Help me fix my honda please?

Hi everyone, I drive a 98 honda civic hatchback. last week I drove
through some pretty deep water and started having problems. I know for
a fact that I didn't hydrolock the engine because it didn't draw in
any water and the compression checks out fine. Immediately after
driving through the water, I stated having a miss on one cylinder. The
problem was the distributor cap was full of moisture. Right, so as
general maintenance I replaced the cap and rotor. Now I begin
scratching my head. After putting everything back together, the car
won't start. It turns over, and it is getting fuel, so I've narrowed
it down to spark. I've tried just about everything though, from
putting the old cap back on, new plugs, checking the resistance on the
coil, fuses, everything. I am pretty stumped. Any ideas?

 

Have you pulled a plug wire and actually LOOKED at the spark jumping from
the plug wire to a handy ground?

Do not discount such very basic tests. You would be amazed how many people
fail to do very basic checks and miss simple problems because of it.

 

Wait till dark and go out with a plant sprayer and spray wires etc and wait
for the light show.

 

Oooh, pretty blue lights. I've seen those.

 

So have I . However it really narrows down the problem sometimes when you
see the arcing.

 

yup,plug wires;
once the insulation breaks down,there's no "going back",it's always a path
for leakage. old plug wires are prone to that breakdown.

time to buy a new set of plug wires.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

Have that stupid brother-in-law stick his little finger in the boot
and hold on to the plug head with the other. If you have a stop watch
handy you can also verify your tach. Just count the number of screams
in a minute.

Now try that with a 40A magneto!!!
--

- dillon I am not invalid

An object's desireability to a dog is directly
proportional to its desireability to another dog.

 

The OP "drove through some pretty deep water and started having
problems." BUT, it did still run. So he worked on the distributor, and
then it didn't run. Something he did while working on the distributor
is the reason it doesn't run. But, after he straightens out the
distributor it may still not run well because he has flood related
damage to an electrical component. He could get lucky and it could dry
out and be all better again, but probably not. Many people seem to have
to drive through "pretty deep water" one time to learn this lesson. Why
suspect plug wires? They worked fine before he went swimming, wires dry
off and are none the worse for having been wet. Does this model have an
igniter which many have been the damaged by the water or the OP's repair?

 

Another trick I've used with old Fords was to hang a 40 watt bulb in the
engine compartment and close the hood as best you can and leave on for a few
hours. Dries everything out completely. Always worked.

 

they're old wires,and aging insulation eventually breaks down,but once it
does break down,they don't recover. HV arcing causes carbon tracking.
it has to be cheaper to change plug wires than a HVcoil/cap.
I would have changed the wires before I tried the coil.

also,pulling on the plug ends can damage the wires,he may have done that
while changing the plugs.

the igniter is potted,isn't it?
unless it was immersed under water for some length of time,I doubt water
would affect the igniter. and it's on the low voltage side.

I wonder if he's done a scan of the OBD-II port for possible trouble codes?

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

That's a neat idea.

I hose down the engine compartment of my 03 Maxima every 6 months or
so just to keep it clean. Sometimes it won't start afterwords so I get
my leaf blower and dry out the engine compartment out with it. Has
worked every time.

Al Moodie.

 

Hosing down your engine could be really bad. I would never even think
about doing that.

 

Other folks here know much more about cars than I do, but how about
the computer? I once drove through a lot of water and the car was fine
for a while but the water got into the computer and it would no longer
start. This was a 91 Accord though so everything is probably different
by 98. Still, if the computer was still under the passenger side
floor, that does put it in some danger.

I'm going with the wire diagnosis. I can't figure out why the computer
would die after you did work on the car.

 

Unless it's WD-40...

JT

 

If he was mud racing, I'd say go for it. If he was mud racing he'd
probably be tearing down the engine, too.
--

- dillon I am not invalid

An object's desireability to a dog is directly
proportional to its desireability to another dog.

 

Um, why do you have to hose it down "every 6 months or so just to keep
it clean"?? If your engine is getting dirty enough to make you feel
like you need to do this, you have a very, very serious problem. If
it's getting dirty, it's probably because you're blowing oil out of
the main seal or the front seal or the head gasket.

My wife insists on putting cardboard on the garage floor. I guess
it's because her father did. But that was when a car was "expected"
to bleed some oil. If I saw some oil on the floor, more than just a
drop, I'd be looking for a problem.

You are probably getting water into things that don't like water.
Eventually the leaf blower trick won't work and you might find
yourself paying a couple of grand to get a computer replaced. The
distributors on modern EFI cars aren't quite as simple as they were
on my 65 Galaxie 500. In fact I know that from '08 on, MB's don't
even have a distributor.
--

- dillon I am not invalid

An object's desireability to a dog is directly
proportional to its desireability to another dog.

 

Who wants fast mud?

 

Because he's anal retentive.

Ever been to a Prius web forum? makes this guy look like Brad Pitt.

 

lol!

potm

 

And I *own* a Prius. I'm embarassed to be associated with those idiots.

Some morons on Priuschat were amazed and surprised to realize that those
red button thingies by the door handle were <gasp!> door lock
buttons--and that this gee-whiz technological marvel of a car lets you
LOCK THE DOORS BY HAND.

Yes, they do let morons buy, register, and drive cars.