minxfinx

My car: 98 Honda Civic LX, Automatic Transmission

A few weeks ago I was driving with little fuel in the tank, just above the white line. I was coming up to my turn so I began slowing down when the car starting bogging down and killed the engine while I was driving. It felt just like it did when my old Chevy Uplander ran out of gas, so naturally I thought I ran out of gas. Tried turning it over and it wouldn't start.

I noticed that I have driven it below the white line just above the red line previously without running out of gas, so I thought I had enough to get to a gas station....

1. I added almost a half a tank of gas and it wouldn't start still. So I towed it to my friend's shop.

2. We could hear the fuel pump coming on so that's working fine.

3. We replaced the fuel filter in case it was clogged, and the air filter cause it was dirty. Still no luck.

4. Made sure the engine was getting fuel, which it was...

5. Found out it wasn't getting spark, so we replaced the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor... wouldn't start with everything hooked up.

6. Tested the compression to see if the timing was off, everything checked out good.

7. Took the 4th plug wire out and put a screwdriver in it to test the spark against a grounded wire. When it sparked the car started up for some reason. Put the plug wire back in, turned off the car, back on and off several times and thought it was fixed.

8. Drove it home, went to the grocery store, and when we started it back up it had trouble starting. Had to push the gas pedal to the floor to get it to start. Drove it back home. Felt like the engine was flooding.

9. The next day it wouldn't start again. Tried unflooding it, no luck.

10. Tested for spark again and again no spark. Tested the ICM (Ignition Control Module) and found out it had a problem. Replaced it and got spark back.

11. Started car and it turned over. Idled for about 5 minutes and started wanting to die when it was idling. Revved up engine to 2k RPM and it ran smoothly again. Let it go and it wanted to die again. Tried it a few times and it only wanted to die while idling.

12. Next day it wouldn't start again. Removed throttle body and IACV (Idle Air Control Valve), cleaned with carb cleaner and put it back together. Still no luck starting. Tried to unflood it again, no luck.

13. Tested fuel pressure and it was reading 47 psi. Haynes book specifies 38-46 is what it should be with vacuum hose disconnected.

14. Replaced the fuel pressure regulator, retested it at 42 psi. Good, but still no start.

15. Tried unflooding it again, no luck yet again. Which is where I am right now..... It's a damn paperweight in my driveway and it's my only vehicle right now!

I cannot figure this thing out for the life of me... PLEASE HELP!!! Any advice or suggestions???

Mike

edwin3211

check all the connections for the distributor sounds like their is something loose did u replace distributor itself?

minxfinx

I replaced the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, icm, and tested the coil... didn't replace the distributor itself, but i'm getting spark now.

minxfinx

Just checked all the connections and their fine. Disconnected and reconnected and it still won't turn over. Also forgot to mention that I replaced the battery with a brand new one cause the old one was wearing out and drying out.

ezone

What tests did the ignition coil pass?
Put a coil in it.

minxfinx

Well besides testing it with a meter, we actually bought a new coil and put it on there to see if it would make a difference and nothing happened... so we took it back. out-ruled

ezone

That is not a valid way of checking.

"Good" is not a spec.

Have you actually looked at the cam timing marks with your eyeballs, or seen what the ignition timing is with a timing light?

Does it have spark?
Will it throw a lightning bolt more than 1/2 inch?

minxfinx

That's a good question, a friend checked it out for me and said it was good. Not sure how he checked it out exactly. He had to go out of town so we couldn't completely diagnose it. If it was a problem with the timing, wouldn't it prevent it from starting back up and running couple times it did? I would imagine there's another issue.. ?

ezone

If the cam timing (timing belt) was a tooth or two off, it would still run.

But it would run badly.

And flood.

Ignition timing would be off by approximately 15-40 degrees if the timing belt jumped.

Compression might "appear good" if one does not know what good really is on that engine.

minxfinx

Hmmm... I'll send him a message and ask. Any other suggestions until I hear from him? I'm running out of time to wait for answers before I move on to other options. I'd like to rule out anything and everything as quickly as possible so I can get my car running reliably. I don't have a whole lot of money to take it to a shop right now, and it's my only vehicle...

minxfinx

If it makes a difference, when the car started the first time (driving it home), it ran normal, even slightly better with the "tune up." I wouldnt say it ran poorly at all.... it also ran fine the second time above 2k RPM; it only ran poorly while idling the second time...