Hey guys I have searched here and on the d-series.org site only to find the same information.

I recently bought a 89 crx SI model with a ZC(black top dohc) swap already done, for cheap because it was not running. The car will start by the hardest, then idle like the timing is off, sputter and kill after about 30 seconds.

The ecu is flashing code 4, which is Crank Position Sensor, so I was assuming this was the problem. I sourced a new sensor, but it did not change anything, as a matter of fact, the engine ran the same as it did with no sensor connected at all.


SO......the car had just gotten a remanufactured distributor, from a place called:

Richardson Enterprises Inc., located in Quebec canada

The box was still in the car for the new dizzy, so I looked for the car application and it said: CIVIC 88-89 130HP ZC AND PART NUMBER TD-03U

Now I am not sure in canada, but here in the states we didn't get the ZC in out civics, or any car at that. The distributor has the old round civic like plug, but it only has 5 wires!!!!!!!

Can someone please tell me if I have the correct distributor.


Thanks guys....

 

the CPS on the DOHC ZC is on the end of the exhaust cam.

 

Correct, and that is the part that I replaced without any difference in the way the engine ran, or didnt run as I should say.

The USDM si distributor had a round plug with SEVEN wires in it, two were for the crank position sensor that wwas located inside the dizzy.

The distributor that I have, has the same round plug, but with only FIVE wires in it, and the other two I have going to the CPS on the exhaust cam side.


What I would like to know is why the code 4 light doesnt change no matter if I have a CPS attached or not. I reset the ecu then turn on the car again, and bam, the code 4 light is flashing again.

Anyone?

 

trace the wires back from the CPS sensor. make sure that the right wire is matched correctly to the dist plug. then make sure the same wire goes to the correct spot at the ecu. other then that..i wouldnt know where to go from there if it looked ok.

 

check your static timing (dist timing) and check to see if the timing belt is miss aligned.


and the civic's up here don't have a DOHC motor (88-91). the correct dist for you is a 88-89 teg d16a1.

 

well the distributor u are actaully going to need is a d16a1 distributor, but from an 89 motor, cause i was going to buy one from an 88 and the mounting spots are different.

 

Thanks for the information guys. Another question, would my car start without the CPS hooked up? I dont mean run good, I just mean run at all.

If I try to start the car, the starter gets held up by wrong combustion, resulting in a crank-crank-crank-stop-backfire sequence.

If I spin the engine without the spark plug wires, the engine spins nicely and freely, and doenst try to stop.

I have installed a new timing belt and all timing marks line up correctly, but this has not solved any of the above problems.

 

Bump for the evening crowd.......

 

code 4 is crank sensor which is in the distributor - the cylinder position sensor on the exhaust camshaft will give you code 9 - you have the correct distributor - it should have a square 5 wire connector like a DX - someone must have swapped the 7 wire connector from the Si distributor onto it so that it would plug into the Si harness (should have swapped the one on the harness for one from a DX) and run the other 2 wires (blue/green and blue/yellow) to the cylinder position sensor on the camshaft - my guess is that the distributor is good and the wiring is fouled up at the distributor - wires for the crank sensor are orange and white - there is another white wire for the ignitor - if they are switched, it won't start - make sure that the wires match color for color on both sides of the connector and that the cylinder position sensor wires match color for color - distributor should look like this:




Modified by jlicrx at 10:44 PM 6/2/2004

 

Well, to start off, my distributor doesnt have that plug. It has two round plugs.

One plug is for the coil, like in the picture you posted, and the other plug is round, like the one on my engine harness. Now this plug on the distributor only has 5 wires going into it, but there are 7 possible prongs like on the SI harness.

Did my 89 CRX come with square or circular plugs? I am so damn confused.

 

anyone???

 

i had a problem like that but all i did was get a si plug that had 7 wires and round 5 was to the dizzy an 2 to the cps make sure your 2 white wires are not switched

 

sounds like the cps sensor isnt wired correctly,

what you need to do is pull the 2 extra pins out of the 7 plug harness (the ones for the cps) and basicly wire those directly to the cps sensor.

its been along long long time since i had to do this so i dont remember the colors, but you might be able to find that by searchin on here

 

the white and orange wires are the CPS

take a ohmeter and check the resistance on the dizzy
it should be 350-750 ohms if i am not mistaken

then take the ohmeter and put it on the beeping mode and make sure te signal goes from the harness plug into the ecu side plug

that way u know theres no fracture on the wired between the ecu and the dizzy

the exhaust cam sensor is the CYL sensor
is not the CPS
it will trow a code 9 if it did

 

A lot, a lot of inconsistent information in this post.


Cylinder position sensor is CPS or CYP. It is on the exhaust cam and it gives code 9 when bad, so it's not your problem.

Crank position sensor is CKP, it's inside the distrubutor. Code 4.
Wires that go to it are white and orange.

1) make sure that distributor side of the plug white and orange wires match up to the harness side of plug white and orange wires. That way you will exclude the possibility of wires mismatched

2) If they weren't mismatched, then swap white wires on the distro side of the plug, places. People have likely mixed them up when swapping that plug on.

This should help no matter if the distributor came in the car or not.
This was already said above, I'm just repeating it.