Honda starting problems

I have a 95 Honda Civic EX (1.6L) that I just recovered after it was stolen
from me. The car has 142k miles and WAS in pretty good condition. When I got
it back it was missing a distributor, a battery and a broken Oil pressure
switch and therefore the car would not start.

So far I have:
1. Replaced the battery
2. Replaced the distributor (brand new from eBay)
3. Replaced the starter (remanufactured)

But the car still does not start ...... Any suggestions ???
- Perhaps changing all four spark plugs and wires?
- Also would a broken oil pressure switch prevent the car from starting ?
- How about a faulty fuel pump?
- Replay perhaps

I would appreciate any help greatly !

John

 

When you turn the key to ignition (past accessory, not all the way to
start) do you hear the fuel pump buzzing for a few seconds?. If not,
there probably is an issue with the main relay. It is one of the weak
points on Honda's, so it could have gone bad, or the thieves may have
removed and sold it.

When you got the new distributor, did it come with the coil and the
igniter (ICM, or ignition control module)? They are both mounted inside
the distributor. Do you have spark?

Do you have a service manual so that you can check that you got the plug
wires back in the correct order?

 

I noticed in your other post that you worried about the TDC ambiguity.
(tail end of compression stroke or tail end of exhaust stroke). If you
can't find the mark in the cam shaft, you could try to simply swapping
the #1 and number 4 plug wires and also the #2 and #3 plug wires. If
this fixes the problem, you simply had the "wrong" TDC.

 

And yes a broken oil pressure switch will prevent starting.

 

No, a broken oil pressure switch will not prevent starting. The oil
pressure switch reports to the idiot light only. Besides, why would
there be an oil-pressure / starting interlock? There is no oil pressure
until after the engine is running anyway.

 

Randolph,

1. I just tried turning the ignition key past accessory and YES I did hear
it buzz for a couple seconds so I think my relay and fuel pump are ok.....

2. I am pretty clear on the TDC issue now .... I was able to check with the
TDC markings on the belt and felt for compression on piston one as I hand
cranked it from the side bolt.

3. My wires go in this firing order 1,3,4, 2 (compared to diagram from a
service manual). Assuming piston one is the furthest right , closest to the
belts

4. The distributor I got is brand new and I am still waiting for a reply
from the seller on whether it included a coil and a ICM.

However, in looking at the distributor, it looks like the coil is in there?

Still it trys to turn over but I dont think it is getting spark...

Thanks for your help !

John

 

I agree,

Although I am not a mechanic by any means .... I don't feel as a though a
snapped off oil pressure switch will prevent the car from starting.

John

 

It seems you have the service manual, but if you don't you can find some
drawings of the distributor assembly with igniter and coil indicated at
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/DrOhm/distributorRepair.html.

I have not worked on the distributor on my '94. How close do you think
the timing is after you put a new distributor on the car? Might be worth
trying to retard or advance the timing by 10 degrees or so and try to
start it again.

 

I don't know about your Honda but many cars have two oil pressure switches
or a dual switch. One goes to the idiot light and the other is in the
ignition circuit as a safety measure. It kills the fuel pump if you loose
oil pressure. It has a bypass relay that bypasses it for several seconds at
startup. Maybe Honda is too cheap to put both in but every American car i
have worked on has both......

 

Woody,

It turns out that I was being a dumbass and didn't know what I was talking
about...

I dont have a broken oil pressure switch ... instead I have a broken vtec
spool valve ....

Now would this prevent the car from starting ???

John

 

Randolph,

I just verified with the vendor that my distributor is complete with the ICM
& coil so I dont think its that.

Why do you think retarding or advancing might help? Sorry, I'm a novice
here

JOhn

 

There are two widgets in that area, the VTEC solenoid valve and the VTEC
oil pressure sender. A fault in either of these will not prevent you
from starting the car, it will simply keep the engine from engaging the
second set of cam lobes.

 

Randolph,

Since you were concerned about TDC etc. I assume you were trying to
align the distributor correctly. As I said, I have not worked on the
distributor on the Civic, so I don't know how easy it is to align it. As
you rotate the distributor housing you change the ignition timing. If
you are a few degrees off the car should still start but if you are 20 -
30 degrees off it probably will not start. If you feel confident that
you got the timing pretty close, advancing or retarding it wouldn't
help. If you are not sure if you got the timing right, I would try
changing it a little and try starting the car again.

I was leafing through my service manual looking for something else last
night, and noticed something that might be of interest. If you crank the
engine long enough you can get it to set the diagnostic trouble codes
(if there are any). The manual said that you might have to crank for "as
long as 10 second" for the DTC to be set. Try this and if the MIL comes
on you can read out the codes and possibly find out what is wrong that
way. Reading the DTC on that car is simple. There are two test
connectors behind the carpet under the glove box. One two-pin and one
three pin. Turn off the ignition and short the two pins of the two pin
connector together with a paper clip or piece of wire. Then turn on the
ignition (do not try to start the car) The DTC will be flashed out on
the MIL. Two long and four short flashes means 24 etc. Multiple codes
may be flashed out in sequence.

 

If it only affects the car in pre-vtec mode, shouldn't it still start but
just have issues beyond the 5500rpm range?

But if you say so , I guess I'll change it anyways...

John

 

Oops,

I read it wrong ... I got it .... vtec sensor will not stop it from starting

John

 

Correct, that is what I meant. You won't even get problems above the
5500 RPM range, just slightly less power than you would get if VTEC was
working.