91 Honda Civic will not start

[chimapplebrain]

My friend purchased a 1991 Honda Civic a year ago and it is a 5 speed. It gets us around when we drive it. It saves me from using my car all the time plus I like it cause it saves on gas. It's a 91 Honda Civic DX...The problem is it just stopped running. Someone told us it might be the distributor but we bought one and it didn't do anything. It's not the fuel injection we already checked that what else could it be? Another person told us it might be the time and chain but someone looked at it and the belt is still turning. When you get in and try to start it it acts like it wants to crank but for some reason it just can't.. Can't someone help? Please...

Thanks in advance.

[src21k]

are you getting any spark

[colin161822]

so it cranks, but wont fire? try the pgm-fi relay, its up and under the dash at the left side, kinda near the hood release.

[CReXin88]

If your car is not starting it could be several problems im just basing these ideas off of my crx. Check your check light if it is on look at the check your ecu and get the codes from it and find out whats wrong. If your check light is on and your car is turning and not starting up it could be you main relay. What it is doing is cutting off power to your fuel pump and the engine is not getting any gas. It is under the dash board on the driver's side. It looks like a little box. You may have to remove your coin tray to see it. What I have done in the past is tap it untill the check light goes off. But you can get a replacement for about $50.

[chimapplebrain]

Thanks for all you information. My friend and I will try this tomorrow. If this helps paint a picture of what happened. One night we were coming from work and the car just died. We coasted off to a convenience store nearby. After that it hasn't started since. Just like I said before one mechanic thought it was the distributor but he was going to charge $800 to fix it (He claimed for the 91' and higher the coil was built into the distributor which seems to be true and this made the price of the distributor go very high..with neither one of us really knowing what to look for he could have been taking us for a ride). We purchased one (maybe our problem is we got it from a salvage yard) and it didn't work. We are going to try what you all have suggested today. One person even thought it was the time and change belt but looks like everything is working there. Thanks for all your help maybe with your suggestions we will be up and running soon.

[TheSilentChamber]

I'd Have to say check the fuel pump. Take the back seat out and pull it out, wire it to a battery and see if it works. Also check your main relay like they mentioned. If memory serves me right it costs $32 at a honda dealership, May be wrong though.

[civickiller]

coil built into the dist my ass. the coil is in the dist but can be taken out easy.

and you dont need to take out your seats to hear the fuel pump turn on, put your ear to the filler neck and turn the key on and you should hear it whine for couple second.

and what others have said, check for cel, and check for spark

[turtlecrxsi]

$800!!! for distributor... HOLY CHRIST! Taking you for a ride is an understatement, my friend. A rebuilt dizzy should cost less than $200 and installation is not rocket science. Check main relay. Good luck!

[4-Door Flunky]

Did you look at the distributor ROTOR?
It's got a little phillips-head screw that holds it on. That screw works out and the rotor stops rotating.
A new distributor rotor costs about $7.
Flunky
PS-I bought a junkyard distributor once...it came with a bad coil ($43). Once I put in a good coil, it worked fine...but really, check to see if you have a spark before you replace a bunch of stuff you might not need.
(To check for spark, pull a spark plug wire loose from the plug. Stick a screwdriver in the plug wire so that it contacts the little metal loop that goes on the spark plug. Hold the metal part of the screwdriver very close, but not touching, one of the bolts on the valve cover while your buddy twists the key. You should see a fat, blue spark.)

[bionictony]

hey chimapplebrain... i think your problem is this chip that's in the distributer cap.. i think it's called the ignitor chip or something like that. take off the distributer cover and look for like a square chip that's in there.

i had that same problem with my 91 civic dx hatchback. my car engine just died on the freeway and wouldn't start up. replacing the chip fixed my problem. but if your sparks are igniting.. it might not be broken.

is the engine turning over? if not it might be the starter. but if it was starting fine before your car died it might not be it.

it also might be the main relay. you should check your ecu to see if it's throwing any codes.

[bionictony]

oh yeah. and that chip went for about $100 new at honda..

[CReXin88]

Once my car died on me as I was coming of the freeway and i had to coast it into a bp gas station. The car would rotate but start up. And sometimes it would backfire. It took me two days to figure what it was and it ws the rotary button. For some reason it came off. So check that out also.