I have a 94 Integra that has without warning decided it will not start. The car ran fine before hand, and when I came home I parked it in the garage. I backed the car out of the garage and into the driveway and left it parked for six days. I went to start the car and it wouldn't start. It kind of sputtered a few times like it would start, but ultimately it did not. I wanted to check it if were a fuel problem so I sprayed starting fluid into the intake manifold. It still wouldn't start so I checked for spark. It did have spark, however 3 of the 4 sparkplugs were partially submerved in oil. Because of this, I replaced the valve cover gaskets, the sparkplugs, and wires. The car still didn't start. I went to the Honda dealer, and they suggested I replace the coil and igniter...so I replaced both (even though it had spark). I also checked the main/fuel relay (under the dash) and it is working fine. I'm puzzled by what can be causing the sudden death of this car. What should I look at next? Could the TDC sensor be giving out wrong information yielding a condition similar to improper plug wiring? Does anyone have any good ideas before I end up having it towed? Thanks in advance.

 

Maybe timing? Spark, timing, air/fuel is what runs a car (basically). That helps me diagnose what is wrong normally

 

battery??

 

I can safely say it's not the battery; after cranking the piss out of it, I recharged it to full charge. I'm not sure why or how, but for I'm guessing (guessing is the operative word) that it has somehow jumped time. That's how it's acting. Upon inspection, the belt looks fine, has already been replaced, and has another 30,000 miles to go before it's next scheduled changing. In any event, it's most likely getting towed to the dealer today. I'm getting tired of screwing around with it. This is the first foreign car I've ever owned and quite possibly the last. I have NEVER owned a car that let me down without warning. Don't get me wrong, I have had let downs...but I also had warnings in advance; which for whatever reason at that time I did not heed. I bought it used and the owner had fairly meticulous records. He used Mobil-1 oil, changed it frequently, and had receipts for all the recommended maintenance performed at the dealer (except for changing the transmission fluid...which escapes me). In any event, the car has not been abused and I'm very disappointed in it's poor performance. I am therefore confused over all the hype generated about the superiority of foreign cars. After what I'm assuming will be several hundred dollar diagnosis/repair cost, I will include a new post cluing everyone in on what's wrong with it.

 

I'm having the same exact problem with a '91 Integra LS
It's happened twice before, but eventually got it started and then it would run fine for an extended period of time, then when you least expect it - bam it happened again.

It's definitely some sort of timing issue - maybe vacuum, or electronic control...I'll let you know what I find if you'll do the same

 

OK, here's what happened with the POS. I had the car towed to the Honda dealer ($90). Upon arrival at the dealer, I went to grab one of the key-drop envelopes, and upon returning to where the car had just been deposited, the tow truck driver claimed he'd started my car. So I told him to try it again. The car started, reluctantly, and by tapping on the accelerator we managed to keep it running until it smoothed out and ran on it's own. After it ran for a few minutes, we drove it around and it seemed fine. So I paid the towing company, and drove it some more. It ran fine. I left it at the Honda dealer in case it did the same thing after it cooled off. The next morning, I went to the Honda dealer and it started right up. I left the car with the service manager who drove it some more...and he found nothing. So there you have it. It's all a big @#$%ing mystery. I put a new cap & rotor in it when I brought it home (I hope it helps). One part I did leave out of this whole saga was that earlier during the day it was towed, I actually had the thing running for about 1.5 seconds. Unfortunately, I was in the passenger seat and couldn't get to the accelerator to try and 'help' it along. The only thing I have noticed since this whole thing happened is that two times I've started it (after it's cooled off or is cold) and the RPMs fluctuated between 2000 & 1750 in about 1-1.5 second intervals. After the car has started to warm up the car would run steady around 1000 RPMs. Again, if anyone has any clues please let me know! THANKS!!

 

We found that the whole ignition distribution system on my daughter's 91 Integra was shot, and what finally killed it was a leaky radiator spraying a fine mist on the cap/wires. On thorough inspection the distributor shaft was worn out. So distributor, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, radiator, hoses, thermostat, all at one time.

Total bill: $850.00 (includes flush/new coolant, supplies, tax, etc.)

 

I had a similar problem in my '86 Corolla... it wound up being vacuum leaks. Make a soapy water solution and spread it on your vacuum hoses while the car is running... you'll get bubbles where it leaks, and you'll hear the sound of it trying to suck...

After replacing 3 sections of vacuum lines (total cost ~$5.00 and about an hour of time) the car idled like a dream, and it stopped "dieseling" when it was shut off...

 

Fortunately the car has a new radiator (little over a year old), new plugs, new wires, new cap, new rotor...but, I will check it out for vacuum leaks when the weather warms up (unless it quits before then). There are other things that I'll replace that according to the previous owner's receipts aren't very old as well such as the fuel filter, etc. I'm still not convinced that a sensor, like the TDC sensor wasn't giving out some weird information causing it to be out of time. Maybe I'd be better off selling it based on it's perceived reputation and let some 'gung-ho for foreign cars dope' think they're buying a gem only to find out it's a turd in a jewel box! If I don't do that, I guess I should get AAA so I can have it towed for free. Keep the clues coming, thanks!

 

doubtful but ECU?