having problems with 91 honda civic dx

suzzeq wrote:
 > having problems with honda not starting, replaced coil, rotor button,
 > cap, wires, plugs, ignitor module, and it is getting fuel. anyone
 > with suggestions?? i am getting desperate here. thanks!
 >

-------------------------

What's the mileage, WHEN does it not start (does it ever start?), how
did you determine it's getting fuel, have you tried the 'flooded engine'
cure, from the manual? Does it stall on the highway, is it good once it
warms up, is the reservior full to the MAX line?

'Curly'<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: having problems with 91 honda civic dx 

check main relay
check inhernia switch
 >> Stay informed about: having problems with 91 honda civic dx 

mileage is 167,300
 >> Stay informed about: having problems with 91 honda civic dx 

suzzeq wrote in


 > "TeGGeR®" wrote:

  > >
  > > So what's it do?
  > >
  > > Crank all day and not even attempt to fire?
  > > Crank and sputter occasionally like it wants to start but
  > > can't?
  > > Starter whines but engine is obviously not turning?
  > > Starter clicks but does not turn engine?
  > > Fires then stalls?
  > >
  > > Need details here, boy. Help Us To Help You.
  > >
 >
 > it cranks and won’t turn over.



Hold on now. I'm trying to get you to use correct terminology here.

1) "Won't turn over" = Won't turn at all. Either only clicks from the
starter or total silence; nothing at all.
2) "Turns over (cranks) but won't fire" = You hear the starter turning the
engine (chugga-chugga-chugga), but the engine refuses to catch and run.

I suspect you have the second problem.


 > i got a book on the car which told me
 > about the ecu thing in the passenger floorboard and it had 15 flashes
 > which according to the book was the ignitor, so replaced it again.


So you had one long flash and five short ones in your sequence? That's the
Ignition Output Signal, not the igniter. This only means the ECU's not
seeing voltege where it should.

It COULD be the igniter, but could also be damaged wiring. Check the wiring
to the distributor connectors and the round connector at the front edge of
the right shock tower first. A car of the age of yours is likely to have
wiring corrosion or damage.

Turn the engine to ON (but not START). Disconnect the round connector at
the distributor. Check for battery voltage between the blk/yellow(?) wire
and a body ground. Also check white wire from distributor for damage. If it
shorts out, this can damage the igniter.


 > and by
 > the way I am not a guy)


I can't know that. About 99% of the people in car groups are male. You'll
just have to live with the mis-identification, or make your name more
recognizably female.


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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suzzeq wrote in



 > It turns over, but it won’t fire. I went on your website last night,
 > and was reading about the main relay. I was thinking of replacing it
 > next after the info from your website, about turning it over and
 > getting the 3 clicks, and hearing the fuel pump and then nothing. It
 > was having that problem sometimes, like when I would go on short stops
 > way before it ever quit running on me in traffic. As far as those
 > flashes, they were just 15 short ones, that the Haynes Repair Manual
 > said was the ignitor.



There's something not-right here. 15 short flashes is not a valid sequence.
A code 15 would be one long flash and five short ones. A long flash is a
ten, a short is a one. There will be a pause as the sequence repeats. You
may be combining flashes from different sequences.

Please re-check your flashes and count them very carefully, checking for
the presence of a long pause, which indicates the restarting of the
sequence.

And as usual, the Haynes is wrong. Code 15 is only the Ignition Output
Signal, which CAN be the igniter, but also can be anything else that
prevents the ECU from seeing voltage at the appropriate wire. If the
igniter is not receiving voltage from the IG1 terminal of the ignition
switch, it can't send back a signal to the ECU.


***DO NOT CRANK ENGINE WITH DIST CAP OFF OR PLUG WIRES DISCONNECTED. YOU
WILL DAMAGE THE COIL***


1) With the distributor cap off and the ignition ON (but not START),
disconnect the blk/yel wire from the igniter itself and check for battery
voltage between it and a body ground (not the igniter terminal). If none,
there's your problem.

2) Now remove the wht/blue wire from the other igniter terminal. Check for
battery voltage there as well. If none, there's your problem.

Turn ignition OFF.

3) Visually and physically inspect the white wire at the two connectors
mentioned before. Follow wiring along from distributor to each connector
and to firewall, looking for abraded or pinched wires. If the white is
shorted, the igniter will be damaged.

Good luck.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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 >> Stay informed about: having problems with 91 honda civic dx 

TeGGeR® wrote:
| There's something not-right here. 15 short flashes is not a valid
| sequence. A code 15 would be one long flash and five short ones.

On a '91 Civic? I thought that the diagnostic LED on the ECU blinked the
coded straight out. The long/short flashes were introduced later (92? 96?)
when there were too many codes. I do remember seeing something above 10
blinks on a friend's '88 a few years back.

| A long flash is a ten, a short is a one. There will be a pause as the
| sequence repeats. You may be combining flashes from different
| sequences.

That's definitely true for the later models, but the 88-91 is not like that
as far as I know, but could be wrong. Can't tell right now, my 88 hasn't had
any codes for quite a while now

Thanks for your excellent FAQ BTW!
 >> Stay informed about: having problems with 91 honda civic dx 

"tomb" wrote in message

 > TeGGeR® wrote:
 > | There's something not-right here. 15 short flashes is not a valid
 > | sequence. A code 15 would be one long flash and five short ones.
 >
 > On a '91 Civic? I thought that the diagnostic LED on the ECU blinked the
 > coded straight out. The long/short flashes were introduced later (92? 96?)
 > when there were too many codes. I do remember seeing something above 10
 > blinks on a friend's '88 a few years back.
 >
 > | A long flash is a ten, a short is a one. There will be a pause as the
 > | sequence repeats. You may be combining flashes from different
 > | sequences.
 >
 > That's definitely true for the later models, but the 88-91 is not like
 > that
 > as far as I know, but could be wrong. Can't tell right now, my 88 hasn't
 > had
 > any codes for quite a while now
 >
 > Thanks for your excellent FAQ BTW!
 >
 >
According to <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.iequus.com/assets/manuals/3173_ICCR_E_14JAN03.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.iequus.com/assets/manuals/3173_ICCR_E_14JAN03.pdf</a>
in the 91 Accord "Codes blink out one after the other. "Check Engine" light
will stop blinking after all codes have been displayed. Trouble codes 1 - 10
are displayed using a series of short blinks; codes 11 & up use a
combination of long and short blinks. The number of long blinks equals the
first digit and the number of short blinks indicates the second." (Page 15
of manual; page 18 of 56 in the pdf.) It looks like the long/short deal
started in 1990 for the Accord.

The 91 Civic, though, does use the series of short blinks: "Codes blinked
out by LED are separated by two second pause, then repeated. For example: 2
blinks - two second pause - 2 blinks = code 2." A couple pages down (24 of
56) code 15 is given as "Ignition Output signal" and the possible causes are
given as "Open or shorted ignition output signal circuit"

Mike<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: having problems with 91 honda civic dx 

"tomb" wrote in


 > TeGGeR® wrote:
 >| There's something not-right here. 15 short flashes is not a valid
 >| sequence. A code 15 would be one long flash and five short ones.
 >
 > On a '91 Civic? I thought that the diagnostic LED on the ECU blinked
 > the coded straight out. The long/short flashes were introduced later
 > (92? 96?) when there were too many codes.



The long-short has been around since at least the late '80s. My '91 has the
long-short combo.



--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
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