Hi I have a 2002 honda civic ex 1.7 sohc vtec 5 speed. I just purchased this car. Drove perfect for first few days. But yesterday I drove to work...which I work at a dealership, very mechanically inclined...well I got to work just fine. Now when I went to go leave, the car would start and shut down 3 seconds later. If I give it gas as I start it will rev up clean then 3 seconds later just die out. If I hold foot on gas while it dies I get a popping from exhaust. Doesn't really sound like a back fire but I also have a 3 inch aftermarket exhaust system headers back. Don't know if sound is from that.

now I've done tons of research and here's some info. As far as immobilizer/ ignition switch. The key flashes until I turn it to 2. Green light shuts off. When car starts and shuts down. Green key light does not come on and the oil light doesn't stay on. I tried holding the key to start as it starts to see if it keeps running to see if maybe the electrical connector for ignition switch is bad. Wiggling key and holding it to start doesn't make a difference.

checked with a scan tool I have no codes. Verified fuel and spark. When I turn key to 2 I can hear fuel pump relay click and can hear pump whirl for 2 to 3 seconds. Checked battery voltage and all is good.

now when I bought car I got a folder full of reciepts. Alternator was replaced with a NEW one not a reman about 8k miles ago. Battery is less than year old. Timing belt, tensioner, water pump etc. Done 38k ago. Sticker under hood says timing belt is good for another 32k. Timing belt done at honda dealership with honda parts.

from my research it seems like I may have jumped timing. But I read that's typical for a new timing belt to be off a tooth or two. Easy mistake. But mine was done 38k ago/ done august 2015...so it seems weird if would do it in the middle of its life cycle.

it's Sunday my car is at work and I can't get it into shop till tomorrow to pull timing cover. Now I've pulled out grommet for the cam sensor for I was going to unplug and see if it starts. And same with crank sensor which could tell me if timing jumped. Can I unplug the cam sensor without removing top timing cover? If you can please let me know the trick to do it lol. To tight for my fingers.

Lastly does my issue sound like it jumped time? When car starts it dies after 3 seconds. But will fire right back up everytime without hesitation but dies again.

​​​​​​​any help would be great. Thank you

 

Ok so I managed to unplug the cam sensor without taking anything apart. And go figure the car starts and runs now. Doesn't run great but stays running....before I tear into it. Could it be just the sensor? Or could it still possibly be jumped time. I'll know more tomorrow but I'm impatient cuz I literally put this on road 3 days ago and I want to drive it. I hate driving my wife's automatic elantra lol

 

So today on my lunch break I just went ahead and changed the cam sensor with a honda oem one. My belt looks great and it's tight. Not much slack where the belt goes down to crank. Well I didn't check timing marks for I had to rush. Well new cam sensor didn't do anything.

I find it very strange that the belt could have jumped due to the tightness and the fact that it drove perfectly fine to work that day. Turned it off. Nothing out of ordinary. 4 hours later come out to start and it does what I described. Only way it could have jumped is when I shut it off. But I can't see how

 

So today I brought my car into my bay and tore it down. My timing had jumped 2 teeth. I noticed that when you turn it over just after TDC the belt would slack out. Then I found a piece of plastic that was wedged in the back of the tensioner. I removed it...don't know what it's from...just a small piece of black plastic.

anyways I tested the tensioner by applying 22 ft lbs. Of torque to it and it works just fine. I aligned the crank timing mark and removed belt. I turned cam to align the marks. Put belt back on. Cranked over by hand a few times and belt no longer slacks out. Put it all back together with new plugs and she fired right up. Runs awesome again. But if it jumps again I'll replace everything.

 

nice job troubleshooting that!

no one could have guessed you would find something wedged into the tensioner; that's why sometimes people need to get off the computer and actually turn a wrench or two. well played

 

Well as a mechanic when I tear something down I check everything. I read on all data that to test tensioner you apply 22 ft. Lbs. To it and it should move easily...well it did at first but then would bind up....looking at the tensioner there's like 2 brass arms coming off. One of them has the allen head to move tensioner back and forth then there's the one behind that....the piece of plastic was in between there not allowing the tensioner to tension all the way...could hardly see it. Had to use a pick to fish it out. But just by looking at it you couldn't see the plastic. It's when I moved it and felt the bind is when I started to fish around back there....I'm glad it was wedged instead of bobbing around in there. It was hard plastic. Could have sliced my belt.

​​​​​​​anyways drove to work and back today with no issues. She's running great

 

I have a 05 civic ex special edition 1.7l vtec d17a2 5 speed. I just had a similar issue.. My problem ending up being. Timing belt stretched which caused it to jump timing.. When it did and I was trying to Starr it and diagnose the problem, since the timing was off it bent all 16 valves and trashed the head.. Ended up getting a rebuilt head, also did water pump timing belt and tensioner serpentine belt and tensioner a.c. belt power steering belt cam position sensor crank sensor new head gasket and head bolts. Just finished it last Saturday and now she runs amazing better than ever before. I bought the car with 120k miles and its now at 144k. All belts were original. Old head
Old head all bent valves
New head all put back together