one.relic

The whole of this problem and attempts at a resolution is a bit lengthy, so I'm hoping that someone (anyone for that matter) will take the time to read it and possibly have some suggestions on where to go from this point.


About 3 or 4 months ago my '01 was having issues with a check engine light and subsequent code for a mis-fire in cylinder 3. After checking the spark plugs and wires, I decided that they were probably the cause for the issue and were in need of replacement. I purchased Bosch Platinum Plus plugs (pre-gapped, but double checked before installation) and Xact OE style wires. Before installing the new parts, I disconnected the negative battery cable to clear the code from the PCM. Somewhere between replacing the plugs and wires I decided to also clean the fuel injectors for safe measure. After all of this work was done, I reconnected the negative cable and fired up the vehicle with no problems (no repeat check engine light, no repeat code/s in the PCM).

The vehicle continued to run without problems for roughly 2 months. Around this time, my wife and I were returning to our house from a morning of breakfast and holiday shopping when the vehicle began to act strange. Upon coming to a stop the vehicle began to act as though it was stalling out from the clutch being popped (the vehicle did actually stall). I was able to get it restarted for a brief second (long enough to go through the stop sign and turn the corner) before the vehicle did the same thing and eventually stalled out.

As I was unable to get the vehicle to turn over after that I began to think that there was a problem with the battery. As we were in our neighborhood, I was able to walk and get our other car in an attempt to jump the cr-v. While the vehicle sounded like it wanted to turn over, nothing happened. Still thinking it might be a battery-related issue, I removed the battery from the vehicle and had it tested at the local parts store. The battery is rated for 10 cold cranking amps and was putting out 11.5 during the test. It also showed that there were no dead cells within the battery.

While I know how to work on vehicles, I certainly don't claim to be mechanic-knowledge-inclined, so I had a friend that is going to school for automotive repair assist in diagnosing, testing and repairing at this point. What follows is upon his advice.

We began by going back to the simplest thing (after the battery), the spark plugs. As the plugs had been replaced not 3 months before the incident, all of the plugs looked close to new. Upon further inspection, it almost seemed as if the vehicle was getting no spark at the plugs. I then swapped from the Xact wires back to the OEM set (as I had them laying around) and the vehicle still failed to get a spark. We tested the spark at the plugs by removing them individually from the engine and reconnecting them to the wire, nothing. We tested by attempting to arc the wire to a screwdriver, nothing. We tested by trying to arc the distributor cap to a screwdriver, nothing. It almost seemed as though the coil wasn't properly igniting.


Things got kind of hectic and fast paced from this point on and the general "why's and how's" is nothing special to note (unless asked for), so I'll run down the list of what all has been done since the spark plugs, wires and distributor were checked.


Within the distributor:
-Ignition Coil was replaced
-Ignitor/Ignition Control Module was replaced
-Distributor Cap and Rotor were replaced
(all connecting wires and screws within the unit were cleaned up)

Within the engine:
-Timing belt was checked and appears fine/functional
-Valves were checked and appear fine/functional

Within the fuel system:
-Fuel Injectors were checked/cleaned and appear fine/functional
-Fuel Pump was checked and appears fine/functional
-Fuel Filter was checked and appears fine/functional (although I have a replacement that can be installed as needed)

General Checks:
-All ignition, starter and fuel related fuses and relays were replaced (under the hood and in the cabin)


After all of these things, the vehicle still does not turn over (though it acts like it wants to).


The vehicle has been sitting inoperable for roughly a month now and I'm at a severe loss for what to do next on the repairs. I'd like to try and repair the thing myself to avoid costly mechanic rates, but I just don't know what to do at this point... Any thoughts, suggestions, advice, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Boosted Power

So to sum it up. You have good spark, you have fuel, you have compression, no DTCs?

one.relic

@Boosted

I'm still unsure of the whole spark issue. For all intents and purposes there should be good spark (after all that's been replaced and/or tested), but as of the last check, I was still not getting any (that I'm aware of).

Fuel should be fine, it doesn't seem like there are any issues. The fuel pump kicks on just fine and sends fuel up, the injectors are clean and while I have a replacement filter on hand, it didn't seem like it was bad enough that it was going to cause a problem.

I'm unsure as to whether or not any DTCs have appeared since the vehicle stopped running, as I don't have access to a reader/scanner tool. That being said, there has been no additional dash lights displayed (ie., check engine) that would indicate something is wrong.

spoonfedcrx

It doesn't turn over? Or just crank no start?

Possible ignition switch? If like Boosted said you have spark, fuel and compression. If its a crank no start I would do a compression test. A blown headgasket can cause a crank no start. But if it's not cranking at all I would check the ignition switch.

Also throw those Boschs in the trash. NGKs all day

one.relic

The vehicle doesn't turn over, it's simply cranking without starting. Like I said before, I'm still unsure as to whether or not there is actually any spark making it down to the plugs, as my testing seems to indicate that it is not.

I don't know much about testing the compression, and pointers on that?

redbull-1

Since you already replaced the coil and igniter, there is a possibility it is the ignition switch. See these links:

http://techauto.awardspace.com/ignitionswitch.html

http://techauto.awardspace.com/ignition.html