Trying to help my son out with his 98 Civic D16y7. It ran great until about a month or so ago, as it got parked because of snow. He had been driving it without issue though. Battery got recharged (aftermarket stereo likes to kill it), and it'll roll over but not start. Checked and found no spark. Any ideas on what would cause the no spark? Checked G101, and it's good and clean and tight. My next step is to ohm out the wires to the ECU. Any other ideas? He's thinking it the CPK sensor. I'd rather test than replace parts randomly.

 

Ok, ohming out the ground wires (G101) helped find the end wasn't good (no ground for the ECU). Fixed that, and now have a weak spark, but not enough to start the engine. Any idea of why it won't start? My next step is to pull the plugs and inspect them, but I'm concerned about the weak spark. I'd like to get the car to start so I can get it out of my garage, so I have some room to work on my other project that's been on hold for a month.
Note, I'm an Accord owner, so I'm kind of familiar with these cars.

 

Ok, pulled the plugs, and they were black. Replaced them, and still no spark. Have 38 psi fuel pressure measured at the end of the fuel rail, checked the timing belt, and it's dead on. Any ideas now why it won't run? It seems like I can never get any help from this site when I need it. I don't know why I still keep coming back here for help, as I never get any. I get more help from the Accord sister site, as at least there it was recommended to check the timing belt.

 

So no spark or weak spark? You stated both. How is the ground cable from engine block to the body? How is the ground from the battery to the body? Remove and clean both to be sure. If you have weak spark also check the coil. Coils can go bad. You said plugs were black, but were they wet? As in - are the injectors firing.

 

It was a no spark, before I fixed the G101 ground connection. Since then we've got what looks to me like a weak spark, but then my eyes aren't the greatest for seeing up close, but we both verified it had spark. We have checked the timing (at the cam gear, arrow pointing up, and lined up on the timing mark at the crankshaft), as it has a new belt on it, and it was dead on. We've also checked fuel pressure (toward the low end of the good limit, but still in spec. Changed the plugs (they're new). Checked the injector wiring with a noid light, all are firing. Also checked the crank sensor, and it was in spec. Still no run. We are picking up a compression tester to check that, although it should have it. All grounds between the engine and the body are good and tight and clean. And the battery is charged (turns over like it's supposed to. We even tried a different ECU (known good one, no difference). Any ideas?

 

remDoes it appear like it'll catch or no catch at all? Did you happen to remove the distributor at any point? That could be 180* off if you did.

 

Ok, we had over 180 psi on all 4 cylinders. Yes, we had the distributor out, but put it back in like it was, and double checked it off the timing marks and pointed to #1 plug wire on the cap. A couple of times turning it over, we both thought it caught, but didn't.

 

Try turning the distributor pickup 180*. It's possible to install it incorrectly that way after removal.

 

Are you buying the new one when the tabs/ears break off?

 

Just so we're on the same page, why would they break off? I'm talking about the part circled in red. It's completely symmetrical on every civic of that gen that I worked on and the reason why it's possible to put that piece in incorrectly.