JDM-sol 89

Hello H-T!!

It's been awhile since I posted on here but, I always seem to come back when I have problems haha

Anyways,

So, I just picked up this 5 speed 97 Civic LX that won't start. The previous owner threw all kinds of new parts at it trying to get it fixed with no avail. Some of the new parts; that pertain to the fuel/spark area, include: new distributor, new main relay, fuel pump, plug wires, plugs, etc. First thing I did when I got the car home was check the timing; that looked good, I next cracked the fuel line at the rail and it got plenty of fuel when I primed the fuel system. I then pulled a spark plug and bam, no spark; even with the distributor being "new", supposedly. The plugs looked "wet", so I imagine the injectors are firing as well.I pulled the dizzy off and tested the coil per the Honda service manual and it ohmed out to spec in the manual.

Now, heres the kicker. The car will occasionally start. I had it running yesterday for about an hour; drove it around the block, up and down the street; no issues. Stopped it, started just fine. Even this morning, I went out and it started with no issues, however it died maybe 30 seconds later and now wont start again. I was leaning towards the igniter unit or ECU, but I've never encountered an intermittent no start like this before.

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks H-T.

JDM-sol 89

Also, no CEL. The CEL cycles as it should for a few seconds when I turn the key and goes out.

JDM-sol 89

Update: I did some research and found that I should check the YLW/BLK wire at the distributor connector for power and it has voltage. I then pulled the cap off and followed the YLW/BLK wire to the coil and it has voltage as well. However, when I had the cap off checking for power the distributor started making a fizzle sound and I went to turn the key off and noticed the tack was moving some. I'm leaning towards the junk aftermarket distributor being the root of my problems.