Hey guys, I have a 93 Civic DX Coupe with a 1.5L. As i was driving it started to stall out and it died. It cranks but doesn't fire. So I checked for spark from the plugs and got nothing. The timing belt is intact and was recently changed about 2 months ago. Fuel pump primes and I smell gas in the spark plug holes. New plugs but the cap and rotor are what was on it when i bought it. If it aint broke dont fix it right?

So I took the distributor off and went and got a new one and i put it on. Note: When you take the cap off, there is this black shield underneath the rotor. I noticed some interference when i installed it on the new dist. So anyway I bolted it back in and nothing. So i took the shit apart again and the rotor had broken where the screw holds it in place.

Has anyone had this problem before where the shield interfered with the rotor?
Does it matter if i take it off?
Or will it leave the metal underneath a potential spark problem?
Any other problem that could be causing it not to start?

 

I would think that it is just sitting in there funny or something. It seems like on mine it is super close and maybe did interfere a bit. It also seems like my last one busted up and I ran without it (my memory is fried on this one). BUT, I think you should make every effort to leave it in there.

Before you replace a whole distributor and spend a bunch of money on it, you should realize that all the parts in there are testable. If I'm right, you should only have to replace the body if the bearings are fried (happend to me) or if the insulation is all cracked on the wires in there (happedend to me a few years after the bearing problem. Luckily, I kept the body with the fried bearings and swaped out the wiring).

Make sure you are getting voltage to the distributor.

 

I had that same problem with my crx before. I was just driving and next thing you know it died down. it crank but it wont start. I replace my main relay and it work. I dont know if it work with your car but it's worth the try.

 

Hey man, the exact same thing happened to me. I was just driving and then bam, it died. I replaced the cap, rotor, new plugs......still nothing. Come to find out, the coil went out. I bought a new one, put it on and it fired up like new. I bought it for about 60 bucks, of course I went ahead and bought an MSD high output coil. And so you no, that little black piece of plastic under the rotor......it hides the coil since its internal. Give it a try and let me know. Later=)

 

sounds like your coil

 

happened on my '94 sol... D15b7. my dizzy was blown to bits (litterally blew apart inside it's cases). replaced it, worked great. might be your coil though.