92' Honda Civic Died

Does it 'crank but won't run?'

may want cross post to (rec.autos.makers.honda) i was told they have bit more traffic

This is a good place to start diagnostics with most common problems for honda

HTH

Start from

.Based on the age of the car, what you've already done, that it quit rather than just not starting, and what often fails I suspect the igniter . One thing worth repeating in any event (although TeGGeR's text also emphasizes the point) is that you must not try to operate the ignition without some way for the coil output to reach ground or you will be buying a new coil, too. An aftermarket igniter will set you back most of $100 US. Replacing it is a fairly easy DIY except the screws that hold it are usually ungodly tight; I had to grab the heads of the screws in my daughter's '93 with vise-grips to get them out. Mike

Yes, it will crank. Its in the same state since last 8 days..and as its raining outside, I couldn't investigate further. I am thinking of towing it to mechanic now

I took it to mechanic and he says its distributor problem. And it would charge me $525 + Tax ...what the ....! I am not sure if I am getting ripped here..what are the parts of the distributor ? I guess ignitor, coil and rotor..isn't it ? Can I just change only one of them, which is faulty? or do I need to change all of it ? How much these should cost ? Any help ???

thanks guys

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my local honda dealer **replaced** my distributor in my 93 civic for something like $350 - $400 new distributor + labor

can't remember exact amount because i included major service and water pump

• timing belt replace etc but that is my recollection from the service/invoice breakdown.

your area may vary in price by that much ? Is this a trusted mechanic that has done work before ? good reputation reccomended by friends ? check with dealer distributor replacement price ?

As for do it yourself the individual parts you are talking about are probab;y 75-100 each (igniter/coil) so thats 200 dollar hit/miss diagnostics plus time to replace and any other tools/adjustments needed and if it does not repair then you are back to $525 mechanic.

did you have other symptoms that you possibly ignored or did not associate with the impending failure ?

Did you visit

site and try todo diagnostics yourself , that is track down the problem. Is car generatingany error codes is the check engine light on or blinking ? Somenone allready responded that they thought you had an igniter problem as indicated at this link anyway there are lots of knowledgeable posters that will likely help

HTH robb

$525?? I had distributor problems with my 97 Honda Civic, and I took it to the dealership - and they charged me $240.

I had the same problem with my 96 accord.

Whenever it rained, or snowed, or it was foggy, the engine would not start. I changed the distributer about 5 times before it became reliable. Here's what it did:

Replaced the wires (good ones- they have to form a good seal)

Changed the distr. cab and rotor button.

Inside the distributor, there is a little hole for the wires to go out to the coil. That needs to be sealed as the rubber grommet gets worn. I used silicone.

I removed the coil, took it inside and dried it well with a heat gun (carefully). I then coated it with that spray on ingition sealer.

Cleaned all the electrical connectors with alcohol, and when everything was back together, I sealed all the connections with silicone.

It has been 6 months now, and you can almost drive that car though a lake...

These cars a well known for moisture invading the ignition system... Other than that, they are tough as nails.

Most mechanics will slap on a new coil and distributor to fix the same problem -as it will, because those new parts are nice and dry and well sealed - It is probably a good idea to do that, but I can't afford the parts with two kids in daycare.....!!

Anyway, I hope you get things sorted out.. If you are in a pinch and want the darn car to start, spray wd40 on the distributor and coil. That usually will get the car running..