eg_monster

My 95 Honda Civic Ex with a d16z6, it is completely stock and is having problems starting. I recently changed the o2 sensor, throttle body gasket, cleaned the IACV and Thermo Valve. It just passed smog about 3 days ago and yesterday I started having this problem. The fuel pump is starting, I have gas at the fuel filter, I am getting spark and there is air. The only thing I could think of is the timing belt might of skipped a couple of teeth but I have no experience with Hondas. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated, Thanks!

Dioxine

Check and make sure you are getting compression, and make sure your are getting power at the injectors with a multimeter, and if you are make sure that they are indeed firing. Any CEL?

eg_monster

Would compression be bad if I just passed smog? I'll check it anyways, and I'll check the injectors as well. I don't have any CEL's.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

What color is the spark?

eg_monster

The spark is blue. Also, it sounds like it wants to start but it will just sputter and the engine will just keep turning.

Former User

Blue spark is weak spark. Test the coil.

DirtyDA9

I thought a yellow/orange spark was weak and white/blue spark is strong?

Make sure your injectors are working, do compression test, check valve timing, make sure there is spark at all 4 cylinders.

Former User

Bright white with a faint hint of blue is good. Blue or mostly blue spark is weak.

eg_monster

I will check the spark again when I get home. I used a different method last time, but I just read the Check Spark thread and I will use that. The car also has a new cap and rotor, spark plugs and wires.

eg_monster

Alright, I finally got around to testing it. The spark plug spark on all 4 is white with a little bit of blue. As for the injectors, I still haven't tested those. I did the screwdriver test where you put the screwdriver on the injector and feel the click. It did start yesterday when we hooked up a battery charger, and then it started every time after that. This morning I went out to start it and it would not start, it just kept turning and every once in a while it would sputter and attempt to start. It smells like gas, and the battery charger is hooked up again but it's not starting this time.

okbubbac

I am having the exact same same issue with my gsr engine. I had the ign module and coil checked at autozone and both passed. I didn't trust their meter checker so I replaced the ign. coil, then the dizzy rotor and cap, and its still not starting. I also used another ecu and still no start. I too get the sputter and pops. Some of my symptoms before it began to not start was that my tach was bouncing down while cruising and then soon after that engine sputter while cruising. I am about to swap out plugs today, and I'll try to post what happens next

DirtyDA9

Battery isn't holding enough of a charge to start the car.

fleabag

check the battery voltage before working on the car... This means pop the hood but don't open the doors to do anything like that since that will turn on all of the electronics. Check the voltage and if it's below 12v, charge the battery fully with a 3stage battery charger. If the car starts better or more 'completely' it could be a discharged and or weak battery or you have electrical sensors with dirty grounds, or a combination of the two. Next thing to do is with a multimeter, measure the ohms value of the grounds from the ground point to the battery negative terminal. If the ohms is less than .2ohms, you're ok (should be zero ohms though), anything more than .2ohms and the ground needs to be thoroughly cleaned, though don't scrape any paint off! There are quite a few electrical ground locations in your car and it's important to clean every single one of them and measure their resistance!

eg_monster

I'm buying a replacement battery since this one is from 08. I had my charger hooked up to the battery and had it on the "Start" setting and the spark on the spark plug was orange so I will be getting a new coil as well.

eg_monster

I just checked the sparks once again, the battery voltage was at 12.09v. Spark plug 3 and 4 were firing red, and 1 and 2 are firing white with a little bit of blue. I re-gapped them right before testing them to .40 and the distributor cap and rotor are brand new.

Former User

Maybe plug wires 3 and 4 are bad.

eg_monster

Those are new-ish too. I backtracked and realized this problem started when I put in the new cap and rotor. It would stumble when I started it but then it would idle normally, but now it has become way worse. I am going to swap the cap and rotor and see if that fixes the spark plug situation.

fleabag

12.09v is pretty low but not low enough to cause the car to run like crap. If you have a decent charger, it should be able to charge up to a resting voltage of at least 12.7v after the first two hours after it comes off the battery charger. 12.7V is considered "fully charged" for lead acid. I'd clean all of your electrical grounds and measure with a multimeter before replacing any parts because dirty or broken grounds can easily cause weak spark or a malfunction.

okbubbac

I swapped plugs and still no start up, even when using jumper cables hooked to another car. I will check my grounds tonight if I can find time and also purchase a ign module. BTW when my car began to stumble, I decided it was probably my rotor because I have had similar issue where replacing the dizzy rotor fixed it. Now the car won't start...