Here is a hard one that the local mechanics can’t fix.

1990 Civic DX, 230,000 miles.

Good voltage and car cranks fine.

Sparks OK at each of the plug wires.

Rotor spins, rocker arms move. Therefore timing belt is attached.

The fuel pump churns at start up. The main relay clicks twice, therefore fuel pump is operational and ECU is powered up.

ECU shows 1 flash, indicating oxygen problem. (replaced O2 sensor, but that doesn’t matter, the car should still start in open loop mode.)

The car just cranks, will not even chug a little. I have sprayed starter fluid into throttle but still not even a single chug, just constant cranking. If it is a fuel problem then it should at least chug a little with the starter fluid.

This is a mystery.

 

when did it start having a problem? after some work was done or something?

 

I was driving (below 20 mph in a parking lot) and the car started to sputter very similar to the way it would die if it ran out of gas. It would fire and then miss fire, sputter, sputter, enough time for me to pull into a parking spot and then it just died. No more life, just cranking of the motor, no sign of any ignition. The wires are sparking, the fuel pump is churning, the rotor and rockers are moving. Maybe the timing belt skipped a tooth, or the injectors are not firing. The oxygen error code is something I don't understand. The check engine light does not stay lit, so is it really an error code? The ECU has been reset and the code appears immediately, it would seem that the ECU would need some time to determine that the O2 sensor is bad. I put a new sensor in just in case, but the O2 sensor should be out of loop until the engine is warmed up and things are already running.

 

man, thats eally weird. i dont think its the timing belt skipping a tooth, maybe 2 or three, but one wouldnt kill it. i guess i would start with the basics and check all the fuses and relays, then pull the spark plugs and see if they are coated with gas or anything obvious. i'll give this some thought today, and ill check back. this is a tough one. though that main relay seems to give a bit of trouble, so that might be it.

 

I'm having the exact same problem with my '91DX. Only my didn't sputter and die it just took ahwile to get started when it was hot but ran fine once running. It finally just quit starting completely. Only my computer isn't giving a code 1 it blinks once and never blinks again. My timming belt is brand new, replaced the main relay, injector have been cleaned and work fine, got spark, my plugs are getting wet. I feel your pain man. If I ever get it figured out I'll be sure to let you know, or if any one else has any idea please let us know, it just doesn't make any sense. My next move is to possibly replace the ECU.

 

it probably wouldnt get any spark if the ecu went out. it might, it depends on how it went out exactly, but it usually wont spark. but its hard to tell. borrow one from someone you know if you can, then youll at least be able to test it before you have to buy a new ecu.

 

how about a weak spark? first I'm going to check ground and ECU connection.

 

i have had my timeing belt jump 2 teeth before and i managed to drive it about a mile. turned it off then it never would even try and start till i realighned it again.

 

Not to sound like a smart *** but if your timing belt jumps how are you going to know how many teeth it jumps? Besides my hard starting problem started before I replaced the timing belt.

 

you may be able to tell when you go to fix it. once you take it apart, it would be possible to see how far off it is.