Help me fix my honda please?

Robert Stiffler wrote in news:c2697385-1d89- snipped-for-privacy@k15g2000prk.googlegroups.com:

Have you pulled a plug wire and actually LOOKED at the spark jumping from the plug wire to a handy ground?

Do not discount such very basic tests. You would be amazed how many people fail to do very basic checks and miss simple problems because of it.

"Clete" wrote in news:imkep6$vq1$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

Oooh, pretty blue lights. I've seen those.

"Clete" wrote in news:imkep6$vq1$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

yup,plug wires; once the insulation breaks down,there's no "going back",it's always a path for leakage. old plug wires are prone to that breakdown.

time to buy a new set of plug wires.

Thus spake "Clete" :

Have that stupid brother-in-law stick his little finger in the boot and hold on to the plug head with the other. If you have a stop watch handy you can also verify your tach. Just count the number of screams in a minute.

Now try that with a 40A magneto!!!

The OP "drove through some pretty deep water and started having problems." BUT, it did still run. So he worked on the distributor, and then it didn't run. Something he did while working on the distributor is the reason it doesn't run. But, after he straightens out the distributor it may still not run well because he has flood related damage to an electrical component. He could get lucky and it could dry out and be all better again, but probably not. Many people seem to have to drive through "pretty deep water" one time to learn this lesson. Why suspect plug wires? They worked fine before he went swimming, wires dry off and are none the worse for having been wet. Does this model have an igniter which many have been the damaged by the water or the OP's repair?

Al wrote in news:4d8ea318$0$12648$ snipped-for-privacy@cv.net:

they're old wires,and aging insulation eventually breaks down,but once it does break down,they don't recover. HV arcing causes carbon tracking. it has to be cheaper to change plug wires than a HVcoil/cap. I would have changed the wires before I tried the coil.

also,pulling on the plug ends can damage the wires,he may have done that while changing the plugs.

the igniter is potted,isn't it? unless it was immersed under water for some length of time,I doubt water would affect the igniter. and it's on the low voltage side.

I wonder if he's done a scan of the OBD-II port for possible trouble codes?

That's a neat idea.

I hose down the engine compartment of my 03 Maxima every 6 months or so just to keep it clean. Sometimes it won't start afterwords so I get my leaf blower and dry out the engine compartment out with it. Has worked every time.

Al Moodie.

Hosing down your engine could be really bad. I would never even think about doing that.

Other folks here know much more about cars than I do, but how about the computer? I once drove through a lot of water and the car was fine for a while but the water got into the computer and it would no longer start. This was a 91 Accord though so everything is probably different by 98. Still, if the computer was still under the passenger side floor, that does put it in some danger.

I'm going with the wire diagnosis. I can't figure out why the computer would die after you did work on the car.

Unless it's WD-40...

JT

Thus spake Clete :

If he was mud racing, I'd say go for it. If he was mud racing he'd probably be tearing down the engine, too.

Thus spake Al Moodie :

Um, why do you have to hose it down "every 6 months or so just to keep it clean"?? If your engine is getting dirty enough to make you feel like you need to do this, you have a very, very serious problem. If it's getting dirty, it's probably because you're blowing oil out of the main seal or the front seal or the head gasket.

My wife insists on putting cardboard on the garage floor. I guess it's because her father did. But that was when a car was "expected" to bleed some oil. If I saw some oil on the floor, more than just a drop, I'd be looking for a problem.

You are probably getting water into things that don't like water. Eventually the leaf blower trick won't work and you might find yourself paying a couple of grand to get a computer replaced. The distributors on modern EFI cars aren't quite as simple as they were on my 65 Galaxie 500. In fact I know that from '08 on, MB's don't even have a distributor.

Who wants fast mud?

:)

Because he's anal retentive.

Ever been to a Prius web forum? makes this guy look like Brad Pitt.

lol!

potm

And I *own* a Prius. I'm embarassed to be associated with those idiots.

Some morons on Priuschat were amazed and surprised to realize that those red button thingies by the door handle were door lock buttons--and that this gee-whiz technological marvel of a car lets you LOCK THE DOORS BY HAND.

Yes, they do let morons buy, register, and drive cars.