slow joe

so i bought a 93 civic coupe a couple days ago.....its stock d16 sohc vtec...i picked up the car from my buddys started no problem was drivin an i realized the tach dropped than came back up....so i turned the car off it started after that so went for anthoer spin...now car wont start any ideas? it starts but dies inlike no time.. thanks alot

slow joe

bumpppp! no one any ideas?

skaternak

main relay? thats what im thinking

Jonathannx2

Explain more.
maybe bad battery connection or relay.

92shade

fuel pump?

green99civic

No start possible causes
1. Spark
2. Fuel
3. Inlet restrictions
4. Exhaust Restrictions
5. Voltage
6. Engine Mechanical

itsnotfast

I agree with the bad connections but I believe if a main relay goes bad the car wont start at all.

standal1complex

coil? they're tricky lil bastards sometimes

itsnotfast

They don't have coil packs, they use a distributor.

Jonathannx2

Oh true. He said the car would actually start.

soursack

Dont want to thread jack but im having a similar issue. when I was heading to work my guage would move up and down and when I went to a complete stop the car just died. no power what so ever. I tried turing the car and it would turn on but it would die right away. I waited about five minutes and started the car again. This time it stayed on. I drove back to my house and left it there. I called the previouse owner and he told me that he had problem with the igniton switch. Im wondering if I have to replace the whole thing with a brand new set of keys or just the wire. First I thought it was the alternator but im pretty sure its the ignition switch. Any thoghts?

oramac_eg

happened to me and all it was was the ground wasnt loose

Hill4589

Check your transmission ground, thermostat ground, and motor ground.

ballisticej1

Exact thing happened to me, was just a loose ground.

12345

theres a coil in the distributor....

cajuncharger

I had the exact same problem and spent over $500 to have another distributor put in. That was a waste of money. It won't do it all of the time but sometimes the old girl just doesn't want to start. Sometimes after waiting ten minutes to 1/2 hour I'll try again and she'll start. I started using premium gas and it only happened to me once, briefly, since the switch to high test.

My guess is that one of the sensors is screwy, but only some of the time so it's near impossible to diagnose without a scanner at the house; which I don't have.

P.S. I don't think it's a ground wire because everything works except fire.

slow joe

like when i start the car it sounds like its gunna fire up but it just dies =( i think something with the charge system cant be right...like an altenator or bad battery connection or maybe loose ground....it cant be fuel pump i hear it prime...car has full wire tuck if that matters with fuse box in glove box...

standal1complex

exactly what you are describing could very much be a coil issue. its a common honda issue. i JUST went throught the same issue 5 days ago and my buddys went out over the summer, he paid $200+ for a shop to figure it out. I installed the new coil on mine and it fired right up like nothing was wrong. i'd say get a new or known good one, swap it, see what happens. its 3 screws for the cap, one for the rotor, two for the coil and two for the wires attached to the coil. simple. hope it helps

standal1complex

update???

92shade

check your alternator connections it will do that if your alternator is not connected well or is going out.

Slopoke

You could have a igniter, coil, or ignition switch problem. If you do not have the ability to test these things, it might be better to pay a shop to do it for you. People frown on that, but paying a $80 diagnosis fee is often cheaper than continually throwing new parts at it until you get lucky.

Its not the main relay. A main relay wont kill the car once its running, it will only prevent it from starting. So if it starts and runs, then dies, look elsewhere for your problem.



This sounds like a classic bad main relay.

cajuncharger

Where is the main relay located and is there a way to test it?
Thanks,
Bob

Slopoke

The main relay sits underneath the dash on the driver side.

It looks like this:


Here is how you can test it:
http://autorepair.about.com/cs/troub.../aa010301c.htm

cajuncharger

Great info, thanks a bunch.