Hello, I'm new to honda-tech.com. My Honda Civic DX, 1.5 L (not vtec), 5-speed, died at a traffic light and wouldn't start again. I had a main relay problem a few years ago and I replaced it and I'm pretty sure it's not that this time. Fuel is coming through the injectors when the key is turned to ON. Heard that the ECU and distributor sometimes fail on 5th gen. Hondas. The only code the ECU gave was 19, for a lock-up solenoid. I have a P06-A51 for an automatic transmission (hence the code) but I don't think that should keep it from starting. (I plan on converting it later). I took the ECU apart and there was no smell and none of the parts looked fried. And for the distributor, I've changed the cap, rotor, coil, ignition control module, plugs and wires. My brother said it was sparking but looked kind of weak. I have a Haynes manual and tested the CKP, TDC, and CYP sensors for proper resistance, and they were all about 350 ohms, within specifications. The manual said to test for continuity to ground and there should be no continuity. Using the ohm setting I tested each terminal of the plug off the distributor to the ground(tried it on battery terminal and engine ground). I'm not sure if i did this right, but it didn't give a reading. Does this mean that there is continuity and my distributor is probably bad? If anyone could offer advice, or tell me how to test the distributor or ecu, I would appreciate it. If you've had similar trouble, or can think of any sensors or fuses I should check, let me know.

Thanks,

Neal

 

Get a fuel pump from the junkyard, or it could be one of your sensors, crank sensors or something, hows your timing belt?

I had the same problem on my 92 LX and it wouldn't start, i changed the plugs wires rotor cap fuel filter fuel pump, then realised it was the ignition coil, but if you did that already, can't be it.

 

Check whether there is bright white spark at all four spark plugs. Click the spark link in my signature.

 

bad firmware download ? causing fuel starvation at other points in the emission control vector table?

 

wrong cam lobes

 

incompatible in jectors from a different year or production run wrong injector pulse width

 

timing adjustment on distributor WAY out.
alcohol in fuel
diesel in fuel

 

wrong crank pully. wrong setup between pulley on SI engines.

 

improperly installed alarm system from other owner
other electrical gremlins voltage not consistent from alternator. intermittent grounding problems caused by physical motion of corroded or unsecured ground fasteners to engine body
fritz-ed out ECU
Fritz-ed out ECU that only works for 5 minutes on alternate tuesdays.
DUE to strange bugs in ECU software, certain OOR OVERLOAD readings from broken/disconnected/wet/corroded sensors: MAP/COOLTEMP/OXYOUT can cause the entire ECU to fritz out.

 

I guess I'll clean all my grounds and check the fuses tomorrow. People mentioned fuse 24 and fuse 31 on other threads but I looked at the fuse box diagram and didn't see any numbers. I think 31 might be the ECU fuse under the hood. Still not sure which one is 24 though. It is getting fuel through the injectors so I doubt it's the fuel pump. It was running fine for years and just all of the sudden quit. The only after market part is a conical air filter. Haven't swapped engines or anything. I guess it could have jumped time somehow. If none of that stuff works I guess I'll change the distributor, then the ecu if it still doesn't start.

 

recent altitude change?
recent fuel vendor change?
run your battery down recently thus resetting and reprogramming to a non-often used fuel vendor?, then upon switching to more frequently used vendor , settings cause a hard start/no start condition.

 

progressive distributor failure. difficult to diagnose. hard start no start occasionally perhaps in damp or otherwise challenging starting conditions.

upon inspection, distributor appears fine, but under conditions, secondary stage coil fails to ignite. there is no log of this happening not evidence anywhere, so it goes unnoticed. Finally, when startring conditions deteroriate because of other factors, weak spark and intermittent secondary coil failure rear their ugly head.

 

Start doing some basic troubleshooting instead of wild guessing:

 

Listen to RonJ...this Andy guy is on drugs...

 

I have been doing some trouble shooting. And searching forums. And reading my Haynes manual. I also checked the CEL codes. I've also been testing sensors with the multimeter. In my second post I mentioned that I checked the spark and it was weak.

 

I had a similar problem with my 99 Si a few years back. Turned out to be something in the dizzy and unfortunately you cant get internal dizzy parts, around here anyways. So I replaced the dizzy with a new cap and rotor and it started right up! Just a thought, maybe test a few more areas before you go that far. There should be a couple ways to test the dizzy in your Haynes manual.

 

Give details. What CEL codes are thrown? Where did you mention spark? How do you define weak spark? Is spark weak at all 4 plugs? Have you resistance tested the coil? Has the ICM been tested? Give MORE details.

 

i'm listing the things that mechanics never think to check because they assume somebody with some sense has been working on the car before them

 

i bought an accord with an h22 that had this problem. it turned out to be the dizzy was bad and the fuel was old. fixed both car started right up within minutes

 

I think it's probably the dizzy, gonna replace it tomorrow and i'll let you know. appreciate all the input.

 

My civic won't start. Ran fine all morning on Sunday and then parked and won't start. It has power, lights come on but when I go to crank it there is no load. Replaced the starter as Autozone tested my old one and it was toast. Put the new one on and still the same. Headlights don't dim when I go to crank it. Will try and spin the motor tomorrow and check all the fuses but wanted to see if anyone had some ideas? Thanks