Was driving to work on a rainy morning when the engine gave out at around 30 mph. I pulled to the side and tried to start it, and after about 5 seconds of straight cranking the engine started again. Acted strange for a couple seconds then acted normal again. About 5 minutes later the engine cuts out once more but didn't start. It's been warm and sunny these past few days and everything is dry. Had it towed to my house to run a few tests which are.

- Fuel Pump; When I turn the key I hear the fuel pump running for a few seconds before turning itself off.

- Fuel Pressure; Loosened the fuel hose before fuel rod near engine and fuel squirted out and shot a far distance.

- Spark Plugs; Removed each spark plug individually and each one seemed to spark fairly strong. Was visible from driver seat on a sunny day.

- Compression; To test compression and make sure It cranks, I removed 1 spark plug and stuck a plastic bag with a screwdriver into the hole and shot right out and seemed to have very strong healthy compression.

- Distributor Cap; From reading previous posts I read to watch out for a white substance.
I opened the distributor cap and saw an almost negligible amount of white powder along with tiny amounts of rust on the bottom of the cap, with some white on the metal on the wheel, and slight white on the 4 metal pieces on the cap itself that the wheel touches to give electric (no idea whats it called hopefully you do).

Plus when I turn the key the check engine light comes on, I hear a click then it turns off.
Jumped the connectors and have a steady check engine light. Not sure if that's code 0 since I read that if it is indeed code 0 then the check engine light will be on with or without the jumper.

Thanks everyone in advance.

 

that is code 0 for bad ecu

someone correct me if i am wrong here

 

Source: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/how-pull-cel-d4-srs-abs-codes-code-lists-1901557/

Reads if:

"-code 0 is defined by the CEL remaining on steady both without and with the service connector jumped."

 

Update: Installed new distributor and spark plug wires and no change. I installed these since I have 0 direction.

 

First of all. Your CEL should come on for 2 seconds, then turn off if no errors are detected.

Second of all. The CEL will not do anything with the service connector jumped if the motor isn't started, I'm pretty sure. If it has any codes to show, it will show them. So you do NOT have a code 0.

Thirdly, check your rotor. I ran into a problem about a year ago where the spark had arced through the plastic and grounded through the motor and thus the car was not getting true spark.

 

Rotor aka wheel in the dizzy?

Along with the new distributor came a new one inside.

 

yes

 

Did you make sure it was properly secured inside the distributor and that it has no play at all?

 

I didn't think to bother since it's an entirely new distributor, in one whole piece. Once I opened it I saw that everything is secure.

 

Borrow a ecu and try it. My civic didn't want to start. I replaced fuel pump, dizzy, plugs and wires main relay and it was the ecu

 

Update: Just installed new spark plugs and no change.

While I was there I asked about an ecu but they go for around $350 just to get an idea. Since unfortunately I don't have a way to borrow one.

 

A junkyard will run you under $50. I bought mine for $40 and if I go to okc I can get them for $20 a pop