Hello everyone,
I am new to the Forum. I have a 97 Civic DX 5 speed. 212,000 Kms.
Was working great till we had some winter thaw flooding. I have searched the formus
but I am sort of looking if anyone with experience can guide me a bit.

1. Drove into deeper puddle then I thought it was.
2. CEL light came on and would flash.
3. Sounded like I was running one three Cylinders or 2.
4. Engine would rev up and then finally start making power around 3000 Rpm's
(I just needed to get it out of the area I was in)
5. Drove it the parking lot and it was bogged down and stalling real bad.
6. Was told I probably had moisture or water in distributor so i should let it dry out.
7. Got some wire Dryer and sprayed it all down
8. tried to start car and now it won't start. (Starter and fuel pump sound fine)
9. removed the Dist and wires and took them inside to warm them up. (ice had formed inside it)
10. reconnected it all and still wouldn't start up.

So i am going to change the Dist today and check out all the spark plugs as well and see if
it got flooded via my numerous attempts to start it. How hard is it to change the plugs and
do I need anything other then a ratchet?

Thanks for any Info anyone offers.

Andrew

 

first off, how deep was the car?

if you are changing the plugs, all you need is a ratchet and extension, and proper socket.

good luck

 

it was water running across the road fairly deep like close to the bottom of the doors mabye 3 4 inches and
it splashed up onto the distributor I am guessing.

I am going to get the parts tonight and see what happens if this doesn't work I will do the wires and then
come back looking for more help.

Wish me luck,

Andrew

 

I recommend that you disconnect the battery to avoid additional electrical damage until all components are dry. In addition, the car's computer (ECU) is located behind the front passenger's kick panel. You may also want to check whether the ECU is wet and, if so, clean and dry it.

 

Good point about drying things out. Water especially combined with electricity is, as you migh expect, very destructive. If you find water inside the distributor, leave it open until it is thoroughly dry. Also you might consider changing the oil and transmission fluid in case any water got into there.

 

first off, im not really knowledgeable on civics much, but almost the exact same thing happened to me just recently and im still getting it all figured out. after i went through a huge puddle that killed my car, i was able to fire it backupabout 5 min later.i made it home but it wouldnt start the next day. it would turn over and i could smell it getting flooded but it wouldnt fire.i took it to a mechanic who couldnt find the problem so i took it to the dealer and found out that the ignition coil needed to be replaced. my car started up fine for a few weeks but every time it got rainy it wouldnt start, soi just replaced the distributor cap and rotor and spark plug wires, because i think thatit was letting moisture orcondensationin.so from my experience, i would recommend you check the ignition coil, and the distributor cap and spark plug wires.