95 Civic quit running

[rustyrun]

My son was driving today down a dry hiway and went to turn on the a/c. The engine died immediately so he pulled over and turned a/c off. The motor turned freely but will not start. I replaced the alternator tonight but still will not start. Any ideas? Thanks

[Greenblurr93]

could be a million things... fuel pump....fuel filter....dizzy, cap, rotor, plugs, wires... (could also be your son..lol, no offence but are you sure he was driving "normally" and not beating the hell out of the car) also, any check engine light?

[rustyrun]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

could be a million things... fuel pump....fuel filter....dizzy, cap, rotor, plugs, wires... (could also be your son..lol, no offence but are you sure he was driving "normally" and not beating the hell out of the car) also, any check engine light?

He was with his girl and she will not let him beat the car. Guess i will start checking everything. Just thought it was odd that when he turned on the a/c it died. That is why i thought it was the alternator. Blew a diode or something. Guess the local mechanic will get my money again 'cause time ain't on my side. Thanks

[Greenblurr93]

there are many self diagnostic things you can do that wont take long or cost anything....

[Greenblurr93]

like, sit in the car, all accessories off, put the key to the on position, but dont crank it, listen for a hum, then it should stop, if you hear it, thats your fuel pump priming. or you could pull on spark plug wire and stick a screwdriver in it, then put it close to bare metal and have someone crank it, if you see spark, then your getting spark, if the spark seems weak on one wire and not the rest, change the wires...

[Greenblurr93]

you should prolly do a tune up anyway, it can hurt, its quick and easy... hell have your son do it... that will knock out most things on the list of "shit that went wrong"

[rustyrun]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

like, sit in the car, all accessories off, put the key to the on position, but dont crank it, listen for a hum, then it should stop, if you hear it, thats your fuel pump priming. or you could pull on spark plug wire and stick a screwdriver in it, then put it close to bare metal and have someone crank it, if you see spark, then your getting spark, if the spark seems weak on one wire and not the rest, change the wires...

Fuel pump primes but stuck a screwdriver in the plug wires (2) and no spark. Presume coil?

[Greenblurr93]

i dont think you have coils... u have a dizzy, sounds like a bad ignitor, easy fix to do by yourself.

[rustyrun]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

i dont think you have coils... u have a dizzy, sounds like a bad ignitor, easy fix to do by yourself.

Thanks I will try that today. Not to be stupid but what is a dizzy? Distributor?

[Greenblurr93]

yes

[snowman2005]

did u ground the spark plub when u did the test?

[rustyrun]

Yes the plug was grounded, but no spark. I have since changed the cap, rotor, wires and plugs. Still no spark. I also replaced a ground wire that aooeared to be fraying. The guy at Autozone said it was rare for a 95 civic vtec ignitor to go bad. Thing is, if I buy ($100.00 plus) and it is not at fault I cannot return it.

[Greenblurr93]

so bring it somewhere and tell them its not getting spark, that way they dotn spend hours else where while charging you an arm and a leg.

[snowman2005]

find a distributor in the junkyard. shouldnt cost that much.

[Kuntry_Boi06]

well the same thing happened to me and it was the distributor well my mom was drivin and i have a 95 also heard there distributors suxk i've went throught 2 in a year and a half.