Hey y'all,

I have a 1988 civic sedan, DX model, 1.6L, manual shift. I've done all I can to trouble shoot the problem and I am out of ideas. When I try to start the vehicle the dash lights come on, all normal, and when I turn the key the engine will turn, but will not start. The car was unfortunately sitting outside during the heavy rains of tropical storm Lee, and was driven in this rain quite a bit, but it's not like it had never been rained on before. It survived quite a few of the big storms here in LA.

The first thing I checked was the battery, it is charged and holding a charge well, connections are free or corrosion and are tightly connected. I then moved on to the wires and spark plugs. I get a spark from the wires and my spark plugs were pretty oily (the car burns oil...not bad, but enough to have some amount here) so I changed out the plugs. They also are making a spark. I even took out the air filter to see if it had gotten wet and was preventing air from getting to the engine. Here's where I'm stumped. I sprayed a bit of starter fluid down where the plugs go, screwed in the plugs, attached all the wires in proper order, and the car still will not start. Not even for a second from the starter fluid. I thought if there was a spark coming from the plugs I would at least get it started for a couple of seconds from the stuff I sprayed in there.

I'm going to check the ignition and fuel systems next. But still, even if there wasn't fuel getting to the spark, that starter fluid would have ignited wouldn't it?

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Here is a video of what it sounds like when I am trying to get it going: (click pic)




And yes...it has gas in the tank. :P

 

Main relay -- turn the key on but don't crank, the Check Engine light should come on for 2 seconds then go out. During that time the fuel pump will run, if you're in a quiet location you should hear it under the back seat. If light stays on and the pump doesn't run, take the main relay out and resolder it.

Some clues to the problem might be in the ECU. Again turn key on but don't crank, pull down the carpet where the passenger's feet would be, observe blinking LED on the ECU. The LED should make one short flash when the key is first turned on, then stay out. If it continues to blink, count the number of blinks in each group and look up on a code chart (at the top of this forum).

The timing could be wrong because the timing belt skipped. Check that by taking the upper plastic timing belt cover off (you will need to lift the valve cover to get it out) and turn the engine by hand to TDC and check the timing marks.

 

I have the exact same prob too a tee in my 95 civic and my fuel pump runs

 

Turns out it was moisture. All the rain from the storm was preventing it from getting going so I sprayed some engine starter fluid straight into the intake while trying to turn the key. After mashing the gas pedal for a few minutes it started right up and has been running great ever since.

Thanks for the advice.

 

Hi, my engine check light turns on when iam ascending and driving slowly when ascending. To turn it off i usually remove the negative terminal of the battery.
I tried to take it to the guys with a car diagnostic kit to detect the problem but result showed that there is a fuel restriction flow. Please help to find a permanent solution. My car is a honda Civic 1999 model Engine MB2.