Helping a buddy out, since I have two garages full of free (to him) parts. The car is an all stock 94 Civic LX, d15b7 a/t. It will start cold, first start and run and drive great until it is turned off. Once off, it must sit 10 minutes or so before it'll start again. He paid to have the coolant sensor (on the head) replaced, a new IACV, plugs, wires, and igniter. Symptoms persist. My first thought was main relay, but since the car will make its first start in hot ambient temperatures, I am not so sure it is the culprit. I also seriously doubt ignition switch, since it suffers no drivability issues or stalling. Thoughts? Engine is healthy otherwise.

 

Forgot to add- no engine lights are on, battery is new as well.

 

So it cranks but won't run on its own?

 

Yup. Once ran awhile after turned off itll crank but won't start.

 

maybe ecu not getting a tdc signal from distirbutor?

 

Also whats the compression before and after warm up?

 

Does the warm engine start with O2 sensor unplugged?

 

I will give that a shot tomorrow. Haven't gotten as far as a compression check, only had the car for about an hour today. Even though I seriously doubt that the main relay is the issue, I will open it up and check it out tomorrow, and I will also be temporarily mounting an OEM z6 distributor to it to completely rule out the parts store one on the car.

 

Just listen for whether the fuel pump fails to prime when engine won't start. Should lead to definitive answer to question.

 

Tried to do that today. The non stop rain/hail/thunder made that nearly impossible. Tomorrow should be better.

 

 

Basically go through the whole "cranks but won't start" drill, during the time while the engine won't start. Testing things when it is cold and will start won't tell you anything.

 

hard to do, I get a 10 minute or so window and it'll start again. it being cold here isn't helping, it restarts quicker.

 

it's 30 degrees here today so I can't say definitively for sure that I fixed it, but after swapping out the "new" parts store distributor for an old oem ill-fitting z6 one that has been in my basement for a number of years, it fired up after running at idle for over an hour, twice. i don't even know why i bother to look at anything other than distributors on these cars anymore.

 

It could've been something else, glad you got it done. stay warm dude.