hey HT, been awhile, but I'm stumped. 1996 civic hatch, d16y7, automatic, bone stock. Bought it not running with brand new distributor, they thought that was the cause of the no start. Since I've gotten it I've put 2 more brand new distr., 3 main relays, new fuel pump, plugs, wires, removed/sanded all grounds, new battery, pinched fuel return and maybe some other stuff. Now it will start, runs smooth as butter for up to 15 seconds, then sputters out and dies. Will fire right back up, run for half the time, then die again, then it only cranks and doesn't show signs of spark( lose spark plug grounded out ). If I let it set for awhile it will start again and go through the whole process again. Starting fluid has zero affect on it. Im stumped, I've chased dist. Wires to the ecu and nothing

 

I've searched for weeks, about ready to sell this thing, but it's a midori...

 

Any cel?

 

No cel. I've triple checked timing also

 

Also, the distributors are new aftermarket units, all from autozone. I feel like the distributor is still the problem, it seems like the ICM is causing this but I can't believe 3 new distributors and still the same results

 

Have you gone through the testing procedures in the service manual?


It's weird that your car would run fine and then randomly stop. It could be something other than the ignition system but you won't know until after you've stepped through the testing procedures. The Distributor is one part of the system and it's kind of in the middle.

The fact that it's running then dieing may be a fuel pressure issue, too.

 

I thought fuel at first, but it actually loses spark. It goes from running for seconds, to cranking with no spark. Besides the distributor I don't know what else would interrupt the spark. I've seen posts about ignition switches causing issues but that doesn't seem to be the problem here. I thought also that it could be the crank fluctuation sensor, I jumped it as per the age old ff-squad how to and there was no change what so ever

 

Is the fuel pump dying?

 

The main problem is that you're swapping parts, not diagnosing the problem. There are a limited number of possibilities to consider:

• Fuel
• Air
• Spark
• Electricalal timing
• Mechanical Timing
• Exhaust
• Compression

Take each one in the combined order of probability and ease. Form a hypothesis, then test it by measuring something. Keep doing this until everything has been checked off the list.

One thing you haven't considered is mechanical timing. Have a look at this for possible future direction and approach:


For example, if you suspect mechanical timing (because maybe the timing belt was never done, or has been done recently), the path in the video might make sense. Be sure your crank/cam timing marks line up (measurement). If they do, move on to the next likely/accessible item to test.

 

I've triple checked mechanical timing, I've even had other people look at it to be sure it wasn't just me lol. i haven't put a gauge on the fuel side, but did replace the pump with a walbro. ive used starting fluid, or atleast tried to with no change in results. Leads me away from fuel.
The symptoms point to a bad ICM in the dist., so I did gamble there and throw a new one on, it was at this point it began to start, but started doing the problems I described above. Since the dist. Had a lifetime warranty, I exchanged it for another, just in case, but problem remained the same. When it does start, it fires right over, runs smooth, it just won't stay running. I would imagine if it had bad compression it wouldn't sound like that. I've had many Hondas, blown a few head gaskets and none sounded this smooth.

 

Next step try a new ECU.

Also just to verify you are running the correct TEC distributor. The Hitachi one has black rubber grommets on the front of it, the TEC is flat and just uses a generic loose fitting cap seal

 

Yea I've been thinking ecu, I've replaced everything else it could be. It's def. a tec dist., but since it has a lifetime warranty, I thought about switching for a hitachi just to see if it would act different.