Civic - Honda :: 1991 - Random Intermittent Ignition Failure
Dec 21, 2014
I have a 1991 Honda Civic DX and it is doing something I can't explain. Randomly the car will not even try to turn over. The ignition switch will click, the dash lights come on... but not even the slightest peep from the starter motor. If I put the vehicle in fifth gear and roll it, turning the engine over even half a rotation, the engine will fire right up.
It started on a road trip and happened very sparsely, but has since become more common. What used to be 1 out of 20 is now maybe 1 out of 4 chance it doesn't start. Every now and then it will go days without any problems, then seemingly randomly the ignition fails again for spurts. I replaced the distributor cap, plugs, and rotor about 2 months ago. The ignition switch appears to be fine....
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I have had a problem compounding for about 6 months. The car will not even try to turn over. One day she works perfect, the next day the starter won't even try to turn over. Recently it has been getting worse, I continued to roll start when it wouldn't start and kept driving... but now it will not even try to start at all.
I thought perhaps it was the starter solenoid failing, but when I took it to advance auto parts they tested it and it was functioning just as it should. I then figured it could be the relay, but I can hear it clicking on. What else could it be? I know that the spark plug wires and distributor are all good because I have personally replaced them in the last 6 months. I found some things on the internet referring to a clutch pedal ignition lock switch. Any good way to test it?
[URL] .....
This would appear to be the switch that I have heard of. Can it cause a complete breach of power from the ignition switch to the starter when failing? I will check to make sure that power is not making it to the starter tomorrow... I'm just not that familiar with the circuit.
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Having a little issue here with my 2000 buick regal. There is an occasional instance where my car won't start for a while, then after several attempts, itll start up. When I turn the ignition key, it will not even attempt to turn over. I can't hear any clicking noise, but the lights/radio/ac will work . I know I know, it takes a lot more to start the motor than those things. What gets me most is the randomness of it, and it will eventually work without me really doing anything. I figure if it were a bad battery then it wouldn't start up at all after several attempts. I can see a bad battery connection being an issue if I moved the car and it started working, but I can sit there and just keep turning the switch on and off and that seems to be enough most of the times.
Usually it will come on within 5-10 minutes, and if I knew it would always come on in that amount of time, it wouldn't be a big issue. But, once it took over an hour before it came on again. It usually does it during the day and after I've been driving it a while, but not always. Just last night it did it for a few minutes and I hadn't driven it all day and it was at night (temp was in the mid 70's, usually hotter than that a good amount during the days) I've checked the fuses and relays and they seem to be working.
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I have a 91 Honda civic hatchback base model 1.5L and I am having serious electrical problems. My wife took the car to town and when she got back all the lights quit working and it just sits there and clicks if I don't remove the main relay. But the main relay also controls the fuel pump. Have already replaced main relay?
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My car ( civic 1.5 dx duel injected) just cut off while I was going down the free pay like the key had been turned off. Now it turns but won't crank. I am getting spark from my plugs, my fuel pump still works, i think my injectors are ok, when I took off the air box I can see fuel going into the throttle body, my throttle isn't stuck, diaphragm seems to have a seal. I took the head cover off and there isn't any fuel/oil in the valves. What could it be? After I put the plugs/cap/head cover back on it cranked for a second then idled down and back to no start.
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I own an old Civic and I noticed in the past several months that I get a burned oil odor in the passenger compartment, but only when I drive downhill. I more recently notice that if I accelerate while driving down the hill, a cloud of smoke trails out behind me then clears when I let off the gas. This car has 294,000 miles on the odo. (I know) and I DO have to add a quart of oil every 2 weeks or so. It runs great though. Is my motor about ready to blow or what . . . ?
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Ok my car is not starting. It is not turning over when you turn the key and push in the clutch. I can here a relay click under the drivers side dash. I can push start it and it runs great, sometimes it will start and run fine but it is a frequent problem now. What could be causing me these problems. 1991 Honda Civic DX ....
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We have a 91 civic whose air conditioner doesn't work. The coolant level is good, and the compressor is running, but we only get external air coming through the vent.
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I have a 2007 Honda Civic with about 40000 miles on it. About a year ago, I'd notice a problem with the a/c occasionally stopping, but at other times I'd turn on the car and it would work. Sometimes it would not work when I started the car but after I'd driven for a while it would kick on. But, for the past 4 months or so, it has stopped coming on completely. What could this be? And... what sort of figure am I looking at to get this repaired?
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I have a 1991 Honda that has a quirk which is driving me nuts. When I turn off the engine, the key won't readily come out. It's especially difficult when the temperature is below 40 degree's. I've replaced the key at a Honda dealer, which my mechanic suggested, but to no avail. I shake the gear shifter repeatedly which doesn't seem to work. I sprayed lubricant into the key hole. It's frustrating to have to sit and wait a couple of minutes to exit my car.
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I have a 1990 honda civic dx. with only 115,000 miles. For the most part it runs great, but for the past year it has given me problems when I try to start it. What happens is that at random times, it just cranks, but it doesn't start. Sometimes, if I try it several times (as much as 20 attempts) it will eventually start. Sometimes I have to leave the car for some time (10 minutes up to a few hours) and then it will start. I checked the spark, when it doesn't start, and it has a good spark. This seems to happen mostly when it is hot, never at night. My mechanic changed the distributor and that did not solve the problem. The ECM gave 16 flashes. My mechanic is frustrated in dealing with this because often it starts right up.
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I've got a great little 1991 Civic DX, 1.5L manual. It's never let me down and I love working on it.
Stalled on the highway a couple weeks ago and I couldn't get it re-started. Over the years, it's had a bit of a personality where it chugs and occasionally stalls at a low idle, or when very slowly accelerating from a stop. If I'm sitting still, I'll turn the key to full off, give it about 30 seconds, and it'll start right back up. For whatever reason just re-starting without turning off never seemed to work.
So since it stalled on the highway and I wasn't able to get it started at all, here's the list I've replaced or completed:- main relay- fuel filter- plug wires- spark plugs (the old ones were due, but not overdue, and all four were pretty fouled with burned oil and had oil in the wells)- spark plug well o-rings and valve cover gaskets- and fully charged the battery
At this point, if I let it sit until it's cool, it'll start right back up with no trouble. Then once it warms, it starts to run a bit rough, eventually chugs, stalls, and then I can't get it started again - spins a few times, then kinda sticks, then spins a few times, and kinda sticks again.
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The car; 1991 Honda Civic Hatch back. Issue; Car starts but when left to idle quickly dies. Background; I just recently replaced the valve cover gasket as well as a pierced hose that was leaking coolant. Since then (ABOUT 3 DAYS) the car has taken much longer to start up; i.e. when you turn the key it tries to start from anywhere between 2-8 sec. Before doing work it started up easily and regularly. Has been driving fine for past three days otherwise. What should I trouble shoot first? I figure I would check the spark plugs when I get home and make sure they are still seated properly. Besides that, I'm not sure where to start.
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Over the past 3 years or so, my 1993 Honda Civic began not starting at very random times. Everything would appear to be working but the engine wouldn't fire up, until after a few tries or minutes. I got the fuel pump relay replaced last March and that worked for a bit but then my car acted up again in June and an electrical connector to the fuel pump was replaced. My car had been starting every time since, until last week. This is the worst it has ever been; my engine took about 3 hours (re-trying it here and there) to decide to turn over and start on its own, worked great for 3 days and then again just would not start. On a whim, I jumped it that time and it worked. This seems strange to me because all the electricity in the car was working when it wouldn't start, and my battery checked out fine when it was tested recently.
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I drive a 2004 Honda Civic. About a month ago, my car started to overheat. The next day, I took it into the shop,and they said the thermostat was sticking,and I had a small leak in the radiator. I got a new thermostat, radiator (they did not have anyone to repair), and flushed the system.
A few days later, the car started to overheat again, and quickly went down. We thought it was a fluke. A few days later, it did the same thing and we took it back to the shop. They said nothing was wrong and let the car run with the radiator cap off for a while in case there was a bubble. Since then, it has has started to overheat a few more times. So the, problem is not all the time, just every so often. Several parts have already been replaced, as noted.
What we have found in common is that each time it starts to overheat, we are in stop and go traffic. It has always been hot outside too (but it is summer). When we begin to move at a regular pace, the car temp goes down. I live in a city, so it is impossible not to get in stop and go traffic on a regular basis. Not everytime we are in stop and go traffic it does this, but since the repairs, it has never overheated while moving at a regular pace.
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The radio in my 1991 Honda Civic has been dying a slow death over the past year. First it would stop working if the weather was too hot. Then it would only work sporadically, finally it almost never worked. Whenever the radio stopped working, there would be a loud electrical "pop" sound, so I thought it might have a short. Yesterday my husband fixed the upper rear brake light (cleaned contacts) so it would pass inspection. Now the radio works perfectly! Are the brake lights and radio on the same circuit?
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In the Car Talk column on 1/3/2016, it sounds like Lynnette's 1991 Honda Civic wagon was experiencing very similar symptoms to my wife's 2001 Honda Odyssey (189,000 mi) a few months ago. Rough idle, engine almost dies sometimes at stops, groans during acceleration. Additionally, accelerating between 40-60 mph our Honda would feel like it was "loading up," running rich or in the wrong gear climbing hills. I replaced the idle air control valve, which fixed the rough idle but not the other symptoms. Turned out I needed to reset (power cycle) the ECM and go through a curb idle/rev warm-up procedure so it would relearn the throttle position sensor's operating range after replacing the IAC valve. I disconnected the battery, removed and reinserted the hazard fuse, then reconnected the battery. Then from a cold start held the throttle at 3000 rpm until the engine warmed up to normal or the electric fans kicked on. Since then it's back to smooth, strong acceleration we expect from the Honda we love.
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From a cold start, my '89 Civic starts and runs just fine - on a short trip. If I shut it off for 15 minutes and let it sit, then try to restart it, it cranks REALLY slow, misfires and won't start (like the cylinders are fighting each other). The battery's brand new, with plenty of juice. So the next time it happened, I disconnected all 4 plug wires - it cranked nice and fast, no resistance. This leads me to believe that the ignition timing is getting messed up once the engine warms up. I think the coil is fine, because the plugs are firing when the wires are connected. I'm thinking it could be a bad sensor that acts up when it gets warm. My prime suspect is the TDC/Crank Sensor. Does the TDC/Crank Sensor can fail when warm?
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The A/C on my 2009 Honda CRV fail intermittently. I've had the system recharged, checked for leaks, and a relay replaced. Here's what's been happening... only during really warm weather sometimes the A/C just starts blowing hot air. Normally when this happens it resumes working the next day. One time I engaged the defrost and cold air blew out the windshield vents, when I then pushed the a/c button cold air came out the face vents. I was never able to reproduce this though. Also, a few days ago when the a/c failed I deselected the a/c control button and suddenly the air went from hot to ice cold - with the a/c off!
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My wife was driving our 2003 Honda Civic hybrid (125,000 miles) and the electronic power steering went out. She managed to get it parked, called me, and when I arrived everything seemed to work fine. (She said the yellow EPS light came on, but she didn't know what that meant.) I drove it for a while and had no problems. A few days later my daughter was driving and the entire car shut down. I jump started it and everything worked OK, but I took it to the dealer for a diagnosis. They could find nothing wrong (no codes). However, the next day the car once again would not start I replaced the 'starter' battery (the lithium-ion man battery pack had actually been replaced at around 79,000 miles--right before the expiration of the warranty!).
Now it seems fine, but my wife and daughter refuse to drive it, and I'm not sure if the problem is fixed. Here are my questions:1. Since this is a hybrid, once the car is running a failure of the 'starter' batter should have no effect on the EPS, or anything else, right? It all runs off the main lithium-ion battery pack. However, replacing the 'starter' battery seems to have solved the problem--or at least a dead 'starter' batter is temporally (if not causally?) connected with the other failures. This might be just a coincidence, since seems odd to have the 'starter' battery part of the larger electrical set-up. The dealership had no clue and I can't figure it out.2.
The first time just the EPS went out, but the second time the entire car shut down. This doesn't make much sense--especially since the dealer couldn't pull any codes. The car's auto-stop shuts the engine off all the time at speeds below 10 mph (this is a semi-hybrid), so why the total shut down?3. Why didn't the dealership tell me the 'starter' battery needed replacement? I've checked my records, and it seems to be the one that came with the car in 2003 (actually fall 2002). Should I give up?
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My 2005 Civic is overheating at random times. My mechanic couldn't find the problem so I took it to the dealer and they replaced the thermostat and a fan switch. That didn't work so now they tell me I have a blown head gasket ($1,458)... but there's no water in the oil and no gray smoke. They say the coolant leaks into the block until there's not enough circulating and it overheats. Then, when it cools, the coolant goes back into the reservoir and that's why it never seems to be low on coolant. I've seen other Civic overheating letters (including a 2005 that sounded like my exact problem) but I never saw an update about what fixed the problem.
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