I have a 1993 Honda Civic coupe with a 1.6L VTEC. The motor was completely unhooked from thew wiring harness( was gonna swap it but decided not to) then I bought the car and hooked all the sensors back up and installed a new head gasket and a new timing belt. I have a tested each injector for resistance and found them all extremely close and in the proper range. I also used a Noid light set and found all my injectors are getting signal. The rail is also getting very good fuel pressure. I then tested the ignition with a spark tester and found it to be working properly. The car will only turn over and it backfired 1!!! time with starting fluid, not even 2 times. I'm very good at working on cars, but this is my first Honda and I'm stumped. Any help is appreciated.

 

Did the engine work before? Don't count on the seller for an honest answer.

Make sure the spark plug wires are on the cap in proper sequence. It is possible to swap the wires on the MAP and the TPS sensors (they have the same plug) but I don't know if that causes a no-start.

If the car has been sitting for a year or more, the gas in the tank may have gone stale. This makes a Civic very hard to start (starting fluid will not help). Drain it and put in some fresh gas.

 

I drove the car(was a friend of mines) and the plug wires are in the proper sequence and the car was only setting for a maximum of a month. The sensors do have the same plug and I was told that could cause a no start problem.

 

recheck your timing, and yes there is 2 plugs on the back of the intake that have the same plug that can get crossed it will not allow the motor to rev and you will have a cel,
but check your timing and your firing order.

 

The 3-wire plug with a plain white wire on one end goes on the MAP sensor. The one with a red and blue wire in the center goes on the TPS.

Also check the small ground wires on the thermostat housing, very easy to overlook them when swapping engines.