Alright, so before i go into my current problem, here's some backstory (bear with me):

In late June i swapped a B16 into my 1993 Civic hatch, (B16A block, B16A2 Head and Transmission). And since i've had it, it was always shaky, had problems starting, and when it would start the RPMs would die out and the only way to keep it alive was to give it some revs and then it was fine and VTEC never worked, not to mention the RPMs floated inbetween 1K to 1.5K when sitting. Some days i had no problem starting it, other days it would be iffy.

So after driving my car around the way it was and getting horrible gas mileage the whole time (140 miles to the tank, usually) i finally got the car fixed up at my local performance shop early this week. The whole car was looked over, the ECU was rewired, plugs were changed, things were tightened up. Things preventing my car from working right were simple things like slightly-loose parts to a bad IAC and other things. But after 6 hours of working on the car, it ran smooth as hell.

Idle was perfect, VTEC worked, all was well.

Now, today i got into my car to go to work and the car would simply not start. I looked at the trip meter and it read 142 miles. Would i be out of gas? I figure the problem would have been solved when the car got fixed up. There was condinsation on the car this morning and i didn't think about it until later but would condinsation on the distributor be possible? One last thing is i still have the stock CX exhaust installed on the car (waiting for a new one to arrive), it's somewhat unbolted but after having the car dyno'd a couple of times at the stop it's blown out. Could the exhaust be an issue?

So why would my car randomly not start after sitting for 6 hours, and if it is the gas issue, why the hell would i STILL be getting only 142 to the tank?


Here's the car's stats:

1993 Honda Civic CX
B16 swap (B16A Block, B16A2 Head and Transmission)
65,xxx miles on Engine
P30 ECU

I don't know what else would really be needed. But any help would be greatly appriciated (and yes i used the Search function first).

 

Bad starter? Loose connection, dirty battery terminals, grounds. Could be a number of things. Does it turn over?

 

Starter is new, Connections were checked, Battery Terminals are super clean (i work with batteries at work, so i should know better ). It certainly wants to turn over, it's cranking, just not fully turning over. Just the rapid "da-da-da-da-da-da".

 

hmm, is it getting fuel? bad fuel pump another possibility. Check fuses? Sure ur not out of gas?

 

Fuses were checked on Tuesday, and they seem fine now. I shouldn't be out of gas. I got the car fixed when it only had 40 miles on the trip gauge , i don't think i should still be having fuel problems. Here comes the stupid question, is there an easy way to see if i have gas in my tank?

 

i'm going through somewhat the same issue with my sol. have you checked your fuses? i would say it is likely not your fuel pump itself, but could be loose wiring either to your fuel pump or to your fuel filter. also to help your mileage you may need to replace your fuel filter. when the car isnt starting can you hear the fuel pump advancing fuel to the motor?

 

I'm not actually at the car at the moment, i'm at work, but i'll be back at it at 2pm.

Sadly i didn't notice it at the time. i'm pretty positive the fuses are good, it could be the fuel pump or gas.. So i suppose that is a good place to start.

 

Now, correct me if i'm wrong, my memory is a litle hazed. To check for the fuel pump you put the key forward once (inbetween off and starting the car) and listin for sort of whirling noise right?

 

yea u should hear it prime

 

Cool, i'll check it when i get home and go from there. Thanks RagnarX and 93DelSolS!

 

Is the CEL on?

If you can hear the fuel pump prime (low humming noise from gas tank) for 2 seconds when the key is turned to ON(II), then next check for spark as described here.

If the pump does not prime, then check the main relay.

 

Still at work, but no, the CEL wasn't on.

 

Sorry for the late reply, my internet was down all afternoon.

Fuel pump was working fine, i rechecked the ECU and the answer came down to the three things needed to start an engine. Fuel, spark, and air. I was getting fuel, and spark. So it must have been air. And sure enough i took off the pipe to the airbox and it fired right up. Apparently my K&N filter needed to be cleaned, even though it didn't look dirty or wash out much dirt. But it's drying now and after it's re-oiled i'll drop it in.

Thanks for the help guys, i'll keep those in mind for the future.