93civdx

ok. sometimes when i crank up my car it revs to about 2700-3000 and then just dies and i have to wait a few minutes and try again and most of the time it will crank back but it doesnt want to. about a month ago i was just driving down the road and my car just cut off, no warning no nothing. that was the module inside the distributor. but the same problem was happening before the module went bad. i just changed the plugs about 2 weeks ago. has this ever happened to anyone else? tia for the info.

ERA

Based on info given.... maybe a leaky injector.. failing fuel pump... without a cel, hard to say it's a sensor. Any other symptoms? Doesn't sound like ignition prob.

Turbo Powa

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by delslo26 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Based on info given.... maybe a leaky injector.. failing fuel pump... without a cel, hard to say it's a sensor. Any other symptoms? Doesn't sound like ignition prob.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would have to agree. You should check your fuel system.

B18C5-EH2

I see this problem a lot on these cars that are getting older.

I think you should be looking at:

1. Main fuel pump relay.

On hot days after the car has been sitting the car will spin over, but not crank fully. There is a relay under your dash on the driver's side near the hood release lever that turns the fuel pump on.

To diagnose this problem, wait until the car ***** you again. When it won't crank, turn the key into the furthest position without actually trying to crank the car. Listen in the lower left corner of your dash for a "click!" as the check engine light goes out when you turn the jey into the "on" position.

You can also listen for the fuel pump itself to turn on as this "click" occurs too. Your fuel pump is located directly under you rear seat cushion.

Last way to test this is to crank open the top bolt on the fuel line at the top of the fuel filter and turn the key into the "on" position. If you get no fuel then the main relay is 99% of the time going to be the culprit. I really doubt it's the fuel pump.

You would not believe how many ignorant mechanics replace the fuel pump instead of this $50.00 relay.



So if you hear the click that means you have fuel pump power, so move onto number two:

2. Ignition coil.

Sounds like you already had this problem before and got it fixed, but did they use the genuine Honda part? To test for spark pull off a sparkplug wire and hold it close to somthing else metal like a screwdriver (preferably with a rubber handle ). If you get no spark then you probably have a bad coil or even ignitor in your distributor.

Unfortunately the only way to properly discern which one it is is top replace one and then the other. I'd start with the coil. If that doesn't fix it and you still have no spark, then it's probably going to be the ignitor inside the distributor. This is where paying a reputable shop to do the work could actually save you money.

My shop keeps all of these items in stock. We have test units to diagnose these sorts of problems. Ignitors and coils aren't cheap enough to just buy both to narrow the problem down.

The last thing it could be is:

3. Ignition switch pigtial/electrical portion.

The actual ignition switch itself can go bad in our cars. It is more common than some people think, and I've seen cars sold because of this reason!

Ouch.

If you car acts up on you try starting the car and then backing off the key just slightly and then holding in the crank position. Don't hold it far enough to engage the starter, but hold it past the second position.

If the switch is bad then holding the key in the "on" position will keep the car running.

When you say the car cranks for a second and then shuts back off and then spins over, but won't crank it sounds the most like the ignition switch because rarely will a bad coil even let the car crank once.

Try that stuff and keep us updated.

93civdx

thanks ya'll. i'm going to try to do the things that tom said to do whenever i get a good chance to. it doesn't do this all of the time just every now and then. but i'll keep you posted.