99 Civic won't start

I have a 99 Honda Civic with just under 90K miles on it that won't
start. This first happened on Sunday morning - it started fine but
when it reached idling speed, it quickly died. Ran for 1-2 seconds at
the most. Now it doesn't start at all, and when I turn the key it
sounds like the starter is fine, maybe running a little faster /
louder than before.

I've heard and read about a lot of different things it could be. My
first thought was the fuel pump. I have never changed the fuel
filter, because it doesn't appear in the manual's maintenance
schedule, which I thought was a little bizarre. My inexperienced mind
thought that a clogged fuel filter would put undue stress on the fuel
pump, so it's got to be the pump right? I took the fuel filler cap
off, and listened for the fuel pump to turn on while my wife turned
the ignition, and I couldn't hear anything except the starter. Of
course, I'm not sure what the fuel pump would sound like if it was
actually running though.

So I almost went out and picked up a fuel pump and filter, but I
decided I'd call a few mechanics first. The first one told me he
doubted it was the fuel pump. He thought it was the timing belt.
Another mechanic that I've trusted for years told me the same thing,
but he said it could also be the distributor cap / rotor. Today I
called a dealer and they said (first, that they doubted it was the
timing belt at 90K miles - good thing, I've heard a lot of horror
stories about timing belts breaking on interference type engines). He
told me to try checking the distributor cap for moisture. I plan on
doing that tonight.

Any thoughts on what else to check?

 

to listen for your fuel pump, dont try to start teh car, just turn the key
to where the run postion is, not the start position, when it gets there you
should hear it for about a second, it will sound like a small electric motor
and only last a second.

 

You should be able to hear your fuel pump in the car, when
you turn the key to the ON position, it should initialize.

If you don't hear it, check the fuse. It would be under
the hood, I can't remember which one it is off hand though.

If your timing belt was snapped, you would hear clicking from the pistons hitting the valves.

t

 

By the way you describe the sound the starter makes now, I bet the
timing belt has moved. bob

 

I agree with bob, sounds like timing belt has jumped a tooth. Open up the
distributor and look for small pieces of crap.

John

 

(EKK) wrote in

Main relay;this turns on the fuel pump to maintain fuel pressure for the
EFI.

How-to;
http://www.markl.f9.co.uk/howto/electrical/main-relay/main-relay.htm

 

Any thoughts on what else to check?

I agree that the main relay is the most likely culprit. Another
possibility is the Ignition Control Module, often called the igniter.

 

Isn't this one of the years that was recalled for the ignition switch?

 

=================

Remove the distributor cap, spin engine and see if rotor turns in
distributor. If not, timing belt is broken.

'Curly'

===============
--

 

Isn't this one of the years that was recalled for the ignition switch?

Good call. Yes, according to http://www.nhtsa.gov there is an ignition
switch recall for the 99 Civic. See NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 02V120000

 

Thanks to everyone for all of the advice. It needs a new distributor
rotor (and a tune up in general...)

 

Back in March I posted to this group about my 99 civic not starting. I
replaced the distributor cap and rotor back in march, and it has
started everytime since, until today. Today, it seems like a very
similar problem, although the rotor and distributor cap are fine. When
I turn the key, the starter whirs, and I hear a few clicks. I think
the fuel pump is fine (I need to make sure tonight, but I seem to
remember hearing it click on this morning). I do hear a few clicks
while the starter is running, coming from the engine.

A few mentioned the main relay, which if the fuel pump is coming on
then it isn't that, and a few others mentioned ignition switch or the
ignitor. How can you determine that?

Also, maybe a stupid question, but how do you check for spark? I
wonder (and kind of hope because they are easy to replace) if it is the
spark plug wires.

Thanks for any additional help.

 

Hi

If the starter runs, but much quicker (you say it 'whirrs'?) than normal it
could be that the starter is bad; normally the gears are supposed to engage
to the mating end on the engine and it could be that the starter is just
spinning without actually turning the engine over. In this case you will not
see a spark, so I'd make sure of that first.

If your starter is good and you do need to test for spark, you may want to
get a simple widget (<$6, I think it was) they sell at autozone/pepboys: it
has a sparkplug looking connector on one end, a 'roach clip' on the other
and an adjustable airgap in the middle. It will let you test for spark
without having someone else start the engine. Hook it instead of one
sparkplug and start the engine -- if you have a spark, you will see it.

If your starter is good and you don't see a spark, make sure your rotor (the
thing under the cap) is indeed turning - if it isn't, you probably have a
broken timing belt.
Of course, check the cap, rotor, wires, plugs, etc.
If none of that is the problem, check to make sure you are getting power to
your distributor.

(The following I actually learned on this newsgroup and it works well. I had
been using a scope before, but the following is way easier)
The ignitor you can check by putting a 12V lightbulb across the primary of
your coil. If you see the bulb flash when you are starting, your ignitor is
good -- if it doesn't, disconnect your coil and try again: a coil could fail
shorted and will cause it not to flash.
If it still doesn't flash, your ignitor is probably bad. If it does flash,
I'd check the coil.

Hope this helps you fix the problem.
Remco

 

=========================

'Clicks' from the engine while cranking can indicate a broken timing
belt. Don't bother checking for spark if the rotor doesn't turn while
the engine is spinning. . . . .The engine will spin a lot faster than
normal because the valves and pistons never develop any compression. :-(

'Curly'

 

Oops -- missed the 'clicking from the engine' part of the message.
Yup, agree with the other posts: it is most likely the timing belt.

Sorry to hear about that.
Remco

 

Remcow,

Thanks for the thorough responses. The rotor definitely turns, so I
don't think it is the timing belt. The clicking I hear is infrequent
and not very loud.

Ken

 

Hey Ken

Glad to hear it may not be your timing belt because that is an
expensive repair.
You may not want to rule it out completely, because it could be that
it jumped a couple of teeth and the timing of the car is now totally
wrong, causing it not to start.
Check for spark first using that inexpensive widget described below (I
think autozone sells it). If you find you have spark and gas (I am
assuming the injectors are working for now), you can check the timing
with a timing light.

If you don't have spark, the clicking might be a clue:
You say the clicking isn't particularly lound -- is it a metalic
clicking?
Maybe the distributor is clicking if something is loose on the inside,
but I'd imagine you would still see a spark somewhere since your rotor
is turning.

I wonder if this clicking isn't actually the sound high voltage arcing
would make. It could be arcing from the coil to the distributor case,
for instance.

You can check the coil with a ohm meter, but that is only a static
test -- it can still arc through the case. You'd see relatively low
impedance on the primary (maybe 7-10 ohms or so) and high impedance in
the secondary (about 11K or so).

If the coil measures ok statically, I'd take the cap off and have
someone else briefly start the car while you observe arcing somewhere
- maybe darken th engine compartment somehow so you can see it
clearly. If you see arcing from the coil, replace it (you may want to
shop around on the internet for one, because dealer prices are
insane).

If you don't see anything, since you have the cap off perhaps try the
light bulb test (described below) to make sure your ignitor works.

Hope you find it soon.
Remco