my civic wont start up anymore, its a 93 coupe, first there would be trouble starting it up, and now it just cranks and wont turn over, ive tried everything and now im having people tell me that its the main relay or the ignitor, ive checked, double checked, and triple checked them and they seem fine to me, what else could it be that im missing? i get spark and fuel but it just cranks and cranks and cranks

 

Crank postion sensor???

no check engine lights?

I would have also said relay.

 

do u have a spare main relay to try on?is your starter working fine?this happened to me once.i switched the main relay and it sill wouldnt start up,turened out the starter was bad.

 

well if you get spark then its not the igniton coil, it could be the main relay, or could be the starter.. are you SURE your gettin spark?

 

100% sure im getting spark, atleast my buddy said im getting spark, starter is good, i really dont know wat else it could be

 

plugs?

 

i dont think its the plugs, i checked them all and they all seem fine and are relatively new, where would i find the CPS, im new to honda's so sorry if im a noob

 

does it sound normal when it spins?

if you get fuel and spark then forget about the ignitor and the main relay.

for then engine to run you need spark, fuel and air/compression. you also need each of these to happen at the right time. just start step by step going through these things to make sure they are happening and happening at the right time.

check your ignition timing, your cam timing, make sure your plug wires are in the right place. make sure you have compression. check all your sensors and connectors even though the CEL should be on if one is disconnected or failing.

that's the best thing i know to tell you. hope it jumps out and hits you in the mind.

 

it doesnt sound fine at all, it sounds like theres a grinding noise that sounds really bad, ill get a video clip. i also noticed that on the distributor cap, the 3 bolts that hold it onto the engine, the top bolt on top of the distibutor the tread on the inside of there is toren off so the bottom 2 bolts only hold it on right, im starting to think thats the problem because thats where this "grinding" nose is coming from, i need some input ASAP

 

pull your distributor out, and make sure you didn't mess it up. Also, look into the ICM i had spark and fuel, but something with the ICM was keeping it from firing in the right order i'd say, but def. pull that out and take a look.

 

what am i suppose to be looking for?

 

heres a video clip of it trying to start up, im not sure if u can hear it (cuz my computer sounds messed up)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BN8tJ8DMdsY

 

sounds like it could be a broken timing belt to me. pull the cap off the distributor and have a friend try to start it while you watch the rotor to see if it spins. if it doesn't you broke your timing belt.

it could also be something like compression loss. it'd have to be pretty bad to keep it from starting though

 

yea i was also thinking it could be the timing belt also as it is just about time to replace it. i dont have much knowledge of compression loss but how would i be able to fix it if thats the problem?

 

If he has spark at the plugs as he says he has, I would doubt it to be a broken timing belt, because the cam has to turn in order to turn the distibutor rotor to trigger spark to the plugs, otherwise no cam turn, no dizzy turn, no sparky spark...

At least make sure the rotor IS turning and not loose on the dizzy shaft. I had this happen to me one once my EF and I can't remember if an OBD1 dizzy is the same as an OBD0 dizzy where there is a screw that holds the rotor in place on the dizzy shaft. Screw fell out of mine once, shaft turned, rotor slipped around on the shaft, throwing spark at the wrong time. Hopefully if that DID happen to you, that the screw didn't bounce around inside the cap and screw up the sensors inside. The screw in mine flew loose and busted up the Crank Angle Sensor and something else that I can't remember, and I had to get a new dizzy.

 

i put in a new main relay and it still isnt going, what else could it be? when i put it in i felt a "clunk" when i tried to start the car...

 

did you check to see if the timing belt was broken? if there is no CEL you can also pull your cluster and make sure the CEL bulb isn't burnt out that happened to me once...my car ran like **** but there was no CEL, come to find out the CEL bulb was done.

 

It sounds like its trying to start. I would double check you timing make sure everything lines up with its timing mark for tdc pull dist cap off make sure dist is pointing at the #1 on the dist cap. make sure you have a good strong spark.

 

Is the dizzy installed 180 degree off? It's not possible in my 6th gen Civic but maybe so in theolder models?

 

i hope it's not your timing belt with all the attempts you've had at restarting it...