1999EBPcivicSi

i drive a LEGIT real em1, not conversion bs.
(no swap / all stock)
and i drove out to stockton from modesto just fine on the freeway,
i went to stockton to see my nieces in the hospital being born.
well it was about 1am and i decided to leave...
start my car up and drive about half a block, my motor craps out
and just shuts down. all my lights work, i checked all my fuses under the dash and there all fine. i just changed my distributor today for no apparent reason,
my spark plugs are brand new, ngk golds bought a couple weeks ago.
i know i have power and fuel because my fuel clicks and you can hear it go through, i have power to roll up and down the windows and turn the radio on?
we just spent over $500 trying to get it running today.

can you guys over some opinions, because i cant afford to leave my
Si in stockton for another night...

redline1219

Judging by the fact that A) you just changed distributors
B) it started fine and died
C) you still have lights on the dash and other electrical is on
D) your fuel pump still primes

My best bet is youve lost spark, and its probably from a bad coil or ignitor. Other option might be broken timing belt, bust less likely. Get your old distributor and swap parts or use a test light and check for power between the pos and neg terminals of the coil when cranking. If it flashes, ignitor works and coil failed. If no flashing, ignitor may have failed or other problems...

Good luck, hope this helps... Pm me if you have more problems, Ill give you my number.

1999EBPcivicSi

i dont have a spark coming off my wires either, i dont know if its the coil or ignitor.
either way, we changed it when we changed the distributor.
we sold the old distributor to autozone...

1999EBPcivicSi

i hope is just a possibility that autozone gave me a jank distributor.

1999EBPcivicSi

bump

Knownworldwide

yes distributors can be defective. Hopefully that is the case here. Have you taken the cap off to inspect the inside of the distibutor? A buddy of mines rotor actually popped off the shaft because the screw came loose.

1999EBPcivicSi

yes i have, my rotor was burned up and inside the cap had uneven ware damage.
thats the reason i replaced the distributor, and i threw $400 down the drain to fix it.

BlackDeuceCoupe

As you found out, EM1 distributors are hella expensive, and fragile. Mine broke a year or so ago.

My local Honda dealer said new distributors aren't available - you have to build them from parts.

OEM cap, rotor, coil, was $175. Luckily, the ignitor was okay - otherwise another $240.

I had them do the labor. They stuck a spare distributor in my ride, that they use for diags - fired right up. Then they did an A/B comparison, one part at a time.

The old cap and rotor were destroyed, so that was an easy fix.

Bearings and shaft were okay. They just cleaned-up the distributor housing.

Coil was shot - ignitor was good. Ching - ching - $275-ish and I was on my way - no problems since.

Oh, BTW, I was cruising down the freeway when I lost my dissy - blew out my cat. Replaced that myself. Honda wanted $750 (EM1 cats are expensive too).

Anyway, you don't have a spare distributor to swap out parts - and EM1 parts aren't cheap, sooo...

I'd tow it to a Honda dealer and let them deal with it - that's what I did.

Use LEGIT parts on your LEGIT real EM1...

NACvicSi

Take 5 min and take your valve cover off and make sure your timing belt didn't snap. If not then take the distributor back.

redline1219

why take the whole valve cover off when you can just look inside the oil fill cap? see if the cam turns when cranking

1999EBPcivicSi

right now, being out of a job means i cant afford EXPENSIVE honda parts. so autozone is my best option. no the timing didnt snap, it jumped timing and thats what i thought was the only problem. soo here i am finishing up and bolting my power steering back on... now it doesnt start up. i leave my car in stockton for the night, come back the next day replace the WHOLE distributor. still doesnt fire up.

1999EBPcivicSi

i just got it towed back, and my cams arnt spinning at all.

redline1219

So it cranks and cams aren't spinning?? If thats so, then you probably do have a timing belt issue; bad tensioner, broken teeth or snapped the belt...

1999EBPcivicSi

i believe it could be just my tensioner isnt tightened up. because my belt is fine, its just a little worn out. (i got happy feet). and yeeah the cams arnt spinning at all. no spark either from the wires either.

redline1219

Well that obvious theres no spark if the cams arent turning. Find out why the timing belt isnt spinning. You said the belt is new, was the tensioner set correctly? Is it broken or worn out? Take it apart and post a picture so we can help you out better...

1999EBPcivicSi

i got a defective belt. i changed it 2 1/2 weeks ago when i bought the car.
i just replaced it with a brand new one, but now my check engine light is on.
i believe it is my O2 sensor, but im guna CarMD it tomorrow.

1999EBPcivicSi

thats the worn out timing belt.