Hi guys,

I am working on a 98 civic LX sedan. It has a 1.6l single cam inside it. I brought it to advance to read the CEL and it said the car is throwing a code for no signal from the TDC (top dead center) sensor. I have searched all around parts stores online and I cant find a single top dead center sensor for a 98 civic LX, nor any evidence to lead me to believe this car even has one! Can someone point me in the right direction here? Does this car have a TDC sensor? If it does can you link me to where I can buy one?


Thanks!
-Dave

 

The TDC sensor is not sold separately. If it's bad, most people replace the distributor housing. Be aware that a TDC sensor circuit code could be caused by a bad TDC sensor, or also by a bad wire or even ECU. You need to do some electrical tests to pinpoint the cause of the code. Start by measuring the resistance across the two TDC sensor wire pins in the distributor connector.

 

Oh, I think I know what the problem is here... the distributor in the car went bad, I put a new distributor in the car. The distributor I put in was OBD1 so I just unplugged all of the wired from the 2 OBD1 harness connectors and put them into the OBD2 connector so I could use it on this LX. I think one of the connectors may have come out.

I will re check my wiring and get back to you! Thanks!


So you are saying the TDC sensor is in the distributor? When I looked at hondas they were all saying it was under the TB cover... Like this
http://www.civicforums.com/forums/7-...placement.html

 

The thread you posted is about 7th generation Civics. You have a 6th generation Civic. Your TDC sensor is inside the distributor.

 

The distributor was replaced with one out of a car that was working totally fine, I am 100% sure of my wiring job, and the problem still persists on the car, except now it takes 3 or 4 seconds of cranking before it turns over, but this only happens on the first start. If I shut the car off and start it again it turns over on the second crank, like a normal car would.

The car still has the hesitation problem very seldom. Under acceleration sometimes it will droop down to an idle, then shoot back up like nothing even happened and keep accelerating.


Help?
Codes for the car are
IAC
Temp sensor
02 sensor (Probably because of a cracked header)
and TDC sensor

I put a fresh battery in and it still takes 4 seconds to crank over after sitting for a while. So that isn't the problem. Terminal connections are very clean.
I have adjusted the valve clearances cleaned the intake and throttle body, cleaned injectors, new spark plugs.

Ideas?

Thank you!

 

I hope you are not surprised. This is classically what happens when your strategy is to replace parts at random rather than to do the proper testing to troubleshoot and pinpoint the problem.

 

I haven't replaced parts at random. The car had no spark so the distributor was replaced to fix that problem, valve lash and other cleaning jobs were done as a tune up. As were spark plugs.

The only part that was put in arbitrarily was a battery because I had a fresh one from a volvo I am parting out.

If you aren't going to post productive things dont post at all, your big "I've been on the honda forums forever" ego is showing...

 

Wrong attitude. Ron has helped quite a lot of people. NOT listening to him is foolish. Your noob attitude is showing.

 

Seriously, what grade are you in? Did you take the time to read my post? A TDC sensor circuit code was thrown, so you guessed that the problem was a bad distributor and replaced it. Yet your problem persists and so does the TDC sensor circuit code. You guessed wrong because you failed to do any troubleshooting and instead replaced parts at random. If you could take productive advice given to you, you would have already fixed your car. But now you sit frustrated with the same problem and with less money.

^This is the most productive advice that anyone could give you.

 

The distributor was replaced before I even posted on this forum, or before I even read the CEL and saw that it threw a code for a TDC sensor. No parts were replaced at random. There is a misunderstanding if you think that is the case.

This is wrong.


I have seen your post before, and you have helped a lot of people. Instead of helping out here you assumed I just replaced a 190$ part based off of a guess. The car had no spark, a new cap and rotor didn't do anything, so a 20$ distributor was used off another motor sitting around and it fixed the problem.


This thread is getting off topic. If you can help me out it would be appreciated. If not, don't post.

 

You should have explained the situation better from the beginning. That being said, your first step is to test the tdc sensor circuit as Ron showed in his first post. Then report back.

 

This^

OP: If you want productive tech help, then it's your responsibility to describe the problem clearly and to tell what has already been done. This is best done in a well organized first post. Forum members are not mind readers.

Have you reset the ECU to see whether all of the CEL codes return? If so, also make repairs that clear all of these codes.

 

How much resistance should measure between the 2 pins?
I have the same problem with my EF, but I also have a new distributor.

 

350-700 Ohms

 

Hello, not sure if anyone will read this, but recently my 1999 Honda CRV-EX has thrown the CEL 1362 code, TDC sensor, no signal. The dealer said it might need a new distributor, but I always want to be sure before part replacing, however, I am not auto-tech savvy. Dealer said when they checked resistance in TDC sensor, it was measuring 12,000 ohms, instead of up to max 800 ohms. When they reset light, did not come back on until 4 weeks later. Car is working fine.
1 year ago, dealer changed timing belt and water pump, is it possible that timing could be off ? I need to go for emissions testing before end of July so want this fixed, and so far 2 mechanics have looked at it with no results. Please advise.. anyone, thanks.