Not my integra, the CRX I just bought.

Everything was going fine and I was driving to work, and I turn on to the street by my work and the engine slowly loses power and revs down and dies from about 40mph... I tried flooring it but eventually it had no power and just died. I pull over and stop. I try to start it again and it starts for a sec and then dies. If I keep the throttle floored and start it it will start for a sec but once I let off the throttle at all it dies. After doing this a few times, it would not stay running at all EVEN with the throttle floored.

It really felt like an electrical issue to me. Car has 1/4 tank of gas according to gauge. I initially thought it was the spark plug wires or something but they are fine and connected. The distributor wires were done REALLY ghetto by the previous owner and are twisted together and taped, but they look like they are making connection and not shorting out. Could it be the alternator? I know it is not the battery because the car really wants to start... it just does not.

Any ideas? The car is now parked on the side of the road and I am waiting for a tow truck.

Dustin

 

Would a bad alternator cause your car to die suddenly? Or even a bad battery? Have you tried bump starting it?

 

If it was your altenator, you probably wouldn't be able to start the car back up. When your alternator goes, you run off battery power so your batter would be dead. You might have run out of gas. I've noticed a couple of hondas that had a bad gas guage and it always hung out around 1/4 tank. Try putting some gas in it first.

To me, it sounds like a fuel problem. If it's turning over fine, your batt/alternator should be fine. You might have a problem with the wires but I don't think that would cause a problem all of a sudden.

Also, if you're flooring the throttle before you turn the key, you're flooding the engine. Get a buddy to give you a lift, get a gas can and put a few gallons in the car and then just try turning the key. See if it works. Cheapest and quickest solution (if it works....)

Also (again), contact the owner of the car that you just bought it from. #1 if this is a big problem, it shouldn't have been the first time it's happened. #2 they should help to take care of any costs that you should incur or refund your money. You can't take them to court but unless they want a bad name, most people will help you out.
Anyway, good luck.


[Modified by Dave421, 7:05 PM 8/8/2001]

 

How about the distributor? just an idea. good luck


[Modified by nsane-ls-rr, 11:04 AM 8/8/2001]

 

I would think it was out of fuel (acts EXACTLY like it ran out of fuel), but I have had the gauge past E before (last tank of gas) and it still had gas. Unless a gas gauge issue spontaneously occured I do not see how it could be this. I will double check, though.

You cannot really flood a fuel injected motor...

The guy that sold the car to me was a nice guy, but caveat emptor I suppose. I know the motor is just fine... has to be a fuel or electrical issue.

Dustin

 

are you sure the fuel gauge works?

I know on every car I have owned (sans my integra) the fuel gauge stoped working, and I had to time the fillup by the tripometer...

 

I am not sure but the last few days I have been watching the fuel gauge religiously and it has dropped consistently and linearly. I guess the entire thing could just be calibrated wrong, but I had it past E the day I bought the car and it was running just fine.

Dustin

 

As for the flooding, I never thought it was possible either until one of my friends bet me. Sure enough, I held the pedal down and enough pressure got through to flood the engine. Dunno, maybe my car's just weird tho.

You might also check your fuel pump, filter (heard of crazy **** getting stuck before), and ....dunno what else. I'll try to remember what I was thinking.

Oh yeah, did your computer throw up any error codes?

 

Shitty thing to happen to your new toy.

 

Hmmm,

Maybe what Teken said, but I did have my alternator die in my Sentra while it was running.

I was driving to work on the SouthEast Expressway to Boston during rush hour.

Car died in the far left lane and I had to stop inches from the Jersey barrier so cars could get by. Not a good situation... I didn't think it cranked though once it died...

FB

 

Put gas in it. Alos sometimes the fuel filter could be glogged or the fuel pump. Do you know what kind of pump the guy had that did the swap? Maybe a fuel pump fuse. My first bet would be to put gas in the ******* thing.
EVIL

 

I found out what it was.

I took the cap off and somehow the rotor got caught and started spinning on the shaft in the distributor. Since it is plastic it melted and the rotor is melted on the shaft and is off about 30 degrees from where it should be. The rotor turned so much that the set screw is now UNDERNEATH the plastic!

Now I just need to find out if a ZC distributor is any different and whether it will take a standard honda rotor.

Dustin