scrid

Hello everyone.
The neighbor gal across the street has a 2005 Honda Civic EX that was running fine one night but the next morning it just cranks but wont start.
I did some basic tests, tested for spark which is good, checked fuses all OK, and removed the oil fill cap to make sure the cam was turning and it is.
I removed the air cleaner and poured some fresh gas down the intake to see if that would help it fire and maybe eliminate a fuel supply problem but no luck it still wouldn't even act like it wanted to start.
Pulled a couple plugs,...2 and 4 actually because 1 and 3 did not want to break loose. The compression on 2 and 4 were really good. I made sure I sprayed some wd-40 down around the stuck plugs to let them sit and soak until I work on it again.
I did notice it seemed like a small backfire through the intake after she was done cranking with the air cleaner top off.
It has 109,000 miles on it and the manual says to change the timing belt at 110,000 or 7 years whichever comes first.
Tomorrow I'm planning to get a code reader and see if that will shed any light on the problem.
After that I guess I would pull the top timing belt cover and check the timing to see if the belt has slipped.
Am I missing a common problem with this thing?
I wasn't sure how often a crank or cam sensor will go out on these Civics.
She doesn't have a lot of $$ and I'm helping her out as a favor to her dad.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks. Chris

ezone

Is she hot?


What did the plugs look like when you pulled them out?
Were they wet with fuel, or dry?

Brand of plug?

Is the engine flooded? (It happens when the engine isn't run through warmup before shutoff. Common scenario: Move the car in the driveway and shut off, then won't start again. Loses compression from fuel washdown.)

Does it run for 2 seconds then shut down?
(Y/N)
If yes, Does the green key symbol in the gauge cluster flash in an angry manner?
(Y/N)
If no, unplug the cam position sensor and see if it runs more than 2 seconds. If it runs, then shut it off and see why the cam is out of time.


Does the check engine light come on when you turn the key on?

Got codes?

mikey1

well, in a nutshell,

you need compression, fuel, air, and spark......one of them is missing

how did you test the spark? and did you test ALL FOUR plugs and coils? or just one?

scrid

Thats funny EZONE,...shes actually a good looking girl but like I said I am doing this as a favor to her dad cause he gave me a bunch of fill dirt.
So
Heres where it went this morning.
The green key light just comes on for a few seconds after the key is inserted but doesn't flash.
I picked up a scan tool and checked logged codes.
It loggeged:
P0301 cyl #1 Misfire.
P0302 cyl #2 Misfire.
P0303 cyl #3 Misfire.
P0304 cyl #4 Misfire.
P0300 random Misfire.
I disconnected the cam sensor and it would start and run for about 2 seconds and then shut off. Ran kinda rough though.
I pulled the top timing cover and verified the timing marks. They are dead on with the crank on TDC and the cam gear slots level with the top of the head. Reassembled the timing cover and valve cover. Reconnected the cam sensor.
Pulled all 4 spark plugs which are NGK's and checked the gap. They were all worn to .054.
I re-gapped them to .044 and reinstalled them with anti-sieze for now.
Tested all 4 coils and they are working fine.
Cleared all codes and tried to start it. It still would not start.
I pulled the air cleaner housing and removed the main fuel line to check for fuel flow. It had a pretty good squirt shoot out when I unhooked the hose and then I had her dad crank it.
It started and shot a great stream of fuel out!
Reconnected the fuel line and now it starts and runs just fine.
I am wondering at this point is it possible the fuel system was over pressurized? And when I took the fuel line loose it let the pressure off the system so it didn't see a high pressure situation again?
I reassembled the air box and for now the car is starting and running fine but I'm sure this is not the end of this situation.
Any thoughts?
Thanks again everyone.
Chris.

ezone

No idea, could have been flooded. See if what I wrote above about moving the car 10 feet fits the scenario.

Could be out of gas too (or ran out recently). Might explain the misfire codes.

Wait and see what happens.

scrid

Yes I told her to run it for now.
It has a 1/2 tank of gas in it.
I ordered a bluetooth obd2 code reader to use with my android phone.
Hopefully when it arrives I won't have to run to the auto parts store to borrow their scanner.
Thanks I will post any further info.