Uhh ohh, car died =[ help!
BigBurch422
Band Wagon
Ok, so like the title says my wagon died yesterday. I was going down route 50 and I heard my window squeaking so I looked over to see what was squeaking. Well as soon as I looked over I kind of felt the car hesitate and I looked at the tach and the RPMs just dropped to zero. Crap. So I hit the gas, nothing. Crap. So I pulled over and popped the hood and I could smell some kind of burning smell kind of, and there was a little bit of smoke coming from the area of the timing belt cover. I assumed that I had broken the timing belt and was screwed, and my friends dad who towed me home agreed. But this morning I checked and the timing belt seems to be fine, although I don't know how to get it to rotate to check the whole thing. So my question is, what do you think could be wrong? It turns over, but just cranks and cranks. I know nothing about these wagons, I just bought it to deliver pizza in and 2 months later its done. Any help is appreciated...
Comments
Dont feel bad about the axle. I blew both sides at a race this weekend, lol. Runny grease everywhere....so damn messy.
viewforum.php?f=16
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SiWagon's Tips > Ignition Upgrade Info: (the 4th one down).
cap of what and what screw from what rotor?
i think i know what youre talking about but i dont know what to look for. i took the black casing thing off of the distributor, assuming thats the cap youre referring to and saw a red thing that looks like it spins. i assume thats the rotor youre talking about? but i see no screw in the rotor?
Anyway, have the dealership run the VIN to see if the Igniter Recall has been done. If it hasn't, the Igniter would be replaced for FREE, not a fortune. Also check the distributor (make sure the rotor isn't melted and twisted because thats what happens when the bearings go). The Igniter, Coil, Rotor or rotor screw falling out can all cause the problem. Timing Belts can also slip a tooth or more.
It sounds like you will have to pay someone to diagnose it though if your knowledge of cars is real limited. Just remember, a no start follows the rules of the fire triangle. For any combustion you need: Air (pretty much a given for a car usually), Fuel (make sure you are getting fuel!) and Spark (Plugs, Cap, Rotor, Coil, Ignitor, Distributor, Timing).
i could go on about other things but i've covered it before elsewhere
im gonna try that n then take it from there.
I know techs at the Honda dealer and even they say their work is overpriced, but its out of their hands. Hell theres guys on here that cant get Honda to replace their seatbelts/parts for free even when Honda has a lifetime warranty on everything seatbelt related.
Sucks your dealership gets lumped in with all the others, but you have to realize that the majority of dealerships are only about one thing...revenue. Sadly, customer satisfaction has fallen way down the list of priorities of most dealerships.
Yellowmikebike is right, Ive never had a car stop running because of the main relay. His description and symptons are 100% on teh money. If your sure thats it though, theres numorous writeups on how to fix it out there. Do a little searching.
My guess is its the ignitor or coil. 95% of the time when the 4th gen civics wont start, the issue lies within the distrubitor.
you can get remanufactured "new" ones for like $150 with lifetime warranty. which is good because i have had to replace mine about 5 times lol.. so its really shit too but still, lifetime warranty.
best bet = find a member with a nice used one in the marketplace.
IMO, if you have to replace a "lifetime" dist often, its not worth the hassle....unless you have two of them, lol.
noooooo. its very engine (namely cyl head) specific. for example, if you have a D15B2 DPFI (2WD) engine you want a dizzy for a D15B2. if you have the D16A6 MPFI (4WD) you will need a dizzy for a D16A6...etc...
Im not a 100% on this, but Im prety sure Ive used coils and ignitors from the DPFI dists in the MPFI dists.
Any 88-91 Civic with DPFI should work. But like I said, theres no reason to replace the entire dist, unless money is no object. If thats the case and your swimming in it, your looking for info in the wrong place
i've re-soldered the main relay switch, and replaced the entire distributor, and still nothing. i give up. somebody buy this piece from me so i can get something else
both the old dizzy and new one are bad, im assuming, because it wont get spark. so im about to go back to the junkyard and see if they have another one that hopefully works. BUT i decided randomly to check fuses and the fuse labeled "alternator, solenoid valve" was blown...could this be related to the problem? i replaced the fuse and it still wouldnt start, but if it was blown could that mean that something is wrong with the alternator and thats why all this happened? i really need to get this running again :?
quick story... so i have just installed my JRSC, and im going for a quick run. well, the alternator contact was very close to the SC manifold, and as i was driving along it happened to touch it and tripped the fuse, completely shutting my car down. the motor just died.
not thinking the obvious, i didnt check the fuses. just towed it home (luckily it was 2 minutes from my house, my neighbor helped me out).
got home and saw it was a blown fuse, and i felt like a retard. changed it out and she started right up no problem lol..
change it and see what happens.. and then afterwards check WHY it blew in the first place.
alt fuse, yes explains why you saw smoke from the timing belt (area) most likely alt is on the way out if it didnt puke already. ecu gets power directly from it, hence the car just died,
independent auto shops, i work and have worked at them for years, we dont just throw parts at cars! lol, customer are very picky about their bills, and want to know exactly how many times we took a piss while we worked on the car! plus we have all the tech bulletins dealers do, plus the internet, and a special site everyone should use; identifix.com these guy's work with the companys directly.
parts from the dealer, are 80% of the time cheaper! the only problem is..... the idiots in the parts department! they do not know that when honda stopped making the 88-91 alternator and supplies are depleated, you can just use one from 92-95. goes for most parts on our 4th gens. (note) do not explain to them you want to use, or you are building 00' year or whatever on your 88' or whatever year you hybrid. it will melt their brain, they start walking in circles and start bleeding from their ears!
well i replaced the fuse and it still wont start, and still wont get spark. could the alternator itself be whats keeping it from getting spark? my dads friend said that it sounds like its cranking slow, could it be that the alternator went out so the battery wasnt getting charged so now the battery only has enough life left in it to crank it over slowly but not enough to get spark to actually start it and obviously not enough that it could continue driving which is why i broke down?