1991 Honda CRX Car wont start

Tiny
KAGE
  • MEMBER
  • 1991 HONDA CRX
Electrical problem
1991 Honda CRX 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual

Alright my 1991 honda crx will not start. The car cranks over and the only problem is that it doesnt get a spark. The engine got wet. I tried to fix the problem with some new spark plugs but im still not getting any spark. Anyways the car gets gas because I can smell it. Then when I turn the ingnition the car cranks but it doesnt start and the check engine light comes on. I have tried to figure out what is wrong with the distributor but no one will test it and I dont know how to tell. Can someone help?
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 AT 6:29 PM

8 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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Hi Kage,

Check if power supply is going to distributor black yellow wire when ignition switch is turned on. If there is power, the distributor is faulty, if it turns while cranking. If distributor rotor does not turn while cranking, you have a snapped timing belt or it has lost some teeth.

The check engine light is indicating something is wrong and you need to extract the error code.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 AT 8:06 AM
Tiny
KAGE
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Im not sure why my timing belt would be stripped or snapped. Right before the engine got wet it was running perfectly fine. See what happened was I pulled the car out of the garage. Washed it and the engine got wet. Then I got in the car and it wouldnt start up again.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 AT 11:49 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Hi Kage,

Remove the distributor cap and if there is water in it, dry it up and install back and try starting again.

Timing belts can lose some teeth while cranking when the belt is old and loose.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 AT 11:55 AM
Tiny
KAGE
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Alright I c, ive already removed the cap and let it dry. It still wont start. I bought a multimeter and I am testing the distributor to see if the coil is working. If the coil is working fine, I am going to put the distributor back on and crank the engine one more time and get the code from the ecu. I will post if anything happens. Thanks for the help.
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 AT 11:58 AM
Tiny
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Also the engine is pretty new, its a b16a with 30,000 miles on it. I hope its not the timing belt haha. >.<
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 AT 12:03 PM
Tiny
KAGE
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Alright, I pulled off the valve cover and the timing belt seems perfect. After that I removed the carpet and as the engine light came on the ecu blinked 5x. That means its a code 15 "Ignition output signal" therefore I replaced the ignitor from a near by honda delearship. After I put the ignitor in, the car still didnt start and I recieved the same code from the ecu. My guess is that a wire came loose or something? Do you have any ideas what it could be or what wires I need to check/how?
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Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 AT 12:29 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Hi Kage,

Blink 5 times = 5, MAP sensor not 15.

15 = 1 long followed by 5 short falshes.

After replacement of ICM did you reset the ECM?

Check for sparks at the plug by connecting a spark tester or spark plug and ground it on the engine. DO NOT ground to battery negative terminal, unless you want some fireworks when the battery blows up.

If no spark, test the coil resistance. You have not informed me whether you have tested the Black/Yellow to distributor for battery voltage when ignition switch is turned on.
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Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 AT 12:45 PM
Tiny
KAGE
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It blinked 1 long one then 5 flashes. Sorry about that. Um I checked the resistance in the coil on terminal a and b but it is in check. Anyways my parents made me take it to a mechanic. Well thank you for the help, I will DEFINITELY post here if anything ever happens again. Thank you
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Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 AT 9:11 PM

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