At least, no one has been able to help me yet. There might be some cash or D16A6 parts (AEM intake, K&N, other extras I have lying around, etc) in it if someone can help me figure out the actual problem and how to fix it!
A few months ago the engine in my 1990 civic suddenly died on the highway, and I had to get it towed home. I thought it was blown so it sat for a few months before I tried to figure out what went wrong. Anyway, this week I found that the distributor rotor had just flown off the shaft due to a loose screw. So the distributor is back together and the car cranks fine, but won't start because there is no spark to the plugs.
The problem seems to be BEFORE the distributor/ignitor, so simply installing a new distributor or ignitor is not the answer:
I get the brief check engine light and single (non-repeating) ecu flash when I turn the ignition on, with no codes flashing, so the ECU seems to be alive. Also, because there are no ECU codes, I think the distributor sensors are OK as well. What I did find was that there is a problem with the ignitor wiring. There are 4 wires leading to the ignitor, the +12V ignition and +12V trigger wires, which are fine, and the ECU and TACH wires, which are the problem. According to Helms, I should have continuity to ground on the ECU and TACH wires, but I do not. I checked/cleaned ALL the ground points, and the ECU and TACH wires are physically fine (there is continuity from the ignitor end of each wire all the way to the ECU and tach.) They just don't see ground which I guess would indicate a dead ECU and tach. But since the ECU powers up, gives a single (non-repeating) flash, and lights the check engine light, how can it be dead? Shouldn't I get a repeating single flash, or some other code, or if totally dead, no CEL light-up at all?
I'm open to ANY suggestions or opinions, I can't think of what else to try. I don't have an extra ECU to test with, so that is not an option at the moment. I really am trying to figure out what the lack of continuity to ground means, and what can be done to further diagnose and or fix the problem. THANK YOU in advance to anyone that can help me out, I am really stuck!
Jon
1990 Civic 4WD 1.6 D16A6
pagemaker20@hotmail.com