No start after driving

[krain88]

Im extremely new to hondas. Always dealt with dodge so bear with me. I have a 98 dx and It will start right up in the mornings. My problem is when I go to work or go in the parts house or something and come back. I cant get it to start. IT tries. It spits and sputters a little bit at first and will die. I will plunge the gas a few times and I can eventually get it to start. I replaced the main relay and that didnt help at all. I have no CEL'S at all. Just bought the car 2 weeks ago. Replaced plugs and wires. Was going to replace the cap and rotor but both looked in good condition. I have no idea what else it could be. I have to figure this out. I leave for Texas next week. Thanks in advance guys!

 

[00siboy]

Check for spark and injector pulse when it won't start. When a crank sensor goes bad it will develop high resistance when it gets hot and give bad readings to the PCM, which is why it starts up fine when the car is cold.

 

[krain88]

OK thanks Ill look into that next. Never even thought about the crank sensor

 

[00siboy]

Checking injector pulse and spark when it won't start will help narrow it down. Could be a few other things but its a good start.

 

[krain88]

ok I had a buddy tell me that it could be the fuel pump not staying primed? He told me tjhat if it does it again to spray the throttle body with ether and if it starts right up its a fuel pump issue? Is this correct in any way?

 

[boosted to 26ps]

ok I had a buddy tell me that it could be the fuel pump not staying primed? He told me tjhat if it does it again to spray the throttle body with ether and if it starts right up its a fuel pump issue? Is this correct in any way?

no its not... if the fuel pump would not hold prime, otherwise having a leak in the fuel system, you wouldnt be able to start it up in the mornings or you would have one hell of a time trying to start it. and when it does start it would have a hard time staying running. as of using ether...ummm no. too harsh on gas engines, diesel ok..gasoline....noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo


i would do what siboy says....you need to narrow the issue down. diagnose your issue, find the problem and fix it. we can only tell you soo much without acutally looking at the car. we can only either give you info on what has happened and a common problem or offer suggestions on what to do. you doing them is something you need to do. ya know

 

[krain88]

Yea thats what I was thinking when he was telling me that. It just made no sense at all. Because im maintaining pressure. And Im assuming good pressure. Im going to check spark and try to check continuity and everything on crank sensor tomorrow. How hard is the crank sensor on these cars to replace if thats the problem?

 

[boosted to 26ps]

 

[krain88]

thanks. Of course its a pain in the ass to get to.... Really starting to miss my SRT4 right now lol

 

[krain88]

OK so I have pulled everything and tested it. I have good spark. But looking at my plugs my car is running really lean. The plug tips are white..on cylinder 1-2. These plugs have maybe 150 miles on them. To get the car to start after it has ran I have to plung the gas a few times. And it obviously smokes due to excess fuel on the pistons. Im about to replace the fuel filter and clean my injectors.. Hopefully this could help?

 

[00siboy]

Sound like a good start. Never hurts to replace the filter and clean the fuel system. These fuel pumps don't go bad very often, so I would continue to narrow it down. Keep us updated.

 

[krain88]

Ok so I havent been able to pressure test the fuel system but when I did replace the filter there was not very much pressure that was released. I know on some other vehicles I have worked on fuel just sprays as soon as you open the relief valve and the lower nut. Is that not the case with these civics. Or could it actually possbily be that when the pump gets hot it struggles to start back up after the "cool down" but as im saying this its not making sense. But I pulled all injectors and cleaned them. Cleaned the throttle body and intake flap as well and adjusted the throttle cable.. WAS REALLY LOOSE. so Im hoping this is all of it lol Im tired of the nightmare

 

[boosted to 26ps]

When ever I did mine there want much pressure either...

 

[krain88]

Oh ok. So I pulled the heat shield off of my exhaust manifold I noticed there was a crack going right down the center from front to back. HUGE movement of air when the car was running. Well I had ordered a exhaust kit and everything and was debating sending it back. I went ahead and put the whole thing on including the header. I drove the car around for maybe 30 min or so. Went inside took a shower and tried to start the car. It started. It is kinda bogged down at first for some reason though. But replacing that manifold did the trick it actually starts now. LOL. Why would it be trying to bog out? Vac leak somewhere maybe?

 

[boosted to 26ps]

Oh ok. So I pulled the heat shield off of my exhaust manifold I noticed there was a crack going right down the center from front to back. HUGE movement of air when the car was running. Well I had ordered a exhaust kit and everything and was debating sending it back. I went ahead and put the whole thing on including the header. I drove the car around for maybe 30 min or so. Went inside took a shower and tried to start the car. It started. It is kinda bogged down at first for some reason though. But replacing that manifold did the trick it actually starts now. LOL. Why would it be trying to bog out? Vac leak somewhere maybe?

too much heat in the engine compartment? odd that something like that would cause a problem like that

 

[00siboy]

Isit the cat-header combo or a downstream cat? If there is an exhaust leak before the primary O2 sensor it can throw off readings. I have never seen that bad of a symptom tho. When the engine is cold, its in open loop meaning that the PCM is running on predetermined parameters. After the car warms up, it switches to closed loop, meaning that it takes the air/fuel readings from the O2s for better fuel management. So I guess i could see how how that would cause a problem like that.

DId you disconnect the battery to relearn the PCM? That would help with how it runs.