I have a 1997 Honda Civic DX. A check engine light came on about 2 weeks ago and I proceeded to have a diagnostic test administered by Advanced Auto. The readout on the machine proceeded to notify me that I had misfires in cylinders 3 and 4. Being the cheapo that I am I bought new spark plugs intending to replace them later. Later on this week I was driving to the apartments down the street when my car began to bog... bog... then die. I pushed it into the apartment complexes and popped the hood to find the spark plug wire in cylinder 2 was removed from the engine. I put it back and began to try to start the car. It turned over but no go. I was not receiving a spark from any of the plugs so I replaced the wires, distributor cap, and rotor. The check engine light turned off and it was replaced by the check oil light, and I am still not receiving any spark from any of the plugs. I replaced the oil (which was suprisingly very dry) and the car will turn over but not start due to no ignition spark. I can hear the fuel pump (I think) when I turn the key to the position before start.

I don't know if it's relavent but after I removed the plugs they all had a white lotion like substance around the end of the wires. Any help that you can provide is much appreciated.

 

It's normal for the oil light to come on when the key is on but the engine is not running.

Plug wires popping out of the engine means the plug is not tight.

Take the distributor cap off and see if you can get sparks from the coil output to a grounded test wire. Also check that the rotor rotates. If the rotor doesn't rotate when you crank the engine, the timing belt is bad.