Girlfriends Car is DEAD! need help before day ends

[Phact]

She has an 86 honda Accord(http://www.rhymology.com/images/forsale/br13b0~1.jpg)

and well she was start in first from what i understand and once she shifted to second her car just shut off, and now all it does is crank and not kick over. We tried jumping it, that wasnt the problem, Then i took out the spark plug wires to see if anything was unusual and well once i put them back in the thing has absolutly no power, no dome light, dash light, not even a signal if has charge. Any ideas??? please we need these quick as possible

phact

[Brad McCoy]

sound electrical
possibly a bad ground - I would check that first
sound like you may have made it worse when you were working with the spark plugs
dead battery or bad ground will cause engine to run ban / no power
Hope this helps

[i_a_n112784]

My first guess is that the battery would be dead due to a bad alternator, but if that doesn't work, be sure to post again, because I've completely rebuilt the engine and trans in an 88 accord dx, and I had a bunch of small pain in the ass electrical problems getting it to run.

Without knowing more, if it's not the battery, check those big fuses under the hood, like the 70 amp ones and such.

[Phact]

thanks guys, anyone else have any other things i could check out

[CZ-R]

It probably is an electrical problem, but one thing I'd suggest is to check the rotor. I had the same problem (with the car dying between shifts & only cranking when you try to restart it) a few weeks ago. The screw had come out of my rotor. I just threw another screw in there & the car fired right up.

As posted previously, definitely check the fuses (all of 'em), & check the grounds (maybe even go so far as to disconect & clean them)...

Hope this helps...

[Phact]

Originally Posted by CZ-R

It probably is an electrical problem, but one thing I'd suggest is to check the rotor. I had the same problem (with the car dying between shifts & only cranking when you try to restart it) a few weeks ago. The screw had come out of my rotor. I just threw another screw in there & the car fired right up.

As posted previously, definitely check the fuses (all of 'em), & check the grounds (maybe even go so far as to disconect & clean them)...

Hope this helps...

the distributor rotor????

[Masta]

yea, check the distrubutor cap also.

[sastanley]

#1 - A common issue is bad connections to the battery. Make sure those are clean, and go buy: #1 - one of those little battery terminal cleaners with the little brushes ($1.99), & #2 - those goofy red & green battery washers...although they look like innocent pieces of felt, they have a chemical that inhibits corrosion on the battery terminals. ($0.99) at your local Wal-Mart or auto parts store. Clean well, remove all corrosion (coca-cola or baking soda/water works well) & install those little washers before reconnecting the terminals. Also, if you have a meter, check the battery voltage..a healthy battery should read 12+ volts (like 12.4-ish when the car is off)

#2 - After that, see if you can get spark...Turn the engine over and have a plug wire held close to the valve cover to see if you see a spark...Don't do this in direct sunlight, it is hard to see. If you have spark, that bitch should run. If it won't turn over, battery is prolly dead. If there is no spark, check other ideas above regarding dizzy until you get spark. As mentioned, double check all grounds (including things like ground cable from frame to valve-cover, frame to block, etc..)

I have NEVER had an issue with corrosion after I install those little washers. Another way to prevent corrosion is greasing the terminals with grease (common from the factory) or using Vasoline (super-messy)

Edit - Dude...you should get a tail light for that car ....That is really annoying when you get those bright ass WHITE bulb shining at you cuz the lens is broke. It screws up night vision of peeps behind you and is dangerous
Nice pic tho