got a 92 civic lx was driveing it last night trying to get out of the buckets of rain falling down. I hit a curb cause i couldnt see anything and went into a giant puddle and it instantly shut my engine off, the power was still going to everything the lights were still on the radio and the engine turns over but im not getting any spark what so ever. i got it into a parking lot and went to it today believeing maby the distributor got washed out so i replaced it still nothing anyone got an idea?

 

It could be a stripped timing belt. Take the oil cap off and look inside while someone turns the key to crank it. You should see the rocker arms going up and down.

 

the timeing belt is fine i just checked it and the cam is turning how it should, everything is still on time just for some reason im not getting electricity to my distributor. the starter seems fine the battery and altinator are still doing good i assume or my lights and radio wouldnt be comeing on all the fuses in the engine bay are fine too. i have a feeling i might have fried some of the harness but i feel i shouldnt be able to just burn out part of it. im not sure im kind of lost for words on this one never hit a curb and a puddle and have it shut the engine off before.

 

i just went out to my car and did a jumper diagnostic through the service plugs under the passanger side kick panel, after i hooked it up i tried to start the car i still havent got it running yet but on the dash the check engine light stays on, when i turn the engine on with the service jumper set up the check engine light blinks 9 times and then shuts off and then repeats its self. im not sure exactly what this means im not familiar with this method of diagnostics and reading the code. if anyone knows anything please let me know till i get my car fixed pretty much stuck walking everywhere.

 

Well I think that since your engine is turning is very good news to say the least. My parents Jeep went through a puddle in the same situation and all electronics work, but the engine didn't even turn. Had to get the whole entire engine replaced.

 

My guess is it suck in water into you engine from the puddle.

Try taking off all your spark plug, crank it for a bit .. it should spit out some fuel and/or water, if water comes out.. then that would be the cause of your problem.

Reinstall and it should be fine.

 

yea the deffinatly a possibility cause i have a cold air intake and its really easy to wash the engine out if water hits that filter. thanks ill deffinatly try it today and see what happens.

 

deffinatly no water in there just no spark at the distributor at all

 

You have a car that cranks but won't start, with no spark. It probably isn't that important that it went through a "large puddle" and hit a curb. Just forget about that and do the usual tests when you have a Civic with no spark. The next one is to check if there is power to the distributor on the black and yellow wire. Then test for sparks right at the coil with the cap off, using a grounded test wire.

Code 9 is the cylinder sensor in the distributor. If that is the only problem, it still should not cause a no-start condition. I suggest putting the old distributor back on.

 

im getting electricity to the distributor and inside it but it is not leaveing the cap the rotor is turning but nothing from there im pretty stumped