Engine cranks, but car won't start

[sbaker0421]

My crx had been sitting for about a week while I painted the valve cover and purchased battery cables and fuel filter. After putting those two parts in I went to start my car and all it would do was crank and crank, but wouldn't start. I never had a starting problem before so I am confused. Recently I have replaced spark plugs and wires(I am getting fire), distributor cap, and rotor. Last night My friend and I adjusted all the valves b/c they were off. The fuel pump comes on and pressurizes the system. Has anyone else had a similar problem like this? If so, PLEASE HELP?? I want my rex back.

 

[civicious]

you forgot to ground the valve cover.





that's my guess, at least. or maybe you didnt put your plug wires in the right order.

 

[sbaker0421]

Thanks for the reply. I have checked and the valve cover is grounded and all wires are in their correct spots. Thanks again for the reply.

I forgot to put that I'm getting power to all my accessories. Everything is working in the car, but won't start.

 

[Magik]

Ummm...main relay? Reset the ECU? Backtrack and see if you left anything disconnected?

Jason

 

[GSRCRXsi]

i would check your firing order, and all the stuff with the distributor, no loose connections and stuff, check the condition of all your plugs, make sure they are gapped correctly, check everything, maybe your injectors are clogged or broken? (unlikely but still check it out) then at last check for compression. all you need is fuel, spark and compression to fire. check all cylinders to make sure they are ok on everything. after that i dunno what to tell you....

 

[preludude]

If your CRX is anything like a Prelude then I'm betting its the ignition module. It's in the distributor and costs like 150 bucks but when that fails, your car will look like it's working fine, the power will be fine, and it will crank all day long, but won't turnover. It's either the ignition module or ignition coil. They work in tandem.

 

[solblu]

Just check for spark and fuel. It takes 10 minutes. Then you'll know what you need to fix.

 

[posol]

read the faq- there's a post entitle this exact thing by wild bill

 

[preludude]

Could he wild bill be a little more vague? That FAQ thing doesn't help for $hit. I had the same problem and it came out of nowhere. The car would crank and wouldnot turnover b/c of the ignition module in the distributor. It's a common problem with almost all japanese engines with high mileage. Mine had 150k on it when it died on me.

 

[brc80]

^
^
^
Had same problem.

 

[H22AdelSol]

i had the same exact problem, i solved it by adding 2 more grounds. one big one from the tranny to the chassis and a small one from the battery to where the wireharness grounds. car starts up quicker now and check engine codes flash up quicker also.

 

[sbaker0421]

Thanks for all of the replies. Going to check out the ignition module tomorrow. I'll let everyone know what I come up with.

 

[Loco Honkey]

OK OK OK... everyone shut up... christ, you all are missing the OBVIOUS! It ran before he did the work, but after he did the work, it doesn't run. Soooo... wouldn't logic tell you that whatever he did to it is the problem?

Sbaker- First off, your valve cover ground doesn't mean shit. The valve cover has rubber gaskets between it and everything metal that it touches, so a ground to the vc preventing starting is ludicrus. Check your fuel filter for leaks. Sounds dumb, but an engine needs three things to work- fuel, air, and spark. You're not getting one of the three. If the filter isn't leaking, use a service manual to MAKE SURE your plug wires are on correctly. If you're 100% positive of this (check again), pull a plug and check to see if you have spark on every cylinder. If you do have spark, check for fuel. Turn the ignition on and loosen the return fuel line on the back side of the FPR. Don't take it off. Just loosen it. If you see fuel start to weep out of there, you have fuel. If you have fuel and spark, it should start.

 

[brc80]

Not to thread jack, but im having the same problem. Yes i have spark fuel, and power. Anyother guess's on what it could be?

 

[preludude]

let us know what happens. I'm still betting on ignition module

 

[cws13]

Originally posted by Loco Honkey@Jan 14 2004, 12:45 PM
OK OK OK... everyone shut up... christ, you all are missing the OBVIOUS! It ran before he did the work, but after he did the work, it doesn't run. Soooo... wouldn't logic tell you that whatever he did to it is the problem?

Noooooooo shit. Thank you. while it is possible to upset parts on their way out while doing repairs, it doesn't happen alot. This may be dumb, but did you check fuses? If you arced that new batt you probably blew out a main fuse. Check the fuel leaks. if you adjusted those valves incorrectly or the engine wasn't below 100 degrees when you did it ( not by the temp gauge, by a thermometer), you didn't use the right marks or adjust in the right firing order...you may not be getting compression at all. I've see it happen and you should confirm this first, if you're running no valve lash you're playing with fire.

 

[preludude]

Was the problem fixed?

 

[sbaker0421]

Still haven't got a chance to check it out yet. School and work have kept me busy. Will get to work on it Wed. I'll post if I figure anything out

 

[Slammed90Lude]

i had the same prob in my prelude and it was the main relay- it was on the kick panel on the drivers side- i dunno if that helps but replacing ine made the difference and after that the car fired up great every time-

 

[hondamidnighter]

My friends Honda civic had the same problem. The car kept on cranking and cranking and would not start. Like it was standard we gave it a hard push with another car and it worked. There was spark, fuel, and air but it didn't start anyways. So we pushed it and it worked!! Check spark plug wires if they have spark, if they do then now check the spark plugs if they have crude gas on them. If the spark plugs have gas, clean them out and if your car is standard, clutch started.