Stupid Question

[jpfergu]

Hey, about my 88 Civ LX that won't start- I've noticed in some posts the comment that sometimes people forget the most obvious things to check, like being out of gas or something. Well, I have gas, but I was wondering, what order on the dist cap do the wires plug in. For all I know the person I got it from put em on weird. It sounds stupid but I've replaced half my electrical system already. Battery, coil, igniter, rotor, plugs-that's like $125 already. I can't put thousands into a show car if it won't even start!
-J
P.s. I pulled a distributor at the local junkyard-ended up testing my igniter and it was good, so maybe I'll use the rest of the dizzy if all else fails (It was only $27).

[bambam89lx]

Originally Posted by jpfergu

Hey, about my 88 Civ LX that won't start- I've noticed in some posts the comment that sometimes people forget the most obvious things to check, like being out of gas or something. Well, I have gas, but I was wondering, what order on the dist cap do the wires plug in. For all I know the person I got it from put em on weird. It sounds stupid but I've replaced half my electrical system already. Battery, coil, igniter, rotor, plugs-that's like $125 already. I can't put thousands into a show car if it won't even start!
-J
P.s. I pulled a distributor at the local junkyard-ended up testing my igniter and it was good, so maybe I'll use the rest of the dizzy if all else fails (It was only $27).

here's an easy way to remember it. You should first know the firing order. It's 1,3,4,2. That's the same for any honda/acura 4 cylinder, and any other inline four for that matter (that I'm aware of). Look at your distributor cap. One side of the cap is square shape while the other side is the round shape. Starting with the rounded side, in the top right corner of it, that's 1. Then going clockwise it's 3,4,2. On the engine, the first cylinder is all the way to the right (timing belt side) and the fourth cylinder is all the way on the left (transmission side). Hopefully you can count the two in the middle.

here's a pic for you too...but try to remember, so you don't always have to go back and look. It's the same way for all dseries/bseries.

[CRXperiment]

Whenever im thinking of cylinder number locations, i think of Four= Distibutor. The number 4 cylinder is next to the distributor... since Four and Distributor kinda rhyme.

[sblkcamaro70]

Originally Posted by CRXperiment

Whenever im thinking of cylinder number locations, i think of Four= Distibutor. The number 4 cylinder is next to the distributor... since Four and Distributor kinda rhyme.

what ever works.

[2poor2tune]

Originally Posted by CRXperiment

Whenever im thinking of cylinder number locations, i think of Four= Distibutor. The number 4 cylinder is next to the distributor... since Four and Distributor kinda rhyme.

haha that made me laugh. i think on my zc (dohc) it was diagnal. it was more of a dimond than a square. when in the engine bay. but as for the problem at hand. my friend bought a integra and it had a wiring problem. all you did was press down on the wire in cyl. 4 and it would run like a dream. i guess what im saying is check the wires. could be them as well as anything else.