Car won't start
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Car won't start
Hello all,
1999 Honda Civic EX - approx 240k miles.
I had a heater hose crack on me earlier on way to store. I didn't notice the leak until after I came out with my groceries. I noticed a very small puddle/stream of coolant in the parking parking spot (I mean, very small - about a 1/2 measuring cup of coolant or less). The puddle wasn't there when I went into the store, so I figured I had a small leak somewhere. I crawled under the car and saw very small drops of coolant dripping from the oil pan, not a steady stream. I live about 1.5 miles from the grocery store, so I drove it home. Before driving, I inspected the coolant reservoir and there were no causes for concern (it had plenty of coolant in it).
On the way home, the car didn't overheat but the thermostat needle rose at idle. It never got even close to the red line, but it did rise considerably more than "normal". When I got home, I inspected it and I saw the coolant coming out of the heater hose on the valve side of the hose. The coolant reservoir was still "ok" on its levels. I came inside and read up on it and watched a few videos. I learned that the front end needed to be higher than the rear, so I went out and started my car and moved it across the street to make the change. I live in a really hilly area and no flat ground near my home.
I waited for the engine to cool and removed the air filter and the distributor following the directions on YouTube videos and few sites (I marked the distributor timing location prior to removing it). I removed the hose and put a new one on. Reconnected the distributor and air filter and added coolant to the radiator. Now my car won't start. It cranks over, but no ignition. Occasionally it acts like it wants to start.
It's dark now, so I can't work on it. No garage.
What are some suggestions that I can do tomorrow?
Also: I replaced my distributor last month because it went bad (had it professionally installed and car timed at a shop). I'm ruling out a bad distributor because it's practically brand new.
1999 Honda Civic EX - approx 240k miles.
I had a heater hose crack on me earlier on way to store. I didn't notice the leak until after I came out with my groceries. I noticed a very small puddle/stream of coolant in the parking parking spot (I mean, very small - about a 1/2 measuring cup of coolant or less). The puddle wasn't there when I went into the store, so I figured I had a small leak somewhere. I crawled under the car and saw very small drops of coolant dripping from the oil pan, not a steady stream. I live about 1.5 miles from the grocery store, so I drove it home. Before driving, I inspected the coolant reservoir and there were no causes for concern (it had plenty of coolant in it).
On the way home, the car didn't overheat but the thermostat needle rose at idle. It never got even close to the red line, but it did rise considerably more than "normal". When I got home, I inspected it and I saw the coolant coming out of the heater hose on the valve side of the hose. The coolant reservoir was still "ok" on its levels. I came inside and read up on it and watched a few videos. I learned that the front end needed to be higher than the rear, so I went out and started my car and moved it across the street to make the change. I live in a really hilly area and no flat ground near my home.
I waited for the engine to cool and removed the air filter and the distributor following the directions on YouTube videos and few sites (I marked the distributor timing location prior to removing it). I removed the hose and put a new one on. Reconnected the distributor and air filter and added coolant to the radiator. Now my car won't start. It cranks over, but no ignition. Occasionally it acts like it wants to start.
It's dark now, so I can't work on it. No garage.
What are some suggestions that I can do tomorrow? Also: I replaced my distributor last month because it went bad (had it professionally installed and car timed at a shop). I'm ruling out a bad distributor because it's practically brand new.
Last edited by bush5150; Aug 12, 2017 at 12:02 AM.
