Strange no start - pretty detailed
11-21-2009, 08:03 AM
#1
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Strange no start - pretty detailed
I'm posting this for a friend of a friend, with as much info as I've been told. It's a '95 Civic LX with a D16Z6 swap, that suddenly has a problem starting. Here are the symptoms:
-If the engine is cold, it will start right up.
-When the car has been driven and is warm, it won't start again until it has had 5-10 minutes to cool down again (this happened to me when I had bad spark plugs before).
-After the car has been driven, the distributor is hot to the touch, hotter than the engine itself.
-The cause of this issue has burned up the ECU; smoke, burn mark, and all.
-When car starts, it doesn't shut itself off while it's idling.
-Getting a weird suction sound from the 3" short ram intake, whether the filter is on or not. The sound is there at idle, and randomly goes on and off. I can only describe the sound as almost the sound of a wastegate closing, just quieter and a lower pitch.
Here are the thing that have been replaced, or tried, to fix the issue:
-Replace the distributor coil and igniter twice.
-Checked the spark plugs and plug wires; they were fine.
-Fuel pump is working and providing fuel to the fuel rail.
-Used another ECU to try to get it started, but still has to be cooled down before it will start again.
-The car has no cat on it, so there isn't one to get clogged.
-The battery is being charged by the alternator.
-The owner says that he has tried wiring up a switch to the ignition (bypassing the ignition switch), and it still wouldn't start when warm.
-Ground wires are all good.
The only things that we could think of that the owner hasn't already tried are the injectors possibly being stuck, and they haven't performed a compression or leak down test yet. But even if those 2 things are a problem, it still really doesn't explain why the ECU burned out and why the distributor is getting so hot. Does anyone have any ideas?
-If the engine is cold, it will start right up.
-When the car has been driven and is warm, it won't start again until it has had 5-10 minutes to cool down again (this happened to me when I had bad spark plugs before).
-After the car has been driven, the distributor is hot to the touch, hotter than the engine itself.
-The cause of this issue has burned up the ECU; smoke, burn mark, and all.
-When car starts, it doesn't shut itself off while it's idling.
-Getting a weird suction sound from the 3" short ram intake, whether the filter is on or not. The sound is there at idle, and randomly goes on and off. I can only describe the sound as almost the sound of a wastegate closing, just quieter and a lower pitch.
Here are the thing that have been replaced, or tried, to fix the issue:
-Replace the distributor coil and igniter twice.
-Checked the spark plugs and plug wires; they were fine.
-Fuel pump is working and providing fuel to the fuel rail.
-Used another ECU to try to get it started, but still has to be cooled down before it will start again.
-The car has no cat on it, so there isn't one to get clogged.
-The battery is being charged by the alternator.
-The owner says that he has tried wiring up a switch to the ignition (bypassing the ignition switch), and it still wouldn't start when warm.
-Ground wires are all good.
The only things that we could think of that the owner hasn't already tried are the injectors possibly being stuck, and they haven't performed a compression or leak down test yet. But even if those 2 things are a problem, it still really doesn't explain why the ECU burned out and why the distributor is getting so hot. Does anyone have any ideas?
11-21-2009, 08:23 AM
#2
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Re: Strange no start - pretty detailed
have you checked the timing? i don't think that is your total problem. i would think that he has some electrical issues possibly in the harness but a weird problem.
somebody chime in with a better idea than what i got cause i don't know that is it either?
somebody chime in with a better idea than what i got cause i don't know that is it either?
11-21-2009, 06:34 PM
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Re: Strange no start - pretty detailed
whats up spoon i just found out the issue. it was the engine coolant sensor. i unplugged it an it starts up every time i plugged it back in an it wont start till it cools down.but thanks for posting this issue it was driving me nutts
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