Hey All,

I just came into possession of a 1988 Civic Wagon AWD...and its a pretty slick car! Problem: It won't start...

Here is what I know so far: The head was replaced because of a frozen sparkplug but the previous owner (he did it himself and was pretty darn good with cars) The car has power to the dash and the lights, and will turn over when the key is turned. I checked the spark plugs with a tester, and there is no spark. I am fairly certain there was no fuel either in there....didn't smell it. Tried to start it by sticking starter fluid down the intake. Nothin'

I checked a few of the ground points, replaced the distributor (it turns) and am now going to check the main relay. Good idea? I tried to find the main relay once and had no luck, but I believe it is near the drivers side kick panel where the door is attached to the frame.

Any thing else I could look for? The car was running just fine before the head was replaced...

Thanks much! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Is it timed correctly?

If the it ran fine before head replacement and not after replacement, I am led to believe that the timing belt was not properly installed and the crank and cam are not in sync.

 

Even if it was out of time, wouldn't there be at least some spark? That is the first thing I thought of them I first saw the car, but my friend who works on cars with me (rather pompous at times) told me its not worth checking...

 

Check that power is reaching the black and yellow wire to the distributor with the key on, and also while cranking. This is the big wire in the plug with 2 wires. Do the oil and charge lights on the dash light up when trying to start it? They are on the same circuit I think. Also the check engine light should come on when you turn the key on but don't crank, then go out after 2 seconds.

If all that checks out, take the distributor cap off and hold a grounded test wire near the output spring on the coil, and crank. Sparks should jump 3/4 inch or more. If you get only very weak sparks, replace the coil. This is fairly common. Firing an old coil into an open circuit tends to burn them out.

The main relay (which is indeed mounted above the hood release handle on the side panel inside the car) controls the fuel pump and injectors. I don't think a bad main relay will kill the spark.

 

Hey thanks for the help!

The wires on the distributor ARE getting power (according to a test lamp that I have)

The coil is inside of the distributor, so I assume it works since the whole distributor unit is new...but I have not tested it.

All the lights come on as described too...

Any other thoughts?

 

Do the spark test right at the coil. Make sure to keep that grounded wire near it so it doesn't fire into an open circuit. If you have good sparks from the coil, look for a defective rotor or cap shorting them out. Just because a part is new doesn't mean it is good.

Also consider the possibility that the parts are not the right ones for your car. You could try putting the old distributor back on if you still have it. (A good general rule is don't turn in "core" parts until AFTER the new one is on the car and working.)

Sometimes the key switch is bad so there is power to the ignition in ON (II), but not in START (III).

Also if the car has been sitting for more than a year, you may need to drain the gas tank (there is a drain plug on the bottom) and put in fresh gas before it will start. Civic engines really don't like stale gas. Of course you must have spark and fuel flowing first, but if it still inexplicably doesn't start, consider that.

 

Also you should check for codes from the ECU. I think an '88 will have the single blinking light system. Find the computer under the carpet where the passenger's feet would be. There is a window with a red LED behind it. Turn the key on (do not crank) and watch the LED. Count how many times it blinks. It will blink a number of times, pause, then blink again either the same number if there is only one code, or a different number if there is more than one code.

 

I had an 88 Civic years ago. After the car had been sitting for some time, it wouldn't start. It ended up being the "main relay". I was told it controlled the fuel AND spark. The car would crank, all lights worked, just no spark or fuel. The relay on the hatchback was buried up under the dash on the drivers side. Sorry, can't remember exactly where. If all else checks out, you might check out that relay. Oh, btw, it wasn't cheap and that was about 6-7 years ago!

GOOD LUCK!

 

hey all,

I checked everything I could today. I think I am done with the project...maybe time to go to the scrap?

Timing, checked, on time.

Lights do all as described.

Coil was replaced.

Main relay was replaced.

Thoughts?

 

Have you manually inspected all of the wires you can? If any one of those from the ignition system are damaged, it'll not work right.

Did you check the actual spark plug wires? If the coil has power but there is no spark at the plugs... that's where I'd look next.

It would be a damned shame to see an AWD Civic head to the scrap yard.