YAY! My car won't start! Replaced the main relay... no spark. Might be dizzy...

[deevergote]

Whoopie! I went to Maaco to get my car today, after 15 days, and now it won't start. It started on Saturday, but today it was dead. I was certain it was the main relay (afraid the heat from the paint bake killed it if it was on it's last legs...) So I ripped the one out of my DX wreck and put it in... no dice. Still cranks, won't start.

I THINK I smell fuel when I pull a sparkplug, not 100% certain (I'm doing everything in Maaco's garage, so there are cars all over the place... smells and sounds that foul my senses). I pulled a sparkplug and attached the wire... no spark when I cranked it.

I'm thinking it's the dizzy now... which BLOWS, because I have a JDM H22... not the same as the US stuff.


Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix or replace this? Any thoughts on what it could be if it's not the dizzy? I'm going through withdrawal and it's killing me!

[h22sparkle]

Check your fuses under the hood and under the dash it could be something just as simple as that. On that note if they are all good take the plug out of cylinder number one and put a screwdriver in the sparkplug wire itself and see if you get a spark if you get spark then the distributor isnt the problem. If its external and the shit doesnt spark either your cold could have taken a quick shit on you.

[accordztech]

yeup check for spark, if not check your ignition coils resistance to see if its in spec...if nto then thats ur issue.

[deevergote]

I talked to patastinky about this today... he has the old dizzy from my 92 DX. He said we could swap out the ICM and that should fix it... I know nothing of this, so I'm lost.

[bjaccord]

Yea the honda icms are shitty, I've got two spares right now for whenever the next one goes out. Alot of times you can just take the wires off and then put it back on and it will work. Common other problems with this is stuttering and rpm needle jumping. Good luck. L8r

[deevergote]

I had the car shut off on me one day... didn't know why. It didn't want to start right away, and then it worked fine. It's been like 1000 miles since that happened. I suppose that may have been a beginning sign...

[cp[mike]]

f22 dizzy internals work in h22 distributor housings, so if anything is bad internally, f22 parts will work.

putting a spark plug in the end of a plug wire isnt enough to check for spark, the spark plug needs to be installed in the head as a ground connection... pull a plug wire and hold the tip of it close to one of the 10mm stud nuts and check that way.

very possibly the ICM or ignition coil.

if youre unsure, remove the 17mm nut holding the fuel line to the fuel rail and put the end of the line into a cup and click the key to ignition. if the fuel pump is running, youll get fuel.

[93Lx]

damn!!!! i kinda have the same problem, i was drive to work and my car just shut off and won't start back up. i have no idea what it is

[deevergote]

It's our germs. These foreign JDM engines can't handle it, and they're all starting to die... all at the same time!


I've researched the possible problems for this... This is what I came up with so far, and my results in trying to fix them (inside Maaco, so it's not the best place to work).

ECU - swapped out for the Pt3, still nothing
Fuses - mine all look good
Main Relay - Tried the one from my DX, still nothing... unless both are bad.
Distributor - opened it up and played with the connections on what I THINK is the ICM... nothing.
MAP sensor - Don't know where it is! I've heard of that being a cause for failure though...
Fuel pump - Haven't been able to check for any sound. It WAS whining audibly when I had the trunk stripped... not sure if that's normal or not...

[phatdoughnut]

Im gona have to go a head yours and 93lx problems are your Coils. When my wifes accord coil went, she was driving and it wouldnt start back up. When mine died it had just been sitting there.

[Ralphie]

Damn deev....they dont care that its just sitting there? Id assume theyd want it towed like that day..hmm...well good luck man i read through and i cant think of what else it might be....

[93Lx]

Im gona have to go a head yours and 93lx problems are your Coils. When my wifes accord coil went, she was driving and it wouldnt start back up. When mine died it had just been sitting there.

i'm going to try the tommarrow i hope thats it. one kid said it may be my timing belt but i hope thats not it

[4CYLPOWER92]

Same thing happened on my F22. Driving to work and the engine died when I pulled up to a stop light. It would never start again. Replaced the igniter and coil, and it worked after that. Not sure which one was the culprit.

[xfactortype1]

test the igniter to. its usually the coil, but a bad ignitor module can take out a coil prematurely.

good luck

x

[deevergote]

test the igniter to. its usually the coil, but a bad ignitor module can take out a coil prematurely.

good luck

x

Thanks Tom,

I'm afraid that might be the case... the damn JDM dizzy setup is killing me though. I don't know what parts to replace them with, if that's even the issue. I might just take this opportunity to convert to external coil, since there are more upgrades availible for that setup anyway.

Today, I'm planning on getting the car towed to my stepdad's Chrysler dealership. I'll have them diagnose the problem (usually free for me... the only real break I get at that place unless I'm in desperate need...) and I'll fix it myself once I know. HOPEFULLY my old roommate (who I'm going to call for a ride in a few) has AAA! I really don't want to pay for a 10 mile tow!