Hey all,

I rarely get owned by no start issues with EK Civics but this one is being a PIA.

Details:
-Picked up a 99 Civic Ex manual, y8, stock. No prior history known.

1) Turn the key, fuel pump primes, then CEL will light up briefly for a few seconds then disappear. Normal. Eliminates issue of bad ECU or additional CELs for other reasons.

2) Engine will crank. Compression is 140 psi across the board. Timing belt is good, cam gear and crank pulley are aligned correctly at TDC.

3) Distributor is good. Actually it's known good, pulled it from a running EK. I have spark.

4) Fuel is there. It smells like fuel (plugs will get wet) and I have pressure coming from the banjo bolt from the fuel rail. I haven't checked fuel pressure with a gauge but there is definitely pressure to the rail when cracking the banjo bolt loose.

5) Replaced main relay with known good part just in case. No difference

6) Engine will attempt to start for a second and then will stall. It helps when "trying to start" when I apply throttle and feed the engine with more fuel.

Video to come shortly...appreciate any feedback. I will update with results

 

Have you ohm tested the injectors? If those are all relatively even (12-15 ohm) then you might also pull the injectors and check for spray pattern. Too much fuel (stuck open) or too little fuel (partially clogged bad spray pattern) could possibly fit the symptoms.

The only reason why I didn't visit quality of spark is you said the Distributor is pulled from a running EK so I tend to assume spark quality is adequate.

 

Have you tried quick start spray? If that helps its usually a dumb fuel problem. Clogged filter? Bad injectors, etc

by your analysis I'd say the fuel filter is pissed. Pressure at the banjo bolt/pressure release bolt only tells you the fuel pump is atleast trying to pump fuel.

fuel filter cost $20. Injectors cost $20 each to be serviced. At yards they're usually inexpensive.

and finally, clogged air filter? It deff sounds like a dum problem man, I would start with the cheap regular maintenance I listed, since yakno its suppose to be done regularly. And probably wasn't.

 

I have a good one on my hands.
1996 civic ex
Car had an idle issue. Knock sensor thee CEL. Replaced a bunch of parts now the car won't start. Checked the TPS, MAP, CTS, grounds, injectors, spark, fuel, ignitor, battery. Last thing I didn't check is compression. Car ran, just idled high. One thing I did notice is that the TPS didn't have a ground only 7.4volts. The ground is internal from ECM, could this be an ECM issue? I do not know anyone with a working ECM. Help!!

 

Tried to get back with you sooner, but it's been a busy week.

I checked the injectors. They are all around 13k ohms. I also fed them 12 volts and they all clicked with voltage indicating that they are opening.


I removed the intake arm from the throttle body.

I did check for fuel pressure at the banjo bolt on the fuel filter with a fuel pressure gauge. Unfortunately I didn't have an extra hand at the time. When testing at the filter it only shows pressure when the pump primes for a few seconds unlike a gauge on the rail so I couldn't get my *** out of the driver seat in time to check... I tried though. That was interesting

I'll check it again with a friend and report back. And I'll buy some damn ether... I should of checked a while back spraying with starting fluid as well but didn't have an extra hand.

What's odd though is at first the fuel pressure gauge wasn't completely tight thus bleeding some fuel from the filter. The car actually ran for a split second longer than before as a result.

I'm considering maybe there is bad gas in the tank. Wish there was an easy contraption to install to test for bad fuel although it's probably faster to pull the drain plug and dump 3/4 of a tank then refuel with a gallon and test.

Oh, I also swapped out the ecu with another known good P2P ecu. So we can rule that out. Thought it was unlikely since I don't have any CELs but I had a spare laying around and it only takes a second to try.

Keep you guys posted...

 

Check to see if you have a solid CEL when engaging the key on. If you have a bad ecm ground the CEL will stay on. There's a ground on the thermostat housing for the ecm. From there I believe it goes to ground junction on the engine wiring harness then routes to the ecm. It'd be better to start another thread on your issue to keep this one specific and on topic. Pm me and I can reply when you do.

 

Here's an update: It still doesn't start lol. I'm stumped on this one.

1)I sprayed starting fluid into the throttle body while cranking. No difference.

2) Attached fuel pressure tester at the fuel filter. I'm getting 40 psi while cranking. So we're good there.

3) I noticed the IACV makes a clicking sound while the key is engaged. Weird.

Again the CEL comes on then turns off with the ignition key. I also scanned for codes. No codes are stored on the ecu.

I'm stumped...any ideas...

 

This may sound extremely stupid and simple but are your plug wires routed properlly? Sometimes we skip over the simple stuff

 

Did you check for any blown fuses? I remember it took me a solid week to figure out my ignition coil fuse was blown. Replaced it and it started right up, not saying your coil fuse is blown. Just saying it could be as simple as that.

 

Pop in a new coil in the dizzy. Could be on its last legs?? Had similar problem on my old 98

 

Why haven't you checked for spark at the plugs?

 

Yes plugs wires are routed correctly to the cap.

Just checked those. Ignition coil and fuel pump fuses are good.

I installed a distributor from a running ek. So I can eliminate a possible bad coil.

I did. I have spark. I mentioned that in step 3 of first post.

 

Is spark bright white at all 4 plugs?

 

I had bright white spark to all 4 plugs. The car was hit on the side with high miles so I decided to part it out instead of fixing it for resale. So not sure what ended up causing the issue. The engine was used in another car and ran perfectly.

 

Have you replaced the key lock and cylinder

 

Last post: 01-09-2015, 09:36 PM

You're a bit late.