i have a '94 RS that won't start and from reading others' threads i think i've narrowed it down to possibly the ignitor or coil. i just had the ignitor replaced about 6 months ago by a mechnanic my dad knows, but i don't know where the mechanic bought the replacement. so it could be crap, i'm not sure. it seems the car cranks, it just won't start. my car has acted like this before about two times since the ignitor replacement, but it would previously start up after about 10 minutes of cranking and cursing.. this time its not starting at all. (some history for you if it helps anyone diagnose my problem..)

anyhow, before i start taking apart the dizzy, i wanted to ask if the engine had to be at Top Dead Center?? i'm reading the integra service manual but i didnt find anywhere where it said the engine had to be at TDC before taking the dizzy housing off.. can anyone confirm this really quick?

also, if its as simple as taking the housing off (TDC not needed) i might ask my friend to let me borrow his coil from his 99 LS really quick, but i know that he has OBD2. are there differences in the OBD1 and OBD2 distributor/ignitor/coil that would not allow me to use some of his dist. parts for testing??

sorry if i sound like a newbie! thanks in advance for your help!

 

ok here's a cam-phone vid i took. maybe someone might be able to help me more or less pinpoint the problem by the way it sounds when i try to start it:

http://www.pocketchange-music....t.mov (600Kb)

 

If you replace the ignitor already that shouldnt be the problem and the coil from the 99 Ls it should fit your 95 with no problem. One question tho have you check your battery? sometimes when its a bad battery your car wont start. And before you change all your coil and igniter and stuff, use some diagnosic tools to check if there's any spark going though the spark plug wires and spark plug first, if there's spark then your dizzy should be fine and also check your fuel system. And yes TDC would be a good idea if taking your dizzy off because your timing has to line up before taking it off and putting it back on. Hope this help a little. Good luck!

 

if the battery was bad would i still be able to crank it (like in the video)?? i seem to have enough power to work the starter so i dont understand why i shouldnt have enough juice to start her up..

i don't necessarily have proper diagnostic tools to check the fuel system but i think i should be able to check for spark.. ive never done it before but im sure its easy..

but as far as the distributor goes, i only want to take off the cap. not the whole dist. do i still need to be at TDC just to take off the cap??

thanks for your response!

 

make sure its a spark problem and not a fuel problem, its more than likely just the main relay. Is your fuel pump priming when you turn the car on?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HGZ. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if the battery was bad would i still be able to crank it (like in the video)?? i seem to have enough power to work the starter so i dont understand why i shouldnt have enough juice to start her up..

i don't necessarily have proper diagnostic tools to check the fuel system but i think i should be able to check for spark.. ive never done it before but im sure its easy..

but as far as the distributor goes, i only want to take off the cap. not the whole dist. do i still need to be at TDC just to take off the cap??

thanks for your response!</TD></TR></TABLE>

The video thing doesnt work for me so i couldnt hear it. Well if you're just taking off the cap then it should be ok, just off and on. And if you fix all that and still doesnt start try checking on some fuses for the ecu etc main relay and stuff maybe even check compression, and have you check your spark plugs? see if they are bad, dirty and stuff. At the same time when checking spark for your spark plugs if its out smell it if you smell fuel on the spark plugs and if its wet or not but not oily, thats one way of checking if the fuel is working.

 

SHE STARTED UP!!!!

i swear man. stupid acura...

well what i did was just keep the key turned and pump the gas pedal. i noticed that when i pumped the gas, the engine would slowly start to turn. after about 10 to 15 seconds of cranking and pumping she slooooowly started to come to life until the RPMs reached about 1200..

could it be that my injectors need cleaning or something?? ill fill her up tonight and dump a bottle of injector cleaner in there just incase.. it seems like its not getting enough fuel at start up..

i've experienced the occasional "slowly coming to life" start ups recently in the past and it has concerned me a little but since i got her to start anyway i never really looked into it..

 

check these things:

1)spark
2)fuel
3)timing

last week before going on a 700 mile trip i gave my car a tune-up. it cut out right 2 sec after i turned it on after working on it.

it would crank but it wouldnt fire up. i could smell the gass and hear my pump priming so i checked for spark, and discovered that it was getting none, so i replaced the ignition coil, and lo and behold it fired up on the first crank.

the hardest part was finding one locally. only one place in my town had them. good luck.