Rep Power: 0

Firstly I'll explain how the car died... It was working great went to Mcdonalds to get something to eat the car was warm I get back in the car turn it on stop at the stop light for a few seconds and when it turns green I very slowly and calmly took a left hand turn... About 3 quarters of the way through the turn everything just shuts down... So I coast the car into the gas station nearby and it now 100% refuses to start... Just turns over constantly...


Things I've Checked: Timing belt is in mint condition and is timed correctly, the fuel pump is working and sends fuel, the distributor is only a few months old and the spark plugs are all firing...


My Guess: The computer died?

 
Rep Power: 518

An engine needs compression, fuel, and spark in order to run.
In the correct amounts, at the correct times.
Something is missing from the picture.



If the computer was completely dead, you wouldn't have spark either. So I doubt it is that.

But just how much spark DOES it have? Can it throw a lightning bolt across a half inch gap or more?
Are the spark plugs wet with raw fuel?

 
Rep Power: 0

i had the same issue with my 98 ex just recently. car died out of nowhere and wouldn't start. turns out the ignition coil was the culprit. test spark gap

 
Rep Power: 0

This happened to me with my 98 LX, it was the ignition switch and there was
a recall on it. Honda replaced it, no more troubles.

 
Rep Power: 0

If your plugs are properly gapped, and your getting spark on all cylinders, then I would probably rule out the ignition system and begin focusing my efforts on the fuel part of the equation. As the fuel systems is probably going to be easier for you to diagnose.

1st when you turn the ignition to the on position without trying to crank the motor do you hear a small buzz type of sound? This would be the fuel pump pressurizing the line. If you don't have this then you can usually bet the pump is bad.. but fuel pumps are known to work intermittently, it's not as common, but it does happen. This fix could be as simple as making sure all the electrical connections on the pump have a secure contact, and up to requiring replacement of motor itself. I'd take a multimeter and make sure you have power at the fuel pump.

2nd Do you have the right pressure on the fuel line? Autozone as well as several other auto parts stores offer "free" loan a tool programs from which you may "borrow" a tool to check the pressure although i've never had to do this myself. I put free in " " because they do require a deposit to borrow the tools, and if you use credit this deposit may remain on the card for up to a week. I don't like to keep my money tied up.

3rd Is one of the fuel injectors clogged? I wouldn't worry about this too much unless you've verified that the fuel pump works and you have the right pressure first. I've not heard of many people having problems with the fuel injectors failing, but rest assured it's possible!

4th If you have the right pressure and the injectors are good, you may want to take a look at your intake and make sure that it's not clogged, possibly you need to replace the filter. If it's stock it should be the black box with tubing connected running to back side of engine. Don't mean to insult your intelligence if I've over described this, not sure of how well you know the car... All of this though assumes that the car has fuel in it... again not trying to call you stupid. It could be that the fuel gauge has become faulty or disconnected...

You may want to swap around steps 3 and 4, they're both about equal in my book. After you've verified all of these things, and if you still haven't any luck getting it to run, I'd begin looking at compression. But this may seem overwhelming to some. If none of that works... I'd take it to a dealer, but that can be expensive. Hope this helps!