VFR750F

Hey all...

Noob here h: , so please go easy on me



Here are the specs, followed by the gorry details of the mishap:

The car is a bone-stock, 1993 Civic EX Coupe, D16Z6 engine, S20 Manual Tranny with 128k -until now, troublefree - miles on it.
The required regular maintenance has always been performed on it according to the service schedule in the "Owner's Manual", with the exception of the fuel filter, which was never changed (I was just about to tackle it, at the end of July while on vacation).
This morning I was driving it back home, after a 4 mile round-trip to the local SuperTarget, when at about 500 yards away from my house, the engine abruptly shuts off. There was NO sputtering or any gradual loss of power in the engine. It was as if someone had turned the key in the ignition to the OFF position. I was able to coast without engine power for another 2-300 yards until the car came to a complete stop. I cranked it twice for at least 5-8 seconds, but it did not start: the starter had plenty of power though. I let it sit parked on the side of the road for about 4-5 hours to cool down (well, at least as much cooling as a sunny Texas summer day of 99F will allow, and then tried to start again. Unfortunately same results. The starter cranks normally-like it always does-but the engine does not catch on.

Any suggestions as to where I should start the diagnostic process? I am at a total loss here.
I have access to a friends Actron CP9135 and Factory Service Manual.

Many thanks guys.

glloyd1

Sounds like your timing belt went out. A long time ago I had a farfromgruven that had the same behavior randomly however it would start after a random period of time sitting, that turned out be be a faulty oil pressure sensor shorting out the ignition coil

I'm no expert though.

b.st0ne

well there are a few things u can check i myself am not good with cars but ive had 2 cars which ran outta oil n da engine did da same thing one was a civic the other car was a camry both ran outta oil n da engine died check for oil in da engine if theres oil den check the timing belt like qlloyd1 said

mattc28

Yeah, it definitely sounds like the timing belt... check that out.

ari_one

1. Gas in tank?
2. Oil?
3. Take top timing belt cover off and take a peak

Above ok, get back to us.

braatenj

Since you said the fuel filter has never been replaced you could try giving that a shot, you can usually pick one of those up pretty cheap, like $10. It may or may not be the problem but I have seen fuel filters that are so clogged that it wont let the car start... You may want to look at the timing belt to make sure it didn't break before you throw money at it, but that one is up to you.

Also, did you hear anything happen when the car died, any strange noises or anything?

mattc28

Another thing it could be, i ran into this problem a couple months ago.. I filled up my gas tank.. the next day i was driving and it randomly died. It took me a while but it started up, ran like total shit back to my house. I put a bottle of octane booster adn then it was all better. Never filling up my gas tank there again, the damn terrorists are filling the tanks with water!!

A-series

I'd be willing to bet it's your ignition coil, or (and this is less likely if you haven't been messing under the dizzy cap) something came loose under the distributor cap.

When the coil on my '92 EX went, it was idling normally and turned off just as if someone had turned the key to off. Then would crank normally with no results, same as your situation.

If you do a search on this forum, you'll find the resistance specs for the coil on your car (and mine). Easy to check with a volt/ohm meter.

From a price perspective, It would be best to get an oem coil (if that's the problem) from hondaautomotiveparts.com (what I should have done) as you can't really beat that price at an auto parts store, but you'll have to wait for it to be shipped.

edit: and if the timing belt broke, it would turn over faster than normal. The belt jumping several teeth so it would just shut off like that all of a sudden is very unlikely.

personman93

i used to own a 90 DX that the same thing happened to it. timing belt disintegrated.

raiden571

its probably not a t-belt. it still cranks over with out making any odd noises, so hes didnt break a fucking timing belt. i dont understand how several people in a row who dont know shit about cars tell someone they probably broke there t-belt. and if there was no oil in it, the engine would start to sound like complete shit and the oil pressure light would be on. whoever ruined 2 cars this way should buy a bike and wreck it into a tree or go buy a rope and find a tree.
first see if you have spark. pull one of your plugs and put it in your plug wire and crank it over a few times, are you getting spark? also, check to make sure your fuel pump is turning on when you put your key in the on position, can you hear the 2-3 second buzz? also, are there any CEL's, if so what are they.
now if there is no spark and you can hear the pump, its probably your coil or control module. if the pump isnt kicking on, the pump could have died, but thats unlikely, id lean more toward your main relay.
i would bet it is either your control module or main relay. also, look over your engine grounds and make sure there tight and in good shape.
if you have spark and you have fuel then let us know, but im betting its one of the two