1993 Civic Will Not Start

This is a newbie question, so any advice would be appreciated.

My 1993 Civic won't start. I bought it, put in a bunmch of new parts
(cluctch, timing belt, etc). I drobe it for a couple years, but, being
a student, I coudlnt afford to renew insurance, so I had to park the
car for about 11 months, starting last January. During this period, I
would start the car periodically (about once every week - 2 weeks).
Eventually, the battery died on me, and so I stopped starting the car.
Well, due to circumstances, I need the car now. I bought a new
battery, but it woudln't start. I am pretty sure the car is getting
fuel because I can smell it. I was told it could be the electric
ignition system. Any adivcE?
Thanks

 

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The Owner's Manual says to hold the pedal half-way to the floor for a
flooded engine. Then crank it until it starts to sputter (and blow
smoke) ease off the pedal when it speeds up.

Check ALL your liquids, of course.

'Curly'

 

Hi

If it has been sitting for a while, it could have not started the first
couple of times because of having old gas in your system.
The problem with a lot of cars is that the computer tries to adjust for
this failure. When it finally gets a good supply of gas, the adjustment
it made are just totally off base.

I think on a pre 95 Honda you can override this by disconnecting the
battery for a bit so the computer resets.

An easier way is to try spraying ether or starting fluid in the air
intake for about 5 seconds before starting the car. It may come alive
caughing but will then run normally again.

Hope this helps.
Remco

 

I'd never heard that the ECU adjusts for bad gas. If the cold
sensor is cold then fuel will empty at its maximum pulse width upon
cranking, 60-70ms. Don't know about resetting the ECU will resets
the fuel output. I feel outdated, care to show the source for this info.
Another Honda myth is that injectors will shut-off when a throttle
is fully open and flooded. Another myth (on my sold 93 Civic); if
it's super flooded, holding a throttle half way works,, unless you're
lucky and release much of the vapors. (The OP must check for spark
and fuel, so we can un-flood it.)

 

Hi Burt

I did not learn that tidbit from anywhere but experience working on
various cars over the years. I just attributed it to the computer,
because it tends to remember the condition over time. You could be
right in saying that it isn't the computer, but how else would a
condition stay after a fix has been made?

We have a 95 Integra, which I believe is very similar to the civic.
What happens with this car is that when the ignition misses, the
computer appears to make an adjustment. For instance, we had the famed
bad igniter problem and when I replaced it, the car still would not
start. It would try to 'catch', but not start -- I don't think it was
flooded at that time as it hadn't actually started for a week (bought
the igniter on line and had to wait for it). The car had fuel and spark
but after I sprayed ether down the intake it sputtered to life and has
been running fine since.

This condition must not be all that unusual -- Both my previous cars
(Saabs) and my daughter's Subaru have done very similar things. After
replacing the intake coolant sensor on the impreza, it would also not
start -- ether made it work again.
I fixed a vacuum leak on my Saab years ago. With the leak it ran, but
poorly. After the 'fix' it actually stopped running alltogether -
again, ether fixed it.

Maybe spraying ether in air intake is my silly superstition, but it
works for me for some reason. Next time I'll try sprinkling the car
with chickenblood

Regards,
Remco

 

Thanks for the responses.

Upon inpsection, there is fuel, but no spark. Again, my dads friend
said it could be the electronic ignition. Any thoughts on this?

As well, is there anything I can do before I take it into the garage to
get looked at by a professional?

 

Hi,
Good point. I suspect the intake air temperature (IAT) is the only
sensor down the throttle body that will modify the fuel trim.

I also noticed the (IAT) sensor on a Chevy, which has no
known failure pattern for Hondas, was reading on the cool side,
compared with the ambient air temp, so I pulled the sensor out of
the intake and found a dirty IAT. I cleaned it with ether and carb
cleaners and passed the emissions test.

 

I forget to mention that getting fuel could mean two things. Fuel
pump and injector pulse. Check the plugs, not the fuel pressure. This
helps us rule out the computer. It appear you have injected fuel.
Now, make sure the check engine light goes on then off as usual. If so,
then the coil is likely dead. Open the distributor cap and put a test
light (a 20W bulb) on coil (+) and coil (-). If you see flashes
then trash the coil.

 

Burt,

So, the coil got checked, just as you stated, and it looks like thats
the problem!

Much thanks for the help!