94 civic no start

djblondi · #1 02-25-2005, 08:54 PM

Hi there;

About two months ago, when a big snowstorm came down and dropped 7-10" snow here in New Jersey, USA, it was the first time my car didn't start in the morning. Let me tell you precisely what happened. As always, when i went to start my car in the morning, instead of the check engine light coming on for 2-3 seconds and going off, this time it stayed on and i didn't hear the clicking sound. It did crank up but it didn't start. (I have a 94' Honda Civic by the way). When i came back in the afternoon to try it once more, this time it did start right away. This happened to me again later that week. I did the same thing and i was able to start it in the afternoon.

So fast forward, until a couple of days ago, i had no problems but when we had another 5-6" of snow, same thing happened. Actually this time, all of the sudden, the car stopped running in the middle of the road. When i tried it right after it stopped, it worked but i was nervous. After that night, following morning, i couldn't start it again. Up to now, it still is not working. And that's the whole story.
So i was wondering if you guys could give me some recommendations on that. Thank you very much

DJ

civickiller · #2 02-25-2005, 08:58 PM

what is the code ?

djblondi · #3 02-26-2005, 02:28 PM

i did try to read the code this morning and all of the sudden, again like last time, car started to run again. Now i can't read the code since it's working. I took the car to Midas, they said they couldn't do anything either since the check engine light is not on. I have no idea what's going on. Would it be related to cold weather and may it recur in another cold weather? Or what could it be?

DJ

civickiller · #4 02-26-2005, 07:00 PM

the code should be stored in the ecu

blackcivic19 · #5 02-27-2005, 08:31 PM

Most cars have a cold start sensor that could be your problem, but even if the cel doesn't come on, the diagnostic test will still pick up the thrown code.. my cel didn't come on when my vtec stopped working but I did a test and it flashed and I got the code..

djblondi · #6 04-11-2005, 10:32 AM

Hey there;
After a while, i am replying again. Let me tell you what i've done to solve the problem. First of all, let me recap what's been happening with my car for the past 3 months. It basically sometimes doesn't start and CEL comes on and stays on. The car cranks, lights come on while the radio doesn't work at all. After 1-2-3 minutes, the radio resets itself and the car starts with no CEL on.
Second, the car dies out every once in a while (3-4 times a day) while driving and CEL comes back on. I usually pull over to the shoulder. Again 1-2 minutes later, the car starts while CEL goes away.
What I've done so far:
-Took it to a mechanic, he said it'd be the main relay going bad, I've had it changed. Nothing happened.
-Took it to Midas twice hoping to have the code read through CEL. They couldn't, they said no code stored. Also they said, alternator is working fine.
-Changed the battery thinking that it doesn't supply enough power for the car to start. Nothing happened..
- Took it to Honda dealer for inspection. They said i MAY need a tuneup and that'd be a starting point. Couldn't pinpoint exactly what's the problem since it happens intermittingly.
-Nowadays planning to change the timing belt after i looked up on the Net and found out the common symptom before changing the timing belt is that the engine stops sometimes. Hopefully it'll work..

Any suggestions, guys? I really would like to hear from you..
Thanks so much!

bob stone · #7 04-12-2005, 08:11 AM

Lol at the chance to snd like a broken record...

on some hondas they have a chip right next/in the distrubitor cap, this chip is knowen to go bad due to heat problems. happend in my car. will cause the car to just die and then you have to wait for a while for it to start again, another thing, if it is this chip it will just get worse. mine started once a 2 week pierod it would do it, by the end it was happing all the dang time. this chip is like 100-150 dollars. your mech should of checked this, mine ( who works on chevys and fords ect... cars for the most part imeditally checked this item ) also the honda guys saying to get a tune up. a tune up is a good idea but they just wanna get money from you :P check the chip I was talking about, find a good mech or ask honda about it. it really snds like that might be your issue.

any ways good luck

civickiller · #8 04-12-2005, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bob stone

Lol at the chance to snd like a broken record...

on some hondas they have a chip right next/in the distrubitor cap, this chip is knowen to go bad due to heat problems. happend in my car. will cause the car to just die and then you have to wait for a while for it to start again, another thing, if it is this chip it will just get worse. mine started once a 2 week pierod it would do it, by the end it was happing all the dang time. this chip is like 100-150 dollars. your mech should of checked this, mine ( who works on chevys and fords ect... cars for the most part imeditally checked this item ) also the honda guys saying to get a tune up. a tune up is a good idea but they just wanna get money from you :P check the chip I was talking about, find a good mech or ask honda about it. it really snds like that might be your issue.

any ways good luck

you know i have no idea what chip you are talking about and i know civic engines pretty good.

civickiller · #9 04-12-2005, 06:27 PM

the ecu stores the code, whether or not the CEL is on, if it flashes once, the code will be stored in the ecu till it is cleared. find out what code your being thrown

superbluecivicsi · #10 04-12-2005, 09:03 PM

#1 get the CEL.

you have electrical? you check for spark????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????

bob stone · #11 04-13-2005, 07:48 AM

well i was saying some hondas, my car was an accord, I wish i knew what it was called, but I had to replace the chip and i picked it up my self from the dealership and had my mech install it. I will look around and see if i can get the name of it for you

superbluecivicsi · #12 04-13-2005, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bob stone

Lol at the chance to snd like a broken record...

on some hondas they have a chip right next/in the distrubitor cap, this chip is knowen to go bad due to heat problems. happend in my car. will cause the car to just die and then you have to wait for a while for it to start again, another thing, if it is this chip it will just get worse. mine started once a 2 week pierod it would do it, by the end it was happing all the dang time. this chip is like 100-150 dollars. your mech should of checked this, mine ( who works on chevys and fords ect... cars for the most part imeditally checked this item ) also the honda guys saying to get a tune up. a tune up is a good idea but they just wanna get money from you :P check the chip I was talking about, find a good mech or ask honda about it. it really snds like that might be your issue.

any ways good luck

i believe he is referring to the coil.

anyways, check for spark? cap, rotor, coil, wires, plugs.

ps: the CEL is important.

djblondi · #13 04-14-2005, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superbluecivicsi

i believe he is referring to the coil.

anyways, check for spark? cap, rotor, coil, wires, plugs.

ps: the CEL is important.

Fellas, first of all, thanks for all those responses. "Bob Stone"'s article might help cos that's what exactly is happening to my car nowadays. It started out as every two-three weeks period. Now, it's happening twice-three times a day. And when it dies, you just have to wait 2-3 minutes to start and it will. If that's called coil, I will go ask for that ASAP. Or what is it exactly called?

For those who said the thrown code can be picked up, I did try to read CEL code when the car died out by sticking a needle. Nothing's flashing. Plus I had the mech check it and neither was he able to read anything.

bob stone · #14 04-15-2005, 01:58 AM

wow wish I could rember exactly what it was, but if you look at the distrubiter cap it is like a resonbly big chip that fits in to the bottom part of it, it very well might have been an electrionic coil ? wish I could give a better explanition, btw this was on an accord, I figure it would be on other hondas but it might be diffrent on your, however what ever it is called my mech told me it is a common problem on my car so I figured it might be an issue with the year of hondas, I had a 92-93 ( cant rember which) and your is a 94 so I figured they used the same part. any ways if it is that part and you car has the same style one, ask about coil and if that is not it ask about a chip near / in the distrubitor ?? best of luck

superbluecivicsi · #15 04-15-2005, 11:50 AM

like what has been said before..............checking for spark will narrow your search. no spark..........then....................that narrows it down to the ignition system. why drop $100 on a new coil if you dont check if its working first. it might not even be the coil. it may be the rotor, cap, or dizzy.

you can just pull the coil and give it a look. 5 - 10mins of your time.

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