Hi all,

My son's Civic (1992-125000 miles) won't start. Battery checks out fine. New radiator and thermostat. My husband knows a little about cars and can follow directions if told how to fix something. We need to know what to check next in plain and simple terms. It sounds like it wants to start but doesn't. Also what is a dizzy? i saw it referred to in another thread about not starting. Thank you so much for any help you can give us. Can't afford to buy him another car right now and the last couple times we went to our mechanic weren't truly happy with the way he is doing things these days. Dee

 

A dizzy is a distributor. Start with checking to make sure you're getting fuel, a spark, and check the compression. Mainly just the first 2, that's where I would start.

 

Please can someone help me. I see there have been a bunch of hits.

Thank you but when I said baby steps I meant really big baby steps, how would we check that we are getting fuel, a spark and compression? Maybe my husband already knows this but if you could tell me that would save me a step. Thanks again so much. Dee


Modified by dedee48 at 1:22 PM 5/4/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dedee48 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thank you but when I said baby steps I meant really big baby steps, how would we check that we are getting fuel, a spark and compression? Maybe my husband already knows this but if you could tell me that would save me a step. Thanks again so much. Dee</TD></TR></TABLE>

Did the car just not turn on one morning, or has this been a problem for awhile thats just gotten worse? Was the car being serviced and it suddenly wouldn't start afterwards?

You can check for spark by removing a spark plug, place the spark plug into the spark plug wire and crank the engine over (don't hold the spark plug or wire while cranking). You should see a spark at the gap of the plug.

To check compression, your going to need a compression tester. If your husband has one of these I'm going to go ahead and assume he knows how to perform the comp test. Check back here if you need further instructions on this.

To check fuel, it would be helpful if you have a fuel pressure guage. Disconnecting the fuel inlet hose will show that fuel is being delivered to the rail, but it won't tell you about the pressure.

 

It was running, but it had overheated a couple days earlier but the morning it stopped running my husband had started it and it ran fine, then he fixed the thermastat that he had put in earlier. It had a cracked screw and was leaning so he just straightened it and replaced the screw. After that it would not start. Thanks.

 

To me that makes it seem like whatever he did while changing the thermostat contributed to the car not starting.

 

What he check to figure out if that had something to do with it? He says he has replaced thermostats in the past without a problem. Thanks.

 

There should be a ground wire hooked up to the thermostat housing, this is a main ground that could cause it not to start. When the car is turned over do you hear a whirring of the fuel pump towards the back of the car?

 

^^ damn you beat me to it lol.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dedee48 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What he check to figure out if that had something to do with it? He says he has replaced thermostats in the past without a problem. Thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>


thats what i think too he probably forgot to put that ground wire back on or the wires may be broken i would start there

 

No we don't think we hear the fuel pump.

 

what the above guys said, there is a ground (i believe for the main relay) that should be connected to the thermostat housing, check that first.

 

Ok guys, we checked the wires on the thermostat, all connected, none broken, he cleaned the contacts on the distributor and it still did not start. What is the next step. It just doesn't turn over, almost but not quite. What is the next thing to check? Thank you so much for any help. Dee

 

Did you ever check for spark?

After the car over heated, did it run rough?

 

wow, strange i'm having the same problem aswell with a 99EX, i just changed the oil, started it up and backed it off the ramps, didnt move the car till the following morning(this morning) and go out to crank it up and it just keeps trying to crank, so far its gettin a spark, gona check to see if its gettin fuel tomorrow and it so happens the day after i decide to try to sell it

 

did u check the main relay in the under hood fuse box.. mite of arched if the ground got moist or broke.. just throwing that out there..

 

I'll tell him about the relay and ask him about the spark. We do NOT hear the fuel pump when the car is turned over. Is this the problem and if so is it something he can fix? Yes, I think my son did say it ran rough after overheating. We do have a chilton manual coming from the library. Thanks again.

 

well if the relay has popped then u wont hear the fuel pump cut on or nuttin.. def a good idea to get a hanes manual... take a few pics from where the thermostat was replaced and we can tell u if anything is out of place..

 

dont know about dedee, but my car has spark and fuel gets to the fuel rail when trying to start but the engine never cranks up, it just keeps tryin, didnt see a relay fuse under the hood in relation to fuel or ignition in my 99, any other ideas?

 

How long was the car driven while it was overheating?.......Driving for a long time like that can warp a head. Thats a lil far fetched but it can happen.

I know this sounds dumb, and I know you checked the ground on the thermostat housing, but that honestly sounds like your problem....is it screwed down tightly??? That stupid lil ground wire can easily be overlooked cause its such a simple thing to do.

 

Dead, have you pressure tested your fuel sys?