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Car wont start! has fuel but lil spark..?

18K views 23 replies 10 participants last post by  Sebas2000dc4 
#1 ·
So im driving down the street and i approach somewhat of a long inclined road. i gas it obviously to avoid losing any speed when i notice my car get stuck at the rpm as i press the gas...seconds go buy and the car starts slowing down and then completely fails on me. so i was left on the side of the road. i tried to re start it and its like it started but not all the way..as in it was bogging out at start. like a lawn more when your pulling the string and you here the combustion put it just doesnt turn on....i thought it was a gas problem but i had just filled up...so that couldnt be it...ive checked all the gas lines and made sure there was pressure at every point and that it was spraying fuel through the injectors. Next i figured it wasnt getting spark so i replaced all my spark plugs..nothing. after i did that i noticed there was no spark getting to the spark plugs...i figured the wires were at fault so i bought new ones...nothing...took apart the distributor and replaced the rotor...tryed it. still nothing... figured it was my relay or my ignition coil...i tryed my relay on my friends car and it ran fine. ended up replacing my distributor figured that was it for sure and nothing! ive ran out of ideas and money...i need to fix this asap. my family mechanic to a look at it and he suggested that the ecu might need to be replaced...i thought that was completely bogus...i highly doubt the ecu is the problem here....any suggestions??
 
#2 ·
If you do a bit of searching you will find many others who have very similar problems...

With regards to your issue, here's a quote from one of the mods:

If you can match these, then the coil is most likely the problem:

- dies while driving it, for no reason
- won't start, just cranks
- you can hear the fuel pump, or smell gas
- no spark from any of the wires

Honda's will run forever! (as long as you have 10 spare coils with you, lol)


Did you check for spark by grounding one of the wires?
 
#3 ·
BaMBaM4002 on Dec/01/08 said:
If you do a bit of searching you will find many others who have very similar problems...

With regards to your issue, here's a quote from one of the mods:

If you can match these, then the coil is most likely the problem:

- dies while driving it, for no reason
- won't start, just cranks
- you can hear the fuel pump, or smell gas
- no spark from any of the wires

Honda's will run forever! (as long as you have 10 spare coils with you, lol)


Did you check for spark by grounding one of the wires?
lol, Hero just posted that.



You wouldnt have wasted your money if you stopped guessing what was wrong and replacing things and took time to actually figure out whats wrong. thats usually where this site helps.

Regardless, check the stuff BaMBaM4002 (Hero) posted.

lol
 
#5 ·
if he's already replaced the distributor then its not the tdc/cyk sensor as above. it is internal to the distributor.

FIRST thing to do before even touching the distributor is checking for voltage at the two prong harness going into it. i believe it is a black/yellow wire and just use a test light to see if its getting power. if you've replaced the distributor and it is getting power, then yes the ecu is the next culprit!

if you want i can dig up flowcharts for it, but it will say to test with a good ecu. you could have shredded a timing belt as it would keep the distributor from turning, but it wouldn't have died on you like that.
 
#6 ·
BaMBaM4002 on Dec/01/08 said:
If you do a bit of searching you will find many others who have very similar problems...

With regards to your issue, here's a quote from one of the mods:

If you can match these, then the coil is most likely the problem:

- dies while driving it, for no reason
- won't start, just cranks
- you can hear the fuel pump, or smell gas
- no spark from any of the wires

Honda's will run forever! (as long as you have 10 spare coils with you, lol)


Did you check for spark by grounding one of the wires?
ok...so after replacing everything, i do have spark coming from my wires...however, the family mechanic just said that the injectors werent getting a signal?? what could it be then??
 
#7 ·
theivjackal on Dec/01/08 said:
Could be a cam/crank shaft position sensor. When those go out, it wont let the coil give power to the plugs.
The 4 things you need for an engine to start.
1. Compression
2. Timing
3. Spark
4. Fuel

Keep us posted!
my mechanic said that he checked that...and it was fine... we also fixed the problem of not having a spark...however this has turned into a fuel problem now...the mechanic said that the injectors werent getting a signal to spray the gas....what could it be now??
 
#8 ·
95GSRJohn on Dec/01/08 said:
if he's already replaced the distributor then its not the tdc/cyk sensor as above. it is internal to the distributor.

FIRST thing to do before even touching the distributor is checking for voltage at the two prong harness going into it. i believe it is a black/yellow wire and just use a test light to see if its getting power. if you've replaced the distributor and it is getting power, then yes the ecu is the next culprit!

if you want i can dig up flowcharts for it, but it will say to test with a good ecu. you could have shredded a timing belt as it would keep the distributor from turning, but it wouldn't have died on you like that.
ok, so i get spark now...so that has been tackeled. my problem now is it still wont start...my mechanic tested the injectors and he says its not getting a signal to spray...what could it be then??? and as for the ecu theory...mines a 2000 ls....and it has that security feature with the key. wouldnt i need to re program it to the new ucu before i even try it?? or a buddy of mine has a obd2 to obd1 conversion harness with his ecu....would my car run with that set up and by pass the key security or no?? just so i can try and start the car?? if not what kind of ecu would i have to replace it with because i have a manual conversion and im still running the auto ecu...
 
#9 ·
if you have spark now and no pulse to the injectors you are going to have to test for voltage to the injectors at the ecu. don't buy a new ecu yet you still should check the wiring for opens first.

the first to check is in the harness for the pgmfi relay. there are two relays in that, the first supplies voltage from the ecu to the injectors and the second primes the fuel pump for two seconds. test for voltage at the relay connector from the black terminal in the upper left of the connector. it will be next to the empty pin. black to body ground should give you battery voltage.

if that's okay then do this at the ecu:



as far as the security feature, i imagine if there was a problem with the new ecu that acura would be able to reflash it for you.
 
#11 ·
95GSRJohn on Dec/02/08 said:
if you have spark now and no pulse to the injectors you are going to have to test for voltage to the injectors at the ecu. don't buy a new ecu yet you still should check the wiring for opens first.

the first to check is in the harness for the pgmfi relay. there are two relays in that, the first supplies voltage from the ecu to the injectors and the second primes the fuel pump for two seconds. test for voltage at the relay connector from the black terminal in the upper left of the connector. it will be next to the empty pin. black to body ground should give you battery voltage.

if that's okay then do this at the ecu:



as far as the security feature, i imagine if there was a problem with the new ecu that acura would be able to reflash it for you.
ok so theres voltage on both the relays and harness. thanks for that diagram..helped alot! so, its going to be the ecu...since its an auto ecu..i was thinking about doing the converison harness to obd1 getting a manual ecu and getting it tuned on chrome... do you know if the harness eliminates the key having to be synced with the ecu keeping it from starting???
 
#13 ·
Infamousjulian on Dec/01/08 said:
Quote: 95GSRJohn on Dec/01/08if he's already replaced the distributor then its not the tdc/cyk sensor as above. it is internal to the distributor.
FIRST thing to do before even touching the distributor is checking for voltage at the two prong harness going into it. i believe it is a black/yellow wire and just use a test light to see if its getting power. if you've replaced the distributor and it is getting power, then yes the ecu is the next culprit!

if you want i can dig up flowcharts for it, but it will say to test with a good ecu. you could have shredded a timing belt as it would keep the distributor from turning, but it wouldn't have died on you like that.

ok, so i get spark now...so that has been tackeled. my problem now is it still wont start...my mechanic tested the injectors and he says its not getting a signal to spray...what could it be then??? and as for the ecu theory...mines a 2000 ls....and it has that security feature with the key. wouldnt i need to re program it to the new ucu before i even try it?? or a buddy of mine has a obd2 to obd1 conversion harness with his ecu....would my car run with that set up and by pass the key security or no?? just so i can try and start the car?? if not what kind of ecu would i have to replace it with because i have a manual conversion and im still running the auto ecu...
For clarification purposes:

YOUR ECM is an OBDIIb which uses the "Immobilization" feature...you will need an OBDIIb to OBDI conversion harness. Skunk2 sells it for $150 avg price. (P/N 201-05-0130) and eBay has some knockoff for about $30.
This conversion harness is meant for enabling your 2000-2001 Integra (or even 99-01 Civics/Accords etc.) to use a 1992-1995 ECU.
In YOUR case you will need a 94 or 95 LS 5sp. ECU.
(you can do P28 or P72 easily)

MY ECM is an OBDIa which does NOT use the "Immobilization" feature like the successors...I use an OBDIIa to OBDI conversion harness to enable my 1996-1999 Integra to use a 1992-1995 ODBI ECU.
In MY case I use a 95 P72 GSR 5sp. ECU.

So...if your friend has the first above-mentioned ECU + conversion harness then by all means try it out and see if it works, otherwise i suggest getting the jumper harness first and then trying someones OBDI ECU...if of course it has come down to the ECU being the suspect.
 
#17 ·
Now i have another odd question... i cant remember if the car starts without a MAP sensor, or even a faulty MAP sensor..? i know that it lets the ECu know the Manifold Pressure which in effect controls fuel delivery and is necessary to calculate air density and determine the engine's air mass flow rate...which is of course used to calculate the appropriate fuel flow..lol so would this be a potential problem..just an abstract thought...
 
#18 ·
BaMBaM4002 on Dec/03/08 said:
Quote: Infamousjulian on Dec/01/08Quote: 95GSRJohn on Dec/01/08if he's already replaced the distributor then its not the tdc/cyk sensor as above. it is internal to the distributor. FIRST thing to do before even touching the distributor is checking for voltage at the two prong harness going into it. i believe it is a black/yellow wire and just use a test light to see if its getting power. if you've replaced the distributor and it is getting power, then yes the ecu is the next culprit!

if you want i can dig up flowcharts for it, but it will say to test with a good ecu. you could have shredded a timing belt as it would keep the distributor from turning, but it wouldn't have died on you like that.

ok, so i get spark now...so that has been tackeled. my problem now is it still wont start...my mechanic tested the injectors and he says its not getting a signal to spray...what could it be then??? and as for the ecu theory...mines a 2000 ls....and it has that security feature with the key. wouldnt i need to re program it to the new ucu before i even try it?? or a buddy of mine has a obd2 to obd1 conversion harness with his ecu....would my car run with that set up and by pass the key security or no?? just so i can try and start the car?? if not what kind of ecu would i have to replace it with because i have a manual conversion and im still running the auto ecu...


For clarification purposes:

YOUR ECM is an OBDIIb which uses the "Immobilization" feature...you will need an OBDIIb to OBDI conversion harness. Skunk2 sells it for $150 avg price. (P/N 201-05-0130) and eBay has some knockoff for about $30.
This conversion harness is meant for enabling your 2000-2001 Integra (or even 99-01 Civics/Accords etc.) to use a 1992-1995 ECU.
In YOUR case you will need a 94 or 95 LS 5sp. ECU.
(you can do P28 or P72 easily)

MY ECM is an OBDIa which does NOT use the "Immobilization" feature like the successors...I use an OBDIIa to OBDI conversion harness to enable my 1996-1999 Integra to use a 1992-1995 ODBI ECU.
In MY case I use a 95 P72 GSR 5sp. ECU.

So...if your friend has the first above-mentioned ECU + conversion harness then by all means try it out and see if it works, otherwise i suggest getting the jumper harness first and then trying someones OBDI ECU...if of course it has come down to the ECU being the suspect.


cool. got it. Now i'm left with one more question, which key can i use? I am assuming i can still use my current key with the chip inside, but i want to know if i can go get a regular key made, without the chip (obviously much cheaper)
I guess this question is rather directed to the OBDIIb people who have converted to OBDI ECUs....
 
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