98 prelude not starting

[low-keyseg92]

This is taken from another forum im on and has gotten no results. Figured I would try it here.


I am working on a car right now that wont start. I have checked everything. I verified timing at teh crank and dizzy,spark,fuel at the rail and injector firing. I ran a scan and only code is cyl 3 misfire. He has had this code for a while on and off. I will do compression test in the morning. My question is, the scan showed the TPS at 9.8 on start up. I am wondering if teh TPS is bad and the mixture is to rich on start-up. I pulled the plugs after cranking and they are dripping with fuel. What should the TPS read and start-up? If the crank position sensor is bad then it would explain it not starting but there is no MIL for it or the TPS. Any info is greatly appreciated.

second post I made after further touble shooting.....


So I did the compression test and I got 150-165 in all 4 cyls. Fuel pressure is at 32-35 lbs. I wonder if he just got really bad gas! The tank is full. The gas smells "funny" on the plugs but is dripping of the plugs after just a couple of cranks. If the TPS or CPS were bad it should show on the scan.........I guess I could swap the ECU with a known good one and see if that helps. Any ideas? If I hold the gas peddle down and crank it, it almost wants to start. Kinda like an old school car that has been flooded.

Maybe someone on here will have an idea of what could be wrong.

[Shag Wagon]

The TPS should read 4.5 volts closed with the ignition in the on position, but not started. Im not sure on OBD2 models but thats how its set on OBD1.

[low-keyseg92]

I will check the voltage on the TPS. I was actually looking at the real time data on teh OBD2 scan while cranking the engine. Ill get back to you with the voltage reading. thanks.

[YK86]

I thought the tps should be approximately 0.45~0.5V at idle/closed and roughly 4.5V at WOT with ignition on and not started?

[low-keyseg92]

Thats what someone else told me. WOT is at 4.5 ill check it in the morning. I wish I could figure this thing out. Im starting to think its in the ECU. No MIL codes are present and I got spark fuel air the engine turns and compression is good. Damn thing should start.

[Shag Wagon]

I thought the tps should be approximately 0.45~0.5V at idle/closed and roughly 4.5V at WOT with ignition on and not started?

Yea my stupid ass cant put my decimals in the right spot. That 9 volts could cause some major issues or either you have a bad ecu or something.

[wed3k]

suprised it didnt set a code for 9v. unplug the tps and see if the value changes. if it is a fixed 9v then the ecu could be bad. plus, ecu is supposed to send out 5v reference, not 9v.

[low-keyseg92]

actually the 9.8 that is was referring to was a percentage that was given on my obd2 scan tool. it gives real-time data when cranking and records while running to find when faults happen and what could be the cause. I am going to pop the cd it came with in to see if it gives me any info on start-up values for reference. Im stillfiguring this thing out. I think i have come to the conclusion he has bad gas. after further investigation I found out he had filled up the same day the car died and the gas smells strange as it is. Im going to pull the fuel filter off,replace it with a new one and fill it with fresh gas and see if the car starts or atleast tries to. Anyone think this will work or should i drain the tank,purge the line and see what happens?

[wed3k]

do a fuel filter and smell the gas at the same time. it should sputter if it was super low fuel pressure. you hear any fuel pump whine? if not, give the tank a couple of whacks with a hammer.

[quickangel93]

this looks like both a sensor and spark plug or wire problem. cus you gettting a cyl 3 misfire from either the plug or wire. then you got a rich mixture of fuel, so thats a sensor problem. check the volts on the tps at both ignition on and run positions and come back with results. this is a air/fuel ratio problem

[quickangel93]

actually the 9.8 that is was referring to was a percentage that was given on my obd2 scan tool. it gives real-time data when cranking and records while running to find when faults happen and what could be the cause. I am going to pop the cd it came with in to see if it gives me any info on start-up values for reference. Im stillfiguring this thing out. I think i have come to the conclusion he has bad gas. after further investigation I found out he had filled up the same day the car died and the gas smells strange as it is. Im going to pull the fuel filter off,replace it with a new one and fill it with fresh gas and see if the car starts or atleast tries to. Anyone think this will work or should i drain the tank,purge the line and see what happens?

what scan tool you have?

also use some dri gas and octane booster before you drain out that gas

[low-keyseg92]

cen-tech obd2/eobd

thanks for the info. Ill get on that filter first thing this morning. Im also going to check the voltage on the tps.

[low-keyseg92]

Well it turned out to be the ignition coil. It was sparking and looked good but it was just not enough to start the darn thing. I gotta get a coil tester. I had suspected it was the coil but did not want to make teh guy spend 70 bucks unnessarily. He had it towed to a shop and they charged him 270...guess I should have just changed it right. lol. Live and learn.