Rep Power: 0

Hello everyone,

I've been the (mostly) proud owner of a 2001 Honda Civic EX since 2006. Over the years I have had some major work done, along with regular maintenance, but no major issues that have left me on the side of the road at any point.

However, this weekend I've been struck by a bit of bad luck. Last night I had a Cold Stone fix and hopped into my car like normal, unassuming that fate would meet up with me. I started the car, put it into reverse to back out of my driveway, and about halfway down the driveway the car stalled. I started it again, and it stalled. I tried about 5 - 10 times more with no luck.

I did some basic troubleshooting, but as it was late I did not go too in-depth.

1. Replaced battery
2. Added more oil
3. Checked fuel pump for whirring noise and relay with key set to position II

Now, a little back story on the car. Car has undergone preventative and regular maintenance since I bought it. Last year, I had the unfortunate issue of a cooling problem that was discovered to be a bad head gasket seal. This was fixed.

Lately (past 6 - 8 months) or so, the car is running through oil faster than I normally take it in for an oil change. Yes, I don't change my own oil - I am not interested in dealing with mechanical or DIY.

Anyway, I've had cases where my CEL will come on with codes indicating low oil / low oil pressure and when I go to check the oil there is little left. This has happened during the last three oil changes, prior to when the next oil change was due (I change oil at 3,000 miles). Each time I've had to go and add several quarts of oil to make it to the next oil change, but that's not the issue here today.

Other than that, I haven't had any problems with the car that were not my own doing. Last week I left the lights on during the day and ran the battery out. Had been lucky enough to do that next to a shop so they jumped it for free and I was fine, but on the way home that afternoon the car would lose power - radio started to become static, wipers slowed down considerably, dashboard lights dimmed, and the car seemed to have a very low idle speed when stop. To keep the car going I had to put it in park and keep RPMs steady. Eventually I did this enough and it was able to keep going without issues since then.

Also, when I had the battery run out on me the other week I found my oil cap to be off somehow and oil has coated part of the back of the engine.

Some other facts about the current issue:

1. Engine turns over, and then stops - most of the time with a "pop" when the engine shuts off. Not sure if it's coming from the engine or exhaust.

2. When I tried turning the engine on with the gas pedal pressed, the car would start, engine would rev up, and then still stall. The first two times doing this it was accompanied with what I thought smelled like fuel, mixed with something that smelled like it was burning.

I have posted this video on Youtube showing the dashboard as I turn the car on:


You can hear the pop at the end of the video. Any help with ideas on what the problem could be is very much appreciated. Since it's Sunday there are no local shops to get this thing checked out and fixed. Thank god I have AAA with my insurance though!

 
Rep Power: 209

it sounds like there is a problem with the timing, your timing belt might have jumped a tooth or two, have the timing checked, DO NOT try to start the engine until you have the timing checked or you are risking very severe valve/head/piston damage,

check your oil more frequently, 2 quarts down is VERY LOW! thats more than half the capacity of your engine!

 
Rep Power: 0

Timing belt was originally changed about 3 months after I bought the car, ~109,000 miles or so. I was expecting to have to change it within the next 20,000 or so (I am at ~199,000 miles now).

Just out of curiosity since I am not a car guy, why would you suspect timing?

 
Rep Power: 209

the computer thinks the engines timing is off, it thinks the engine is "out of time" so to speak, when this happens the computer shuts the engine down to prevent engine damage,

your timing is off, or one of your timing sensors is bad, you have two timing sensors, one for the cam and one for the crank,

you can try unplugging these sensors and see if the engine runs, if the engine does run you know one of the sensors are bad

 
Rep Power: 0

Is this easy to do and can you point me in the right direction?

 
Rep Power: 186

Umm, I don't think that's correct. If he unplugs a sensor and it does run, then the sensor is doing it's job when it is plugged in. If it does run with the sensors unplugged then he's definitely out of time like you suspected in the first place if he's off one or two teeth.

 
Rep Power: 209

look at your engine from the drivers side, you will see a big black plastic cover on the side of the engine, your timing belt is under that cover,

look around the middle of the cover, you will see a wire connector that is covered by a rubber boot, that is your cam sensor,

now look at the very bottom of the cover near the crank pulley, at the back of the bottom of the cover you will see a wire connector, that is your crank sensor,

unplug the crank sensor and start the engine, if it runs fine then the crank sensor is bad,

if the engine does not run, plug it back in and do the same for the cam sensor, if the engine runs, your cam sensor is bad,

now having said this, it might be best for you to have it towed to a honda dealership, going by what you have said, a repair like this is far too advanced for you (no offense)

 
Rep Power: 209

the belt has been on there for many years, its not likely it has jumped time, i am suspecting a bad sensor, most likely crank sensor,

normally a belt that jumps time is a new belt that has not been installed correctly

 
Rep Power: 186

I'm not trying to argue with you here, but if the belts been there for many years, and has 90k miles on it according to the OP, isn't more likely that it's old and could be worn to the point that it may have jumped some teeth?

 
Rep Power: 209

yes, it is possible....however its easier to unplug the sensors, which is why i recommended doing that first, if those tests fail then the next step is to pull the covers and check the timing marks

 
Rep Power: 0

Hello, did anyone figure out his/her problem? I had the exact same problem on my 1997 Honda Civic after I did a dizzy swap, and I suspect the timing. After I swapped the dizzy, it was drivable for miles, but the next morning it wouldn't start.

I noticed when driving, that my tachometer would jump upward around 2.5/3k rpm, and is this a sign that the crank sensor went bad?

Please help, any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

 
Rep Power: 518

Tach goes way up without the engine actually revving up?
I'd guess you got a cheapo reman distributor that has a problem.

The actual issue could be inside, loose fitting wire terminals on the igniter. But if it is a new reman, take it back. Sometimes you have to try a bunch of them before you get a good one.

Is it not a reman and you need to actually fix it?

 
Rep Power: 0

I guessed that, cause I went to start it once, and the car shook a lot, but then I went and changed it again, but bought an entirely new distributor, and now it won't even start. It will click three times, but then the engine is making an odd sound now, which leads me to believe that it was a sensor issue, possibly in the timing. I am getting spark and fuel, so it should all work, but I don't smell gas when I try to start it

In the morning when I can see what I'm doing I'll post a sound clip.

Could it still be the distributor? I mean I'm not getting a check engine light which is odd for a sensor issue.

Thank you for your help and time!

 
Rep Power: 518

Yes, sure. But I can only guess from where I sit.

Is this still having the exact same symptom that it had before? (tach goes up), as you posted hereYou didn't answer my questions from the earlier post, that would be handy to know.
At the time the tach jumped upward, did the engine also rev up?

(BTW, if you were thinking of the sensor mounted at the crankshaft timing belt gear, that's a NO. It has nothing to do with spark on a 6th gen.)



Not at all, especially if it is not a sensor issue. Not all items can be monitored by a computer.

 
Rep Power: 0

About the tachometer:
Presently I can't determine what state it is in, the car will not start.

The problems started after I swapped out the distributor the first time, because the guy before me had never replaced the shaft rotor, and it would sputter whenever I pressed the gas pedal or was on a hill.
After replacing the distributor, it ran great, started right up but when I was driving it home, I realized the tach was jumping as mentioned before, and the engine was not revving with the tachometer. I notices it but paid it no mind.

The next morning the car would start, then stall out after idling high at like 2krpm, so I thought, well it must have been a distributor problem, because I bought a re-manufactured part, and that's what I switched

So I ordered a brand new (not reman) distributor, installed it, and now the car won't start.

Just thinking about it now, I could test if it was a dizzy problem by putting the old one back on, which should cause it to start back up, if the problem was inherent to the dizzy.

I would just think it odd to get two bad distributors, especially if one is brand new.

 
Rep Power: 518

Ok then, refer back to the post #12 and see what I wrote there.
Loose connections cause intermittent contact, and allow engine vibrations to add extra pulses to the ignition. That's what the tach is reading.
Finding the loose connections and squeezing them with pliers so they fit tightly could solve the issue.

From where? The Zoo? LOL

Not odd at all when dealing with non-factory parts.

I hear many stories of people having to try several distributors before getting one that allows the car to run.


NEW = Never Ever Worked.

This person was ready to scrap the whole car because of cheapo distributors. Clicky: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/2...ml#post4642563

What was so wrong with your original distributor that you thought it needed to be replaced? Cap and rotor are easy to get, so are the coil and igniter unit.

 
Rep Power: 0

Ezone, thank you, I will certainly give it a shot, and I guess you're right, the factory probably wouldn't fresh distributors for a 97.
Advance auto claimed that the distributor was new though, but again, perhaps simply loose wires during the manufacturing?

The issue I had with the old distributor, was that the rotor was never replaced, so it rusted and seized onto the rotor shaft. Attempting to remove it was fruitless, and as time went on the corrosion built up, and while it didn't prevent the car from running altogether, torque was down. Eventually push came to shove, tried to pry it and ended up damaging the rotor shaft, thus needed a new dizzy, woops.

And thank you, this was really helpful to know. I've been wracking my mind about this thing for far too long now.

I will let you know how it goes! Thanks a million!

 
Rep Power: 518

Hey, I located the bulletin that describes tightening the terminals on the igniter:

http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/ru...1347_P0420.pdf

Also, it appears at first glance that all distributor parts are still available through the factory, but no remans and price is sky high. Junkyard might be more reliable than aftermarket.

 
Rep Power: 0

Sweet I will definitely give it a shot, and I could see the problem with aftermarket parts, maybe something wasn't made right.

I will definitely let you know how it goes!