Help! 95 Civic LX Engine won't start

wrote:
> I've eliminated all of the causes already. The engine still won't
> start. Any other ideas please??

Is the spark you have observed a really fat sharp blue tinged one
when drawn off against a ground point on the valve cover or is it
a bit thin and yellow-ish? Note that you should not permit no spark
to occur because that can cause flash-over inside the coil and
damage it.

Are the cap and rotor and plugleads really, really clean? Do the
plastic items really shine? If not, take them off and wash them in
the sink with water and washing up liquid. Dry them in a warm
oven at no more than 70ºC for an hour. The leads can be cleaned
with a rag and some petrol (gas).

Have a look at my FI article in sig. It's the Rover 216 article.


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Graham W http://www.gcw.org.uk/ PGM-FI page updated, Graphics Tutorial
WIMBORNE http://www.wessex-astro-society.freeserve.co.uk/ Wessex
Dorset UK Astro Society's Web pages, Info, Meeting Dates, Sites & Maps
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The spark that I have observed is a bit thin and yellowish. Does this
mean my spark is not good? Please let me know. Thanks.

The cap and rotors are both brand new. I've also wiped the plug wires
cleaned - they're as clean as brand new.

In article .com>,
wrote:

The spark that I have observed is a bit thin and yellowish. Does this
mean my spark is not good? Please let me know. Thanks.

The cap and rotors are both brand new. I've also wiped the plug wires
cleaned - they're as clean as brand new.

Remove the plugs and tell us whether or not there is oil on those plugs.
Also, provide a list up the things that you have done to solve the
problem. Perhaps, some of us can tell you other things to do that are not
on the list that you provide.

Have you measured the fuel pressure?

wrote:
> The spark that I have observed is a bit thin and yellowish. Does this
> mean my spark is not good? Please let me know. Thanks.

A thin yellow spark may not be sufficient to light the mixture when
the piston comes close to the top of the bore. You need to see
a really healthy, almost angry looking, blue-ish spark for it to do
the job. Try jury-rigging a short length of wire beteen the tower outlet
of the coil and a ground point and see if the spark is a better thing
there. You don't need HT cable for this if you can 'float' the wire in
fresh air with about 1/4" spark gap. From here you can work your
way down the system and see if it degrades.

> The cap and rotors are both brand new.

But are they clean and shiny inside and out?

> I've also wiped the plug wires
> cleaned - they're as clean as brand new.

I trust they are.


--
Graham W http://www.gcw.org.uk/ PGM-FI page updated, Graphics Tutorial
WIMBORNE http://www.wessex-astro-society.freeserve.co.uk/ Wessex
Dorset UK Astro Society's Web pages, Info, Meeting Dates, Sites & Maps
Change 'news' to 'sewn' in my Reply address to avoid my spam filter.

wrote:
> So, basically, my sparks are considered to be weak? I should have a
> "fat sharp blue tinged" spark in order to ignite the fuel mixture?

Yes.

> And yes, the cap and rotors are clean and shiny - they're brand new
> after all.

I was concerned that there were no smears from dirty hands gained
when they were fitted.

> I've also replaced the spark plugs and they're gapped properly. No, I
> haven't measured the fuel pressure - I don't have a fuel pressure
> guage. I do get fuel in the combustion chamber for sure. However, I
> want to make sure that the ignition side of things are working
> properly first.

What did the coil to ground spark look like?
Any different to the spark at the plug?

> The car was running fine on the highway a few months ago and suddenly
> it stopped, no signs/symptoms at all. The engine just stopped and
> wouldn't restart. Had to get it towed. So, I'm suspecting it has to
> be some electronic component that failed - it's unlikely that a car
> would just die like that without any warning signs or symptoms if it's
> a mechanical problem, correct?

Not if the timing belt skipped a few teeth and put the spark at wrong
point in the compression cycle.

But that wouldn't be a reason for a weak spark. Did you d/load the
drawing and fault finding (ign.zip) stuff from my website?


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Graham W http://www.gcw.org.uk/ PGM-FI page updated, Graphics Tutorial
WIMBORNE http://www.wessex-astro-society.freeserve.co.uk/ Wessex
Dorset UK Astro Society's Web pages, Info, Meeting Dates, Sites & Maps
Change 'news' to 'sewn' in my Reply address to avoid my spam filter.

I know this may be asking too much, but do you have a photo of a strong
spark from a spark plug? I've tried searching on the Internet but
couldn't find one. I would really like to see what a strong spark
should look like before I conclude that I have a weak spark. Thanks.

One more question....can I still get spark even though the igniter is
bad? Thanks.

wrote:
> One more question....can I still get spark even though the igniter is
> bad? Thanks.

You don't appear to have made any response to my previous Qs.


--
Graham W http://www.gcw.org.uk/ PGM-FI page updated, Graphics Tutorial
WIMBORNE http://www.wessex-astro-society.freeserve.co.uk/ Wessex
Dorset UK Astro Society's Web pages, Info, Meeting Dates, Sites & Maps
Change 'news' to 'sewn' in my Reply address to avoid my spam filter.

What did the coil to ground spark look like?
They look like the spark at the plug - thin, yellowish spark - so this
rules out my spark plug wires, correct?

This is why I asked whether the igniter could be bad even though I'm
getting sparks.

I downloaded your ign.zip file but I haven't built that test LED to
test the igniter yet.

wrote:
> What did the coil to ground spark look like?
> They look like the spark at the plug - thin, yellowish spark - so this
> rules out my spark plug wires, correct?

Yes. And the rotor and the cap. I haven't seen a photo/drawing of
good/bad sparks - anyone?

> This is why I asked whether the igniter could be bad even though I'm
> getting sparks.

It is feasible, as is a bad coil.

> I downloaded your ign.zip file but I haven't built that test LED to
> test the igniter yet.

You won't need to this time since your system *is* generating sparks.
The LED is very useful for confirming signals are reaching the igniter.

Have you tried push (bump) starting the car?

Can you remind us of the parts you have changed?


--
Graham W http://www.gcw.org.uk/ PGM-FI page updated, Graphics Tutorial
WIMBORNE http://www.wessex-astro-society.freeserve.co.uk/ Wessex
Dorset UK Astro Society's Web pages, Info, Meeting Dates, Sites & Maps
Change 'news' to 'sewn' in my Reply address to avoid my spam filter.