Car Won't Start! - Seeking Advice!

Howdy!

Hey everyone, I'm working on an old Honda Civic (1995) and would love some advice.

I replaced spark plugs, wires, valve gasket, but when I try to start the car I can get it to crank, but not sure if I have enough cranking power because the battery is completely dead and I am using jumper cables to try and start it from another running vehicle.

It cranks as you can hear, but it won't keep cranking long enough for the engine to turn over. :frown:

Here's a video (https://youtu.be/vEYWG9AE70U) I made that shows you what's going on:

https://youtu.be/vEYWG9AE70U

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on what I can do next!

If it's cranking it's turning over. As for the slow cranking put a good battery in it and go from there.

Did you confirm the gap? And confirm firing order 1342.

No, I did not confirm the gap. I thought spark plugs meant for a particular vehicle already came correctly gapped. I believe this one calls for .044 gap. I looked up in the service manual the order of the wires and it looks like I have that correct. I checked online, the manual, and a few other searches at least for the wire/cap position. Not too sure how you would check "1342" firing order though. I just looked at the diagram on the plug placement on the head and how it linked to the cap, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the suggestions and I will try to charge the current battery and also plan on taking the distributor cap off and inspect that too.

If it ran before you did all this, then maybe plug issue. Did you go with standard plugs or did some parts guy sell you like "platinum gold exotic" plugs? Guaranteed to work better? Yea plugs should be gapped when you buy them but it doesn't take much to bend the gap.

Not too sure how you would check "1342" firing order though. I just looked at the diagram on the plug placement on the head and how it linked to the cap, if that makes sense.

Since you mention "cap" I'm assuming your 1995 Civic has a distributor cap and not Coil-on-Plug ignition. With that assumption, make sure first that you have the coil connected to the cap, and that the coil wire is good. If you went with a budget friendly (ie: inexpensive) set of replacement spark plug wires, it's quite possible the new wires are not properly terminated. I've seen that more than anyone should, fresh out of the box. That could certainly explain a no-start condition.

The camshaft spins the rotor inside the distributor cap, therefore your wires should connect in the order that the rotor spins to cylinders 1, 3, 4, and 2. But if you're not even getting sputters like the engine wants to start, and you changed plug
wires, I'd start by making sure you're getting good spark from the ignition coil to the distributor cap.

Good luck!

-Rod

I purchased everything from RockAuto and they are one of the best. I'm pretty sure my auto parts are not the issue, but not entirely rule them out either. I just find that doubtful based on the reputation I've read on that supplier. The wires and plugs I received are as close to OEM or are OEM design and I didn't opt for "better is more expensive" parts. With that said, I need to check my plug gaps and try to start again on a full battery charge. (Charger should be here today) I removed my distributor cap and it looks brand new. I think it was replaced at some point. Yes, all my connectors and wires to the DC are fine and I never fiddled with them before trying to start. I don't think my battery had enough power to keep the starter engaged long enough to fire the engine. That's the next test. Stay tuned and thanks for the advice so far.

UPDATE>>>Well, the NOCO battery charger has been doing its thing for five days. I think this battery charger is a very slow trickle charge type. I hooked up the battery leads and the vehicle does respond and the ignition lights come on, but I didn't want to try and start it yet. That's a sign that the battery is receiving a charge though. I just didn't know it would take a week to charge it. Either my battery is jacked or the NOCO charger is misleading on how it charges. I wouldn't have purchased something else if I knew that. I guess I'll test it on another battery if this one ever charges. Stay tuned!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W46BX31/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

UPDATE>>>Well, the NOCO battery charger has been doing its thing for five days. I think this battery charger is a very slow trickle charge type. I hooked up the battery leads and the vehicle does respond and the ignition lights come on, but I didn't want to try and start it yet. That's a sign that the battery is receiving a charge though. I just didn't know it would take a week to charge it. Either my battery is jacked or the NOCO charger is misleading on how it charges. I wouldn't have purchased something else if I knew that. I guess I'll test it on another battery if this one ever charges. Stay tuned!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W46BX31/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Yea that's a trickle charger. Normally it's to maintain not fully charge. check your battery with a voltmeter. Static and cranking.

Your battery is probably jacked. Even with a trickle charger it should fully charge within a day. I just put my 3000gt on a trickle charger because the battery died from sitting without starting. The next day I fired the car to life with ease.

Stoopit battery! No idea where I got it or what brand it was. I'll have to pay better attention next time. I probably bought the cheapest one I could back then, who knows. I'll test a few more things this evening just to be sure though.

The brand doesn't really matter if it old and if you let it sit. That's hard on any battery.

I'm not sure what your hold up is on trying another battery. Absolutely everything you have done points to a bad battery. You keep shotgunning other parts at it that have nothing to do with it having a weak crank power.

No, I am planning on testing/switching out the battery for sure.

I just haven't had the time so I am just leaving the charger be until I do. I was just curious if it ever charges, but since I'm in no hurry I was just wondering how long it normally takes with that particular NOCO charger.

I agree, I believe it's the battery. lol

Didn't have time to get a battery this weekend, but I did notice my spark plugs were pretty gunked up when I removed them to check the gaps. They appeared to have a lot of carbon or black residue on them only after trying to start the vehicle a few times. I wonder if there's something else I need to inspect when plugs get bad quickly. Good times... lol

Well, I was able to get my Civic running finally. Not sure what the exact issue was, but I replaced plugs, new battery, wires, fuel filter, air filter, cleaned injectors, new valve gasket, and new seals for the plugs, etc. It fired right up and purrs like an old kitten! Interesting. I really surprised myself because I don't work on cars and I had to learn every step of the way. Thanks for all the suggestions!

I'm glad to hear you got the car running. Thank you for posting a follow-up. I don't suppose that you replaced one part at a time to actually figure out what it took to get it started, did you?

If you plan to let it sit for long periods of time again, that would be a good time to take advantage of the trickle charger you recently purchased.

-Rod

Rod,

Well, that was the problem. Since my battery wasn't good (in order to test) it was hard to know what part/s actually were causing the issue. It could have been a combination of things and each part I replaced wasn't expensive so I figured why not? I actually plan to drive it on a regular basis because it has less mileage than my main car. It's always good to have a spare vehicle anyway so I can slowly work on the others.

Can't get a Honda to start? That's a first..

Can't get a Honda to start? That's a first..

IKR!

Well, there were obviously some issues at first, but after I replaced most of the major parts it's fine. I really think it boiled down to a leaking fuel injector and bad valve gasket. It was a mess inside the valve cover and all the plugs were garbage.

It was a fun little project! I'm proud of myself that I actually fixed it.