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#1
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89 Civic "TDC Position" problem (car will not start)
Hi, I have an '89 Honda Civic 4-door. I went out to start the car the other day, and nothing happens when I turn the ignition. No clicking, strained attempts at turning over . . . only a _very_ quiet humming sound (barely audible, even when you are paying close attention to it). For one thing, I found out it is not the battery! :P I bought a new one and that didn't change anything about the situation/symptoms (needed a new one anyway, the old one was 6 years old and nearing the end of its days). So, I found out about the ECU and the codes thereof - my car is giving an error code of 8, which, according to the billions of websites out there that give this information (and not much in the way of describing the problem with more details), error code 8 means "Top Dead Center (TDC) Position" (one website did say "Check crank angle sensor and replace if necessary" which means little to me, though if this will remedy the situation, I would like to know what to do). While I am not normally much of an auto mechanic, I have done my fair share of repairs and maintenance on cars in the past and am not afraid to get dirty. I am trying to figure out what needs to be done to get this car working again, and I don't want to take it someplace and have them charge me large sums of money to take care of something I can do myself. Would this TDC issue _really_ cause my car to not start, or is this a red herring for something else, like a bad started solenoid or relay? I am a computer software engineer by day, and I don't always trust what software tells me, only because I have written enough software to know that programmers make mistakes and not everything works 100% correct. Any help is appreciated, thanks. |
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#2
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89 Civic "TDC Position" problem (car will not start)
This the original distributor housing by any chance?
I've seen this "crank angle sensor" problem come up here before. It's part of why the distributor of circa 1990 Hondas is its Achilles heel. groups.Google for {"crank angle sensor" civic distributor}, and you'll see a lot of posts on this. Looks like you're probably headed for a new distributor housing. The housing is pretty much everything except the cap, rotor, igniter, and coil. Transfer those to the new housing. Look at the drawing at the parts site below, and it will help you understand what needs to be replaced. A good price on OEM distributor housings may be had at www.slhonda.com . New and OEM is what I recommend, based on my 91 Civic experiences and posts here. It will run you around $275. Alternatively, if you aren't going to keep this car long, I know one guy who posted here that he got a whole (that is, it included an igniter and coil) new NON-oem distributor for under $200 at autozone.com With just a bit of patience and tenacity, you can do it yourself, based on what you say about your experience. (I'm no pro but have learned a lot about distributor repairs since most of the shops I've gone to have messed up diagnoses and cost me time and money.) Use a manual and ask questions here as needed. P.S. It's not a really dirty job, unless you never clean under your hood. > wrote > Hi, I have an '89 Honda Civic 4-door. I went out to start the car the > other day, and nothing happens when I turn the ignition. No clicking, > strained attempts at turning over . . . only a _very_ quiet humming > sound (barely audible, even when you are paying close attention to it). > > > For one thing, I found out it is not the battery! :P I bought a new one > and that didn't change anything about the situation/symptoms (needed a > new one anyway, the old one was 6 years old and nearing the end of its > days). > > So, I found out about the ECU and the codes thereof - my car is giving > an error code of 8, which, according to the billions of websites out > there that give this information (and not much in the way of describing > the problem with more details), error code 8 means "Top Dead Center > (TDC) Position" (one website did say "Check crank angle sensor and > replace if necessary" which means little to me, though if this will > remedy the situation, I would like to know what to do). > > While I am not normally much of an auto mechanic, I have done my fair > share of repairs and maintenance on cars in the past and am not afraid > to get dirty. I am trying to figure out what needs to be done to get > this car working again, and I don't want to take it someplace and have > them charge me large sums of money to take care of something I can do > myself. > > Would this TDC issue _really_ cause my car to not start, or is this a > red herring for something else, like a bad started solenoid or relay? I > am a computer software engineer by day, and I don't always trust what > software tells me, only because I have written enough software to know > that programmers make mistakes and not everything works 100% correct. > > > Any help is appreciated, thanks. > |
#3
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89 Civic "TDC Position" problem (car will not start)
Thanks for the help. The thing that I am hoping to get an answer to is whether or not the car should be making more noise if it is truly something wrong with the distributor. I just got off of the phone with a former neighbor of mine that just so happens to work in the service department of our local Honda dealer (lucky, huh?). I explained things to him and he also thought that was weird. So, he said, based on the symptoms, that it could also be the clutch switch that prevents the car from starting if you don't have the clutch in, it could also be the ignition switch (could be partially faulty), or the connections to the starter from the battery. So, I am going to try everything I can tonight. Although I don't want it to come to this, I may just take it in to the dealer to have them analyze it and figure it out. I just hate to spend money (especially upwards of $200 - $300 just to find out I 'fixed' the wrong thing! Thanks again, and if anyone else has any ideas, please let me know! |
#5
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89 Civic "TDC Position" problem (car will not start)
If anyone is interested, it turns out (no pun intended) that it was the starter - it had seized-up. Handa dealer diagnosed the car for $25. To have the dealer replace the starter was going to run me $275, I picked up a starter from AutoZone for $77 and replaced it myself in 2 hours, saving myself $200 and learning something in the process. Thanks for all of the help, even if it didn't directly help me out. |
#6
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89 Civic "TDC Position" problem (car will not start)
wrote:
> Hi, I have an '89 Honda Civic 4-door. I went out to start the car the > other day, and nothing happens when I turn the ignition. No clicking, > strained attempts at turning over . . . only a _very_ quiet humming > sound (barely audible, even when you are paying close attention to it). Well I was about to post that it sounds like your starter is hooped, but I see you already found the answer In case they weren't more specific, this is what would happen if the solenoid was dead. In addition to controlling what essentially is a high-current relay for starter power, the solenoid pushes out the starter gear to mesh with the flywheel teeth; if that's not working, the starter will just spin quietly instead engaging to turn over the motor. The ECU codes can't replace a good experienced mechanic's ear. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0551-0, 12/19/2005 Tested on: 12/20/2005 12:49:57 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2005 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com |
#7
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89 Civic "TDC Position" problem (car will not start)
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#8
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89 Civic "TDC Position" problem (car will not start)
E Meyer wrote:
> On 12/19/05 5:38 PM, in article > , > " > wrote: > >> If anyone is interested, it turns out (no pun intended) that it was the >> starter - it had seized-up. Handa dealer diagnosed the car for $25. To >> have the dealer replace the starter was going to run me $275, I picked >> up a starter from AutoZone for $77 and replaced it myself in 2 hours, >> saving myself $200 and learning something in the process. >> >> Thanks for all of the help, even if it didn't directly help me out. >> > > Unfortunately, the next lesson you are probably going to learn is that the > aftermarket starter will probably have to be replaced every couple of months > until you get a good one. Always better to get the dealer part on these > things. > or at least NAPA. or at the very least, i hope it had a lifetime warranty. |
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