91 honda civic starting stalling problem

[1991 honda civic]

Nobody responded yet to my last post. But I have some new information anyway. We know at least one fuel injector is working. We think both of them are. So, I am getting fuel. I am also getting spark. I am also getting compression.

We replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, and ignition coil (3rd party brand). The distributor cap is only about a year and a half old, along with the rotor. They both appear to be in good shape and attached well. The distributor itself is firmly attached (not loose or anything). So, I don't think the timing is off in the distributor. The timing belt is fine and lined up correctly-the timing is not off. All of the marks line up where they should.

What else could the problem be? Could it be the igniter unit in the distributor even though we are getting spark? We are thinking that the problem may be a bad computer (ECU). One day, when we cranked the engine, no lights were flashing. Then, the other day, one light went on and then off. Is it normal for the ECU to flash one light when you first turn the key on? If so, why did it not do it the first times? Is there some sensor that could be causing the car to not start? I await any input. This car problem is really getting to be frustrating and I do not really have money to tow it to a mechanic and have him fix it. Thanks.

[turtlecrxsi]

Originally Posted by 1991 honda civic

Nobody responded yet to my last post. But I have some new information anyway. We know at least one fuel injector is working. We think both of them are. So, I am getting fuel. I am also getting spark. I am also getting compression.

We replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, and ignition coil (3rd party brand). The distributor cap is only about a year and a half old, along with the rotor. They both appear to be in good shape and attached well. The distributor itself is firmly attached (not loose or anything). So, I don't think the timing is off in the distributor. The timing belt is fine and lined up correctly-the timing is not off. All of the marks line up where they should.

What else could the problem be? Could it be the igniter unit in the distributor even though we are getting spark? We are thinking that the problem may be a bad computer (ECU). One day, when we cranked the engine, no lights were flashing. Then, the other day, one light went on and then off. Is it normal for the ECU to flash one light when you first turn the key on? If so, why did it not do it the first times? Is there some sensor that could be causing the car to not start? I await any input. This car problem is really getting to be frustrating and I do not really have money to tow it to a mechanic and have him fix it. Thanks.

Yes this is normal for the ECU to do this. It seems like everything else seems to be working. You're still having trouble starting it? The dpfi is like an electronic carburetor where the main fuel injector sprays most of the fuel and the aux. one is just that aux. for more fuel when needed so that's all good. You may have flooded it. If the car won't stay running I'd say the dizzy is shot. I had a problem with my car like that. It just died one day and never would crank back up. I got a warranteed replacment dizzy and had it fitted but I had to pay for two tows to two different shops (one of which was only a mile further down the road and it was a $30 tow) all because the damn dizzy went out. I broke down right near the parts store and if I had known all this I could have saved over 100 bucks in towing and labor to have a distributor bolted on. I felt like an ass and didn't have my car for over 2 weeks.

[Dastreetracer]

aye if i were you i would get in your car and have someone tow you down the street and have you turn your key on and pop the clutch in like 2nd or 3rd gear it will start and try to keep it running then you can see if timing is bad or whatever because it will run bad its probably flooded so you should tow start it....

[adaly86]

Hey my car was doin that, garage said said it could be the clutch and clutch cable the point of engagement has been automatically changing on mine

[a91civic]

Originally Posted by 1991 honda civic

We replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, and ignition coil (3rd party brand). The distributor cap is only about a year and a half old, along with the rotor. They both appear to be in good shape and attached well. The distributor itself is firmly attached (not loose or anything). So, I don't think the timing is off in the distributor. The timing belt is fine and lined up correctly-the timing is not off. All of the marks line up where they should.

How are you sure it is not the timing belt? when mine went I losened the timing belt cover and it looked totally fine, but it was not, all the teeth on the belt had worn down and in some places were gone.

[1991 honda civic]

Well, we were pretty sure that the timing belt was still good. I guess some of the teeth could be worn out on it. It looked in good shape from what we could tell but I know that it could still actually be bad.
We saw that the marks on the timing belt were lined up where they should be. That is why we did not think that the timing belt was causing the starting problem.

And it turns out that the problem wasn't with the timing belt.

FINALLY, the car starts! I ran out of ideas and tools to troubleshoot the car. So, I decided to just take it to an independent honda shop near my house. They said they would diagnose it for about $40. And since I ran out of things to test and I did not have the tools to check some of the remaining possible causes of the starting problem, I decided to go ahead and have the car diagnosed. They have all the tools and $40 isn't too bad to pay for someone to diagnose the car. So, my friend towed me to the shop. And the mechanic called me in less than 24 hours and told me that they got the car running. It was a fairly simple problem. The mechanic told me that the car was flooded. What happened was that he said there was carbon buildup in the engine. It built up to the point of where it acted like a sponge and soaked up the gas, so the gas was not getting where it needed to. I don't know exactly how it works. But anyway, the guy told me he pinched the fuel line and opened the throttle up all the way and cranked the engine till it started. He advised me to go and get some 44K and put it in the gas tank. He said that it should eat up all the junk and buildup in the engine and should prevent this problem from happening again.

Of course, the mechanic had a list of about 50 other things that are wrong with my car: warped rotors, leaking water pump, damaged muffler, distributor having internal oil leak, the master cylinder leaking, etc... To fix all the stuff he told me needed fixing would have cost a couple thousand dollars. This would be more than what the car is worth. So, I will just deal with some of those problems as they come up. I might sell the car if too many problems arise. I may ask some more questions on this forum as to how to fix some of this stuff.

So, anyway, a long time of troubleshooting and this is what the problem was. It is good to troubleshoot what you can, but after a while, I would say to just pay $40 to have the car diagnosed for you if you can. Then, you can decide if you can fix it or want it fixed by the mechanic. And I did not even get charged for them "fixing" the car. They just included it with the cost of the diagnosis. So, I am glad that my car is working again. Thank you to everyone for your help. I'll probably be back for more help later. Also, maybe now this post will help other people diagnose their car problem if they have a similar one.

1991 honda civic

[turtlecrxsi]

Couple thousand dollars...woh! I'm glad your car is starting. I've heard of people using seafoam to get rid of carbon build up. Replacing rotors and pad with Brembo blanks and metal master pads would only cost a couple hundred, maybe less. You can probably snag a master cylinder from a junkyard or from someone on here for cheap. The oil leaking by the distributor is probably the O-ring and only costs like 5 bucks to replace. You can get an aftermarket muffler that looks exactly like your stock muffler for maybe 40 bucks or less. I'd say the biggest issue is the waterpump leaking...

[Ones&zeros]

yeah i got 2 rotors pads and calipers for $150...turbo dynomax muff. $40, as for the water pump leak you would have to ask around.

[1991 honda civic]

Hey,

If you guys know where I can get that stuff for cheap, that would be great. I will check out places near my house, but if you guys know of an online source or somewhere like that to get cheap parts, let me know. That would be great to be able to get the 2 rotors and pads and calipers for $115.

Thanks,

1991 honda civic

[turtlecrxsi]

Originally Posted by 1991 honda civic

Hey,

If you guys know where I can get that stuff for cheap, that would be great. I will check out places near my house, but if you guys know of an online source or somewhere like that to get cheap parts, let me know. That would be great to be able to get the 2 rotors and pads and calipers for $115.

Thanks,

1991 honda civic

Try Autozone or Advanced Auto if you want stock replacement rotors and pads. If you want to step up peformance wise, try www.summitracing.com

[Trexz01]

Originally Posted by 1991 honda civic

Yes, we did gap the spark plugs correctly (.044).

I had a simiular problem... i had recently washed my engine and there was water siting in the bottom of my distributer and as soon as i poped that off and dumped the little bit of water out, and wiped it out with a paper towel and WD-40... it fired right up.

GL