Car Died

Car fires up nicely first thing in the morning. I drive about ten
miles, place an order at a drive thru, step on the gas to " pull to
the first window" and the car dies. Tried to start it but it won't
start. It turns with no problem, but it won't start. It has plenty of
(good) gas, we checked the spark plugs, changed the cap/rotor, checked
the fuel filter. The "mechanics" that looked at it are convinced its
not the fuel filter but I'm not so sure. They said they unhooked one
of the lines and it was spitting out fuel just fine. I need to fix it
asap. Any ideas?

 

What year and model of Honda are we talking about here?

 

It's an 88 Honda Civic Hatchback

 

What model? DX, EX, Si, what? Automatic or manual? How many miles?

Did the problem crop up all of a sudden, or get worse over time?

At the moment the car refuses to start, is there spark at the plug wires
while cranking?

Answer ALL questions please, not just one or two.

 

How many miles and how long since the timing belt was replaced?

 

If the timing belt broke,the starter would sound different when cranking.
it would crank faster.
Igniter? are you getting a hot spark__at the plugs?
Maybe the coil died.

main relay?

www.tegger.com is a GREAT site for Honda/Acura troubles.

 

Hi,
When is the last time you replaced the timing belt?

 

it's almost certainly main relay.

i have to say though, the o.p. sure isn't making life easy for himself.
first, he didn't google this group - it's summer time, it's when we
always get these questions. second, he's under some impression that
we're all psychic.

either way, you go ahead and lead him down the timing belt road and have
him spend a whole bunch of money that won't fix the problem - that'll
teach him a lesson.

 

I'm not too sure. OP is reporting that the engine died when the gas
pedal was depressed after extended idling. Main Relay problems usually
manifest as no-starts, not sudden deaths.

But still, your point is well taken. OP needs to check for the
magic "Three Clicks". Seeing how it's so easy to check for that, there's
no real excuse for not doing so.

For sure.

Too many people don't seem to realize how much information is needed to
decipher problems.

OP has failed to indicate model, so we don't know if it's TBI or port
injected. Or has a tach or has not.

OP has also failed to check for spark while the no-start is occurring.
Checking "the plugs" is NOT the same as checking for spark.

OP has also failed to indicate if the Check Engine light is remaining on
as the engine is cranked.

Main Relay problems start showing up in my private email about this
time, too. It's almost like school letting out, a sure sign of summer.

And ruling that out is easy.