Distributor problems w/ B18

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

massivehead11

New Member
OK, so I'm new to the forums and I'm also fairly inexperienced with DIY car maintenance, but if anybody can help, I would really appreciate it.

The problem:

I've got an 87 civic sedan with a 90 Integra b18 in it. I was driving it about a month ago on the freeway when all of the sudden, it semi-shut down. It wouldn't go above appx. 3100 rpms (I assume 'limp-home mode). Then, when I went to drive it to the shop, it wouldn't start. After some research, I checked my ECU which gave me codes 1,4,17 a.k.a. bad O2 sensor, Crank position sensor, and vehicle speed sensor. I changed my O2 sensor, and it seemed to clear the codes from my ecu, but the car still wouldn't start. The ecu doesn't show any codes anymore, and I was hoping it was just a bad ecu, but I assume the problem is my distributor, but I dont know for sure. The car turns over strong, fuel pump is running, changed fuel filter, spark plugs are good. How can I tell if the distributor is bad? Anyone have any advice?
 
Check all your fuses & make sure none are blown both in the engine bay and under the dash. If all are ok check for spark at the end of the plug wires. If you do not have spark you'll need to start tracing backwards from there to determine what component is at fault such as the distributor, igniter, and coil. There is a possibility it's also a wiring issue, perhaps a shorted wire or wires, since that combination of codes isn't commonly caused by a single component failing as far as I know.
 
I'll definitely go check the the fuses. The combination of codes is not what I'm worried about. I changed the O2 sensor and my speedometer has been broken for some time now. I assume that was the problem for codes 1 and 17. I'm worried that the faulty crank position sensor is due to a bad distributor. In the b18, I'm pretty sure a bad crank position sensor requires changing the entire distributor.
 
Back
Top