Need help w/ 95 Honda Civic. I got stranded
- Thread starter euhysh
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If it's a Civic, then the fact that he didn't mention a horrible noise that sounded like pistons and valves destroying themselves is a good sign that it's not the timing belt.
EDIT: I've never heard the fuel pump on either of our cars, so it's not always audible.
EDIT: I've never heard the fuel pump on either of our cars, so it's not always audible.
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If you get your head under the gas tank and have a helper turn on the key to ON, I think you will hear it run for the few seconds it does before shutting off.
Sound like the timing belt to me.
Easy quick test is to pull the oil fill cap off. Get your friend to crank the engine while you look in the valve cover. If you DONT see the rockers moving you have a SNAPPED Tbelt.
Coil failing like that is kinda unlikely. Fuel pump is 99.99% OUT of the question.
Coils or distributor issues usually will not start after you turn the ignition off. Unlikely the distributor while your driving.
Easy quick test is to pull the oil fill cap off. Get your friend to crank the engine while you look in the valve cover. If you DONT see the rockers moving you have a SNAPPED Tbelt.
Coil failing like that is kinda unlikely. Fuel pump is 99.99% OUT of the question.
Coils or distributor issues usually will not start after you turn the ignition off. Unlikely the distributor while your driving.
Seriously, Alanu, you're an auto technician?
I had a coil died at 200k on an Integra before. Car won't start but would crank. If you take the ignition coil out and check the resistance in room temp, you can see whether that is the problem or not. Fixed it myself for $120 (even cheaper if I buy aftermarket parts).
Check if you have spark first, take a plug out and have its ground touch the engine and have a friend start, you should see spark if coil is good. If no spark, must be something in the distrubutor either coil or ignition switch.
Check if you have spark first, take a plug out and have its ground touch the engine and have a friend start, you should see spark if coil is good. If no spark, must be something in the distrubutor either coil or ignition switch.
Originally Posted By: Tosh
Seriously, Alanu, you're an auto technician?
To Tosh-
Yes, Alanu is indeed a mech/tech, and possibly a dammnm good one in our area also.
Q.
Seriously, Alanu, you're an auto technician?
To Tosh-
Yes, Alanu is indeed a mech/tech, and possibly a dammnm good one in our area also.
Q.
Has anyone used those spark testers from Harbor Freight that you put inline with the spark plug and can see if there is a spark?
I have one or two, just have not needed it recently.
I have one or two, just have not needed it recently.
Now that I think about it, my wife had a 1995 civic and I believe there was a dealer recall for ignition igniter module.
The ignition module on those is located on the distributor, as I recall, making it prone to the same overheating problems that plagued Ford's TFI-IV ignition module.
At least this is what I gathered from what my mechanic told me.
At least this is what I gathered from what my mechanic told me.
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Got it fixed you guys. Thanks for all your help!! I wouldn't have figured it out myself.
There was no spark whatsoever when I checked the plug wires while cranking. Took the distributor off and went to Honda dealership. They said it would cost $500 for a new distributor + labor. Eh, that costs more than the car itself. So I took it to Pep boys lol.
The distributor contains the coil, igniter, rotor, pretty much everything. The guy at Pep boys said I can try to find the faulty part and buy it at Honda dealership (each one of those parts still cost over $100), take the distributor apart and replace the faulty part.
Forget that...I just purchased a rebuilt distributor from Pep boys for $175 with exchange. Installed it myself and bam, started instantly!
So what can I do in the future to prevent this from happening again? Do these ignition parts have a lifespan or is this something that just randomly dies at any given time after a period of time? How is it faulty? That's crazy, what if I was going full speed on the highway and dies?
There was no spark whatsoever when I checked the plug wires while cranking. Took the distributor off and went to Honda dealership. They said it would cost $500 for a new distributor + labor. Eh, that costs more than the car itself. So I took it to Pep boys lol.
The distributor contains the coil, igniter, rotor, pretty much everything. The guy at Pep boys said I can try to find the faulty part and buy it at Honda dealership (each one of those parts still cost over $100), take the distributor apart and replace the faulty part.
Forget that...I just purchased a rebuilt distributor from Pep boys for $175 with exchange. Installed it myself and bam, started instantly!
So what can I do in the future to prevent this from happening again? Do these ignition parts have a lifespan or is this something that just randomly dies at any given time after a period of time? How is it faulty? That's crazy, what if I was going full speed on the highway and dies?
Might want to find a working one out of a junker and keep it handy ... I have a whole collection of cheap used parts for my beater, lol!
I could've showed you where to get a nicer-than-OEM distributor for your car for less than what you paid. But hey, at least it's up and running again, glad to hear that 
on eBay there's a seller than sells Distributors with higher temperature tolerance coils. I'm using one on my car right now as a preventative measure even though my original distributor worked fine, but this one works fine too.
on eBay there's a seller than sells Distributors with higher temperature tolerance coils. I'm using one on my car right now as a preventative measure even though my original distributor worked fine, but this one works fine too.Thirdeye, can you tell me where you can get the better distributors? I'll get one of those just in case.
The coil in my 94 Camry failed at roughly 180K miles. Car died while pulling away from a stoplight and never restarted. The coil is inside the dist. and a pain to get out.
So how do you know in your rebuilt dist. that the coil for example was replaced as part of the rebuild or did they just check it out?
So how do you know in your rebuilt dist. that the coil for example was replaced as part of the rebuild or did they just check it out?
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Hmmm... I've been thinking of souping up my stock ignition in my '95 Civic and the mileage is getting up there too so it may be time to replace. I've had an MSD 6A box in my '77 Chev 454 pickup for probably over 10 years, and in the semi-retired '75 Dodge Dart slant six for at least that long. They are one terrific box IMO and the Blaster 3 coil you could probably arc-weld with
But I will now have to study and see if technology has improved beyond this, since one of these 6A units would be among my top picks for my Civic if MSD still makes it. Jacobs used to make a good aftermarket ignition unit from what I remember- anyone in the BITOG family have experience with them? Other suggestions?
I'm sorry if I am threadjacking but this is an ignition-related request and it pertains to a 1995 Civic too.
Euhysh, I am glad to hear your vehicle is running again. The Honda Civic is one incredible little automobile.
But I will now have to study and see if technology has improved beyond this, since one of these 6A units would be among my top picks for my Civic if MSD still makes it. Jacobs used to make a good aftermarket ignition unit from what I remember- anyone in the BITOG family have experience with them? Other suggestions?
I'm sorry if I am threadjacking but this is an ignition-related request and it pertains to a 1995 Civic too.
Euhysh, I am glad to hear your vehicle is running again. The Honda Civic is one incredible little automobile.
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