801

Ah ha I know what it is now I It snapped the thinnest part of the shaft Wich is the woodruff key slot huh? Wich is making the sprocket just spin on the shaft