glueslabs

I need some help troubleshooting this. My Civic stalled on me the other day and now won't start. Battery is fine, it turns over but won't fire up. It just cranks and cranks. A possible related problem I've had in the past is that I'll drive it a short while, stop the engine, and when I go to restart I have to crank it a bit and try like 6-7 times before it'll start. It has always started eventually and never has it stalled out like this. Any ideas? Main relay, fuel pump? I have a Helms, but am a real beginner. Much thanks for any help. This is my only transport; help me get to Thanksgiving dinner! : )

malfuncion

is the check engine light stayin on when you try to start it? you know when you start your car, the cel comes on for a brief second then your fuel pump humms then it starts...if the cel is stayin on and not clickin off its prolly the main relay. umm can you hear the fuel pump? is there fuel pressure? its turning over but is it sparking? i know my car does the same thing, wont start soemtimes until a 1000 cranks..its my main relay. i just kick the hell out of my dash right under the coin tray...swift boot to the head and my cel turns off, and then it starts right up.

glueslabs

thanks for the tips. i'll try this stuff tonight.

crxb16er

basic maintanance, spark plugs, cap and rotor, spark plug wires, fuel filter, air filter to start with.

glueslabs

i've taken a look and it doesn't seem to be electrical. i checked fuses, the main relay, etc. the engine light goes off after 2 seconds like it should after turning the car on, and the relay clicks. i don't know if i can hear the fuel pump; what should i listen for? according to my helms, the damn thing is under the rear seat!

crxb16er: good thinking. i had to replace half of the ignition system a few years ago (incl. new dist, plugs, wires, rotor). the air filter is fine--looks brand new. fuel filter, on the other hand... am i right in thinking i have to take out the rear seat for that too?

thanks again for any help. as a beginner, diagnosing this stuff is the hardest part.

glueslabs

one more thing: again, i'm a newbie so maybe this doesn't matter, but i keep forgetting to mention this weird thing about my brakes. after the car stalled, my brake pedal no longer gives at all. it's completely stiff. does that have anything to do with anything?

crxb16er

nah thats normal the brake system will lock and the brake booster will no longer work unless the car is on. the fuel filter is in the engine bay very easy to replace if u don't mind getting some gas on ur hands its on the firewall on the passenger side u can follow the fuel rail down to it. good luck and just to let u know almost all problems with cars come down to basic maintainance. well 90% of the time.

jc836

Depending on age, mileage and the Codes (if any) from the ECU you could have a failure inside the distributor. If you turn the key to the ON position and see 4 short blinks, it is possible that the distributor will need to be replaced. Another way to determine is the distributor is failing is to look carefully inside the cap and on the plastic and see if there are fine red sut particles-that is the bearing failing. There are other parts in there that can fail such as the Ignitor and coil.

You need to run the diagnostic flow chart in the Helm. Be sure that all of your basic service work is OK. Hope this points you in the right direction.

crxb16er

unless the dizzy is leaking oil or starts pinging like crazy at high rpms (indications of bearing failure, or ignitor toasted) then u just need to do a cap and rotor, cap and rotor and ignition wires are supposed to be replaced approximately every 12k miles, or once a year at least now noone does this. just check the condition of the terminals on the cap and the rotor. and once u finally get the car starting while its dark take a look at the spark plug wires if they need replaced u will see small archs of electricity where the wiring has started to fail. also check ur spark plugs for sure i replace mine at least every 12k miles and alot of the time earlier they are the best indicator of what is going on inside ur engine.

glueslabs

nope, no error codes from the ECU. i forgot to mention i checked that already. jc836: can you tell me which chart to go through for this? as a beginner, the helms is a bit overwhelming. makes diagnostics a bitch for me.

thanks for your help, guys.