Hi,

I have a 2000 civic EX. After sitting for a week it started up for a second then died instantly. Ever since it only cranks. I replaced the distributor, spark plugs, and crank sensor. It has fuel and injector pulse and fuel pump signals. It has spark on all 4 cyclinders. I tested the main relay and it was good. The engine is in time and it has over 150 compression on each cyclinder. I have checked everything on this car. All the fuses are good. I borrowed a PCM and it still didnt start. The only thing I have found that seems to be wrong is that my crank sensor is getting 0.4 V when the ignition is on, even though I thought it was supposed to get 5 V. It also reads 0 V signal voltage from the sensor. The supply voltage wire is not damaged. Why would the PCM only be supplying 0.4 V? That is with the sensor disconnected because it wouldnt read 5 V anyways if it was connected because of the load I assume. When plugged in its only 0.07 V. And the voltage does not fluctuate. I have checked practically everything at this point. Ive checked most of the grounds I believe and Im at a loss. I put a cheap scanner on it but there were no codes.

 

I am not sure what else to check at this point. The crank sensor is not getting 5 V. Other sensors on the car are still getting 5 V. I know that there is no fuse or anything inbetween the PCM and the sensor. The wire read 0.4 V on both the PCM side and the plug side, with the sensor disconnected. Tried reading the resistance of the wire and I got 1750 Ohms, with the sensor connected. So it is practically just reading back the sensor. Which makes me think that the voltage supply wire is not the problem. Could this be a ground issue? Once again, the PCM is good and Ive already replaced the sensor.

 

The supply wire for the crank sensor was 1 ohm, so it should not be shorting or damaged. The ground wire also tests good and the signal wire is not shorting to ground. I am lost on what I can even test now.

 

Refresh my memory - is the CKF on this engine a 2 wire or a 3 wire? If it is a 2 wire, it will not have a voltage, as the VR sensor produces a voltage as its output. If it is a 3 wire sensor, it's hall effect and should have a reference voltage.

A failed CKF sensor should not cause a no-start in any case. It's only used for OBD2 misfire detection, not for engine positioning. All of those sensors are internal to the distributor.

Do you have sufficient fuel pressure and volume? Is your MAP sensor reading about atmospheric key on/engine off? If the injectors and coil are firing, these are really the only things left.

 

The CKF sensor on the d16y8 is at the crank, it is a three wire sensor. My belief is that if it is not sending the right signal voltage back, or in this case at all, it could be delaying the spark. The fuel pressure is good and so is the MAP sensor.

 

It’s not used for anything during crank/starting. I’d bet my lunch money that it’s not your problem. It should have a 5V wire on it though, if it’s a three wire.

Get a test gauge installed onto the port on your fuel filter and check the pressure while cranking for a long time. Make sure it stays high while the injectors are batch firing trying to start. Fuel pumps have a really annoying way of failing by losing volume, so if you do a quick check they’ll show pressure but cannot actually deliver enough fuel to fire off the car.

 

spAdam, from memory... I believe the CKF on the '96-00 Civic still functions like a 2-wire sensor like those found on the OBD-2 DOHC "B" engines... and the third wire is merely a ground wire for the shielding on the short wire between the plug and the sensor. I don't think it has a 5v reference.

OP - The CKF sensor on the oil pump will NOT stop you from cranking the engine. Your problem is elsewhere.

 

You’re right. It’s still a vr sensor on those.

 

Well if its not fuel, and I have spark on all 4 cylinders, and its in time and the crank sensor is fine, then I am unsure what could be preventing it from starting at all. Nothing else seems wrong electrically. My main relay looks fine, both relays click, and I even tested the voltage on all the points. The engine is in time still and has good compression. What else could be left?

 

The engine is cranking, it just will not fully start. I cant even get it to hiccup with starter fluid or anything.

 

Main relay is good. Every fuse is good. My TPS is good. I unplugged the MAP sensor to see if that was preventing it but it still wouldnt start so I assume its fine. I put a new distributor in it, and it has spark on all 4 cylinders. Its in the same position as the previous one, not 180 opposite. If I have spark then should I be tryibg to look if my spark is somehow being delayed or something?

 

Bump

 

Well after about a month and a half and a crap ton of diagnosing. It ended up being the new distributor was 180 degrees wrong. Somehow, the old distributor broke on start up and got itself 180 out of time. I tried looking at it some and couldnt figure out how exactly it did that to itself. But thats what was wrong. So in the end it was my distributor like I had suspected. But I put it in the same way the old one came out and didnt have a way of knowing it was 180 degrees wrong. So I could have had that fixed the very first day but Ive honestly learned a lot from this experience and Im just thankful to drive it again. In the future if you replace your distributor and that still doesnt fix it (while you still have gas, spark, fuel, and its in time mechanically) then just turn your distributor around.

I swear the teeth dont look centered but somehow it got that way. Interally or exterally I cant figure out. It was such a simple fix but one that I assumed was not a problem because I had it in my mind to line it up with the old one. Considering both ends spun together.

 

Thanks for sharing the fix. there is a severe lack of that here.

the tang on the distributor is made with an offset which should prevent it from being installed 180° out. but it does seem more common with aftermarket brands that they can be installed "wrong" so maybe this tang is thinner or something compared to OE.