Ok..I have a 94 Honda Civic EX sedan...last weekend after coming out of my drive way, my civic just died. I tried starting it and would just crank but won't turn over.
So..I checked all the fuses under the dash and also by the engine and all are fine. I double checked again and still all are good.

So I tested to see if there are any sparks on the spark plugs (Stick Screw Driver test) and there is NO SPARK.

So..I changed the distributor cap and rotor....and still NOT TURNING OVER AND NO SPARK

So...I bought a brand new main relay (under the dash by the fuse box) and still NOT TURNING OVER AND NO SPARK....

I can hear the fuel pump go turn on when I turn the ignition.

Could this be a coil problem or module??

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

The timing belt could be stripped, so check that the cam rotates when you crank. Take the distributor cap off and see if the rotor rotates.

See if the distributor is receiving power on the larger wire in the 2 pin connector (I think it is black and yellow). Battery voltage should be there with the key on, and while cranking.

 

Thanks...I know the rotor rotates coz i had to crank it to be able to get to the rotor screw to change it....

I will check with the power getting to the distributor...

any other suggestions??

 

Also with the cap off, try to draw sparks from the coil output post to a grounded test wire. If you get sparks but they are only weak yellow sparks, the coil is bad.

 

I am having the exact same problems with a '91 DX. So after searching through the forums. I found some helpful articles on the web.

So I tested the coil and ignitor as detailed HERE. I checked the Main Relay as detailed HERE. I replaced the cap and rotor and STILL I get nothing. I DID just remove/repair/install the heater core, so I thought that I may have inadvertently unplugged something. But I cannot find it. It will crank all day long, just no spark. We tried spraying some starting fluid into the air intake just in case we had some fuel delivery problems... NOTHING!!! So I feel your pain ibeam... I'm hoping we'll find the answer.

 

Gaither, definitely start by checking if power is reaching the distributor and the rest of the system. There could be a blown fuse or something left unplugged under the dash. The lights on the dash (Oil, battery, and Check Engine) should come on when you turn the key on, the check engine one goes out after 2 seconds. The light on the ECU I think should make one short blink as you turn the key on then stay out unless there are codes stored.

Resistance checks of a coil can fool you, they will say that a lot of bad coils are good. Many coils fail from a small internal short that does not change the overall resistance enough to put it out of specifications.

 

Thanks MK378,

How would I check to make sure the coil is good? Lights on dash are all lighting up. CEL is staying on (10 blinks on ECU)(intake air temp). Double-checked all connections from dash-removal. checked all connections to ECU.

Thanks for your quick reply.

 

Do the spark test direct at the coil to a grounded test wire. Weak yellow sparks = bad coil. No sparks at all = maybe bad coil, or something else. Also while you have the dizzy apart, check for power on the two low-voltage terminals on the coil.

 

Okay, so I don't have the time to monkey around with this thing. It just needs to work. So I had it towed to the shop. Shop says it has a bad distributor, so I have one on the way. Do distributors go out very often? I've never really heard of that happening, but my experience is mainly on older vehicles.

I'll let you know if they get it started and running.

 

i doubt the whole distributor is bad, its either a coil or igniter which is a 40 buck fix if you do it yourself,