i just finnished rebuilding my head over the weekend...so i put everything back together...everything is good but when i turned the key it wouldn't start. It tries to turn over but wont. i pulled the plugs and they smelled like fuel so i replaced them, and i tested the wires and they are giving spark, so i cant figure what why it wont start.

The car is a 93 prelude VTEC, and i just put in new cams, valve springs, retainers, cam gears. and i replaced the head gasket, intake manifold gasket, valve cover gasket, cam seals, and spark plug seals (i guess thats what they are called). PLEASE I NEED HELP, IHAVE NO CAR TO DRIVE NOW!!

 

Did you try a different battery? Battery could not be giving enough juice.

 

there is a little wire on the side of the starter that just clips in. mine popped out one time and my car wouldnt start. i was freaked out. does it turn over, or is it just nothing when you turn the key?

 

I am doing the exact thing to my engine right now too..Rebuilding head and part of bottom end..If I were you I would check the starter and the battery voltage first.

 

i dont think the battery is dead, but i could try it....and the car tries to turn over, but it never fully turns over to start.

 

are you sure the have the wires in the correct firing order?

 

Is your timing set correctly(crank and cams). I believe that once you pull that head off the crank pully will be turn a slight bit.

 

try pulling the plugs and see if it will turn over then. If it still won't try turning it over by hand from the crank pulley.... (using tools of course)

if it won't turn over try putting the car in Neutral. If nothing then you must have installed something wrong. Are you sure you put the cams in correctly?

 

damn man all that works and doesnt start maybe your starter haha later Prelude

 

i would say to check timing. if it is off a tooth on your cam gears, then it will not run. it is going to have to do with timing. also check your plug wires and make sure they are correct.

 

did u time it to the right degree....

 

Forget about timing, firing order and all that for now...

you say <TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by speedracer9k &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i dont think the battery is dead, but i could try it....and the car tries to turn over, but it never fully turns over to start.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Are you saying that the starter turns over slowly?

fs

 

yeah people need to stop suggesting why it wouldn't fire and READ he is saying it will not even turn over. This means there are 1 of 2 problems.
1 being bad starter (or no power)
#2 something is keeping it from turning over. (not put together properly..)

 

the starter is turning, but the car doesn't want to turn completely over. i know the wires are in correct firing order, i triple checked that and i checked the wires and they are sending spark to the plugs.

 

are you sure you got your cams on correct? maybe one is 180 off?? hitting a valve?

 

Try clear flooding it if you havent yet. because if there is too much fuel in the cylinders its gonna be hard to start. To do this hold the gas pedal to the floor while cranking, this will cut off fuel and give the engine the chance to burn the fuel thats already in there.

 

matt did u check the distributor cause the wires for the spark plug didnt look like they were connected all the way on the distrubutor

 

pave, i know for a fact that the wires are on there because i tested to see if they were sending spark and they all did, and the wires are too long anyway so thats how they always looked

Hit N' Low lude - the guy that is helping me out with this is a honda mechanic, but he's been busy lately and he told me that the engine is flooded and when i try to start it i should hold the throttle down like you said but it still wont start, i've tried it about 5 or 6 times but it still wont start. Do you know how long i should hold the key for?

ANYONE ELSE, I NEED THIS CAR RUNNING ASAP, THANKS

 

your car is a pain in the ***, but hey my dad got a compressor and air tank so we can use that now its pretty tight but yea i dunno maybe tomm after school i go to your house and help

 

if you're trying to clear a flooded engine it can take a while to get it going.
Just as said above push the gas pedal to the floor and hold it there. Crank it for about 15seconds and stop (keep holding your foot on the pedal) then crank it again for 15 seconds.
You can do it longer than 15 seconds but don't hold it too too long because you can burn out your starter. I like to play it safe.
You can feel the starter to see if it's getting super hot. If not then you can crank it a little longer. I've had it take about 4 minutes worth of cranking to get it cleared. It will start to start but won't quit catch. Just keep going and it will start then prolly stall. Once you get to that point take your foot off the gas pedal and crank it up again.

 

okay, i will try it for 15 seconds then check the starter....i've only been doing it for 5 seconds at a time....i'll try that today when i get home from school.

Pave - Come over today, we can try to start it. Hopefully i can get it running tonight

 

Also... if it's super flooded.... you can pull all 4 plugs, pull the fuel pump fuse and crank it a bit. This is not the best way to do it because you run the risk of **** getting down in the cyl. But I have used it on small motors before with great results. But I think that if you do the pedal down crank method you will have no problems. (if flooding is your problem)

 

Listen, if you had a timing issues of some sort, incorrect firing order or something, this is what would happen:

either you car would start, the idle really weird and spit through the throttle body and even ehaust..

or it would start easily, idle nicely and then, when you take off, it would either die, spit, hesitate and backfire...

If it is flooded, then of course put your pedal to the floor and crank for about 10 secondes. If it tries to start, it should spit excess fuel.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by speedracer9k &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i dont think the battery is dead, but i could try it....and the car tries to turn over, but it never fully turns over to start.</TD></TR></TABLE>

But, i am still thinking that either your battery is dead (take a multimeter to it. SHould read 12.5 volts - if not recharge or use a known good battery)

Or something is binding in there....

fs

 

i have the same problem with my h22 hatch... it turns over but the fuel pump doesnt come on.. im thinking the ecu isnt getting any power r something... but i dont know im re-do'ing all the wires over just for the hell of it, but the funny thing is it started one day and the next morning it stoped. any ideas? thanks

 

Have you checked your fuel pump fuse?