I have a 91 Civic Hatchback, Dual point, 140,000 miles, 4 speed.

This morning when I went to start the car, it started and then stalled, three times. On the fourth try it started and stayed running. I shut if off and it started right up again, drove 10 miles, shut it off and started right up again.

It was showing a code 8 - TDC Position. I pulled the hazard fuse for ten seconds and reinstalled the fuse. Started the car w/no problem and it is not showing any codes now.

Should I be concerned about this happening again or is it just a fluke?

Anyone have this happen and not get worse. Haynes manual says to change the distributor. No problem as I have a spare in the car along with a spare Main relay.

 

Sounds more like a main relay then anything else. It's normally a key cause of an EF not starting up.

 

I replaced that a few weeks ago. I was getting intermittent starting problems then. Also I had a code 16 - Fuel Injector.

This time around, it started, but stalled.

 

Well, here is what the FAQ yielded me:

Code 8:





Code 16:

 

Excelent info. My Haynes manual states there is no replacement of the TDC sensor and that the whole Dist. would need to be replaced, that was at the time of writing of the manual. Since the problem was intermittent, I guess I shouldn't be concerned unless it happens again. Is the TDC sendor replaceable now?

Also, I did remove one the fuel injectors from a spare engine, what a pain it was to get that thing out!

 

nice info.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hondaisok &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Excelent info. My Haynes manual states there is no replacement of the TDC sensor and that the whole Dist. would need to be replaced, that was at the time of writing of the manual. Since the problem was intermittent, I guess I shouldn't be concerned unless it happens again. Is the TDC sendor replaceable now?

Also, I did remove one the fuel injectors from a spare engine, what a pain it was to get that thing out!</TD></TR></TABLE>

My TDC sensor went out. Instead of getting a new dizzy I bought a new mtor!

 

Usually a trouble code from the distributor
indicates distributor bearing failure....

The sensors inside are magnetic and when the bearing
starts to shred,The shards of metal stick to the sensors
which distorts the signal to the ecu..

You can rebuild the distributor if you can find a replacement
bearing and get the fragile screws out but it would probably
be easier for you to find a replacement..

 

Thanks, I thought that's where the problem might be. Hondas no start problems are usually either a bad ground, bad dist or bad main relay. Fortunately, I have two spare distributors.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tippyman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

My TDC sensor went out. Instead of getting a new dizzy I bought a new mtor!</TD></TR></TABLE>

yup we always have to find it the hard way out of the pocket....
didnt realize that my rotor screw came off... thought i blew a headgasket in my mini-me swap.... had to buy a new d16z6 to replace it and few months later tried using the same dizzy for the z6 and opened that damn dizzy and wahlah...

 

It has done it the last three mornings, when it's cold out. Doesn't do it in the afternoon when the car has been sitting all day in the heat. That's usually a sign of a bad electrical connection. It started and stayed running on the second try this morning though. Guess I'll check my dist. connections.