hey guys. my CRX died today while driving. took almost 3 hours for tow truck to tow my car home. got home and checked the spark plugs. the plugs from cylinders 1 & 4 were covered in oil and were oil fouled (dark black soot all over electrode area. cylinders 3 & 2 are dry but covered in black soot (carbon fouled?) well, i went to autozone and picked up some denso's since kragens closed just as i got there (even though i talked to them on the phone while i was driving there and they said that they would be at the register waiting for me). i got there at 7:01 pm. they didnt want to help me since they supposedly shut their registers down already (even though i could still see that one was not closed and was still open by the screen) i replaced the NGKs with denso's (put anti seize and di electric grease on the spark plug area that touches in the boot (never used the stuff before actually).

so i crank car, engine battery is low. hook up uncles starter/charger. i check for fuel pressure, that is fine. i check for fuel pump relay, check clicks like its supposed to. i smell fuel when i crank motor, so im guessing the injectors are firing. i rechecked spark plug wire order, check. i check spark plugs 1 & 4 for spark, check (i didnt check 2 & 3 though). i took off oil fill cap and turned engine over to make sure timing belt did not snap, that checked out okay also. oil level is ok. checked fuses under dash, check those were fine. checked fusebox in engine bay. fuses look fine but the battery fuse (the one that screws down) looks a little darker on the copper element part then the others, but doesnt look like it broke the copper wire thing. i also tried running the car with the fuel pump off so i could clear the fuel buildup. tried again with fuel pump on and it will backfire, kinda turn over (like its firing on one cylinder)

last year, i had my car die on me unexpectedly. it turned out to be the ignitor and coil. i got a new ignitor from honda and a coil from pep boys. would the ignitor cause the backfiring? what else do you guys recommend that i check, replace, etc. NGK plug wires are only a year old. air filter is less then one year old. old changed about 1200 miles ago

EDIT: no codes thrown on ecu, and check engine light goes out like normal.

 

backfiring....hmmmm

does your car sound likes it bubbling over like a Tubro STi when you drive and how does the power feel when you mash on it??

 

ground wires?

 

ahhhhhhhhh...... i found out what it was. i read another post taking about someones ignitor. i take off my distributor cap and what do i see. the rotor spins freely, the rotor screw backed itself off
i put it back on and the car started right up. except now i have smoke, looks light grey but it was too dark to really tell. im hoping im just burning off the left over oil and that im am not having a serious blowby issue. we will find out tomorrow i guess. im hoping for the best. damn the full moon. no vega, it didnt sound like a boxer engine, but my old vw bug did when i had a custom pipe exhaust (header with mander bent pipe pointing towards the ground at a 45º angle. it was loud when i got on it, it did have some of that cool burble that R32 (VW) and Subaru (boxer motor cars) have. im sure it would sound pretty cool with an apexi n1 or some sorta can muffler to enhance the sound.

so what do you guys think. besides getting a new rotor (it has a slight scrape on the copper surface that touches the cap). do you think seafoam will help get rid of any of the remaining oil build up? or should i just wait a day or two and see if i can burn the oil or gas out? thanks for replying to my post.

 

pm'd

 

man, this has happened to me already too...it will eventually burn off if it isnt too bad of a buildup. That rotor screw is one of the few flaws i have seen in these cars. i assume they fixed it later with a 'keyed' spline that will accept the rotor in only one specific way (at least i hope they did...i havent owned a car newer than a 90 so I dont know). good luck

 

cool, i will wait and see what happens. well, i will still need to replace the engine and tranny, but at least it gives me more time now. first i need a new seat (memory fab or f1spec) besides axle and radiator fluid replacement. well, i guess that means i better finish the bathroom remodeling as soon as possible so i can work on the crx more before it leaves me stranded again.