1996 civic with manual transmission suddenly will not start. Had timing belt replaced at 160,000. Now has 180,000. Started normally, died, then couldn't get spark. Haven't checked to see if rotor is turning. Other engine electrical checks out ok. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

Happened to a Kia I used to have. Originally we thought it was the fuel pump, so replaced that. Then thought it was the fuel pump relay. We weren't getting fuel OR spark, but it turned out to be the crankshaft position sensor. The balance shaft belt had broken, slapped the CPS and broken it. Not saying this is what yours is, but when it happened to me, it fooled me for like three days. Does your car turn over but just not want to start?

 

Had a distributor short itself out in my drive way right after starting and trying to pull out... Honda distributors are known to be kinda crappy. I'd check that...

 

Thanks for responding. I checked to see if the cam and distributor rotor are turning. They are. I checked the ignition coil per instructions in a Chiltons. The primary winding resistance should have been 0.63-0.77 ohms. It was 1.1. The secondary winding resistance fell within the 12.8-19.2 k ohms. Don't know if the cold would affect it much. It's about 40^ here. If a coil is not too expensive, I'll probably go ahead and replace it and pray. It hasn't been replaced since I've owned the car. If the coil comes with the distributor it might be cheaper to do that.

 

Does the fuel pump prime?

CEL on? Any CEL codes?

You need to remove the coil from the car and let it warm inside your house before doing the resistance measurements. For the primary reading, you also must subtract the internal resistance of the meter from the measurement. Otherwise, your reading will be wrong.

Also remove the ICM and let AutoZone test it.

 

it is ur dizzy go get it fixed other wise u r stuck. it happen to my civic lx while i was onthe freeway now thats scary

 

Thanks again. I brought the coil inside to warm up. What do I subtract for the internal resistance? I am using a Fluke 77 series multimeter. I priced a distributor online for around $200. Ouch! Still troubleshooting.

 

Click the Spark link in my signature.

Internal resistance is the reading when you touch and hold the two meter probes together.

 

A civic with a spark issue!? YOU DONT SAY!

Dat distributor, doe.