Won't start

My 1990 Honda Civic stalled and now won't start.No warning lights came on
and there was no previous trouble.It sounds like it wants to start but it
just won't turn over.Please help me. I need my car for work as I live out
of town.

 

Could be many things. Rather than bouncing questions back and forth,
delaying you even more, check out www.tegger.com
Check out the section on not starting.

If you then are still stuck, report back.

Remco

 

...but go buy a new ignitor anyway.

--Gene

 

---------------------

Please clarify . . you say engine won't 'turn over' but still sounds
like it wants to start ? ? ? You mean it's turning over but not firing
up? Was it moving at the time? Was it sitting long before you tried to
start again? What's the mileage and what year was the timing belt last
replaced? If you're the least bit handy, open the oil filler cap and
look inside to see if anything moves inside while you 'turn over' the
engine. You'll need a flashlight. Don't use a match or you'll be asking
for help at another newsgroup :-(

'Curly'

 

True -- that could very well be the cause, but without even looking at
it, it would be impossible to say that.
I wouldn't want him to run out and get an $80 ignitor to find out that
just a fuse is blown...

Just go through the suggestions. You'll figure it out.

 

An ignitor won't stop the engine turning over! It sounds like the battery
can't supply enough ummph or the starter motor is not turning over.

As Remco said - check out the FAQ site - highly recommended.

 

tire oil too low?

 

I had just driven it all over town, then it acted like it was going to
stall just when I pulled into the gas station,it did stall, so i put gas
in it and then tried to start it. No luck? The engine is turning over but
won't fire.The year is 1990, the mileage is 290,000kms and I don't know
when the timing belt was replaced, just bought it at end of Aug.

 

You gotta dive in here and start doing some checking.

Have you tried to start the car since it first stalled? If
not, please try again right now.

To check the timing belt, have an assistant try to start the
car and then do what Curly said: With a flashlight and
peering into the oil filler cap hole, look for movement.
Report back.

The next candidates for this year Honda are the igniter and
coil, both part of the distributor assembly. Are you handy
or not? You first want to check for spark. Google if you
don't know how. If there's no spark, then there are tests
you can do on the igniter that should nail whether it's
failed or not. Post whether you want more info on these
tests. The coil is a little trickier but since they tend to
go slowly, I don't think it's the coil. Start with the
igniter tests.

You should consider a complete replacement of the following,
since you don't know their age and they're all due within a
few years, anyway, and you don't want them interfering with
your diagnosis efforts above:
Air filter
Fuel filter
Spark plugs
Ignition wires
Distributor Cap
Distributor Rotor

Buy only OEM for all of these, except the air filter.

Lastly for now, since you don't know the age of the timing
belt, soon you should replace it. Failure of timing belts
can do expensive damage to your car's engine.


--
Honda home studies: http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness
--

of Aug.

 

Thanx Elle, my hubby did the timing belt test and seems ok.he would like
more info on how to check the coil and igniter. Thanx again.

 

The following sites are very helpful on igniters and coils.
Both describe how to check for spark, which is probably
where you should resume your diagnosing efforts, assuming
you've replaced the basic tuneup items below or feel really
confident that they're in good repair.

http://techauto.te.funpic.org/index.php?content=Ignition#key
(better-organized but perhaps not as detailed as the next
site)

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/startproblems.html#basics

www.autozone.com has free online repair manuals for the 1990
Civic. Register, then click on "Repair Info," then "Vehicle
Repair Guides." Click on car year, make, and model, etc. Go
to the engine electrical section, IIRC. There are tests
there for at least the coil, but I think it's only a
resistance test, and that does not necessarily yield enough
info to make a full diagnosis.

What's the status of all those other items I listed (air
filter, fuel filter, plugs, wires, distributor cap and
rotor)? Any idea how old the parts are? OEM parts or not?
Take all these seriously. You could have something as simple
as very fouled spark plugs. Or maybe your ignition wires
just need replacement. If you have a digital multimeter, you
can easily check their resistance and eliminate them as
being a part of the problem or THEE problem. You don't know
this car's history, since you just bought it in August, so
be methodical and willing to spend a little money on these
basic items (air filter, fuel filter, etc.) to get it up to
snuff. You're going to have to replace these items in the
next few years anyway. If it was reasonably well taken care
of, you should get another 100k miles out of it.

Elle
Original owner, 1991 Honda Civic LX, 172k miles.

 

1) the coil can test good and be bad
2) replace the ignitor when you didn't have to and you've wasted more
than the cost of a mechanic to trouble shoot the system perform another
45 minutes labor.
a source of junkyard parts can help