I replaced the valve cover gasket, spark plugs, spark plug wires, and distributor.. when i first bought the car it was misfiring a lot because oil was in the spark plugs and i could only drive it at 3k-4k RPMs. i decided to put the new parts on and when i did.. it started right up a few times.. and it sounded great! but then later on that day it wouldn’t start again.. but i tried a few different things and it started up again.. and i made sure it would start before i went to bed.. but i went out to start it this morning and it would just crank..... it did seem to idle very low when before and after test driving it yesterday. it was really close to 0 RPMs. it’s just mysterious that it would start up perfectly last night and not start up this morning. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. i could definitely use the help. thank you!

1- i know for sure that it’s not the spark plug wires.. i indeed made sure they were in the right firing order..

2- i’ve ruled out the distributor timing.. it started up fine when i first put the distributor on. i made sure to put it back at the same exact position of the old distributor by marking a line on the old one and measuring the length from one side to the line on the new distributor.

3- i’ll defintely try cleaning the throttle body tomorrow or the next day.. would that cause it to not start?

**Also... is there anymore solutions? i’ve checked the spark plugs.. the air filter.. and the it shouldn’t be the fuel pump.. i hear it coming on when i turn the key to the “on” position.. and the car never quit while i was driving down the road........ one more thing i can think of that i haven’t checked is a bad master relay.. but i’m not sure what else it could be. PLEASE HELP

how difficult is it to set the ignition timing with a timing light? maybe give me some tips on how to go about doing this. thank you!

Very simple. Look up a how to vid on youtube.

is there a way to do it with a test light? i do not have a timing light at the moment, but figured if there is an alternate way around it.. i could make it work.

ok so here’s what’s happening in a clarified version.

P.S.- the car started before i put all the parts on, but you would have to keep the throttle up or it would shut off.. like you would constantly have to drive at 3-4k rpms.. and it would smoke a lot.. so i knew it was definitely a valve cover gasket.. there was oil in the plugs.. and the distributor has never been changed, so i figured i’d change it while i was under the hood.

1- i put a brand new aftermarket distributor on.. new spark plug wires, new spark plugs, and a new valve cover gasket to fix the oil leak.

2- after i got everything put on.. the car started up like a normal car.. it NEVER DIED once while it was started or while i was driving it around.

3- i started it up a few times and then drove it some more. the engine sounded fine.. the transmission shifted good.. the only think i noticed was the rpms were very low when pulling up to a stop sign or sitting in the drive way idling.

4- i went out to start it the next morning.. NOTHING. it just cranks and cranks and cranks. i don’t understand. *crying emoji*

no it doesn’t.. i’ve tried that.. but i did take a spark plug out to look it over after i cranked it a few times.. i saw that there is definitely fuel going into there.

haven’t checked them 100%. maybe i should tonight... who knows.. maybe they sent me some faulty spark plug wires. 🙄

so i know for sure there’s no spark in the plug wires.. so i moved on to checking for spark in the coil. the 1991 model has no spring in the inside of the coil.. so i stuck a test light into the hole that was grounded to the negative battery terminal. hopefully that is the right way? i couldn’t find a video for the older type of distributors without the coil spring so i just guessed spark would jump from the inside of the coil cylinder where the metal is.... but anyways.. no spark there if that was the correct way of doing it... so then i checked the positive and negative terminals on the coil with the test light and it did not flash at all when my mom started the vehicle. (i hooked the snap to the positive terminal on the batter and put the prob on the negative terminal to check for a flashing light. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I DIDNT THAT WRONG) anyways... any suggestions now?

well good news everyone... the car is running.. and you will never guess what the problem was.. i bought a BRAND NEW distributor that was faulty.. my car actually didn’t NEED a new distributor.. thought i might just replace it for the heck of it. (since the one that was on there when i bought it looked kinda rough) but i put the old one back on and the car started up like it was new... it still idles really low but i noticed the tachometer is more compact than the later model 90s civics.. so maybe it is supposed to look like that? who knows.... it sounds good though! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL THE HELP.

yes lol