Honda Car Forum

I have a 2000 Honda Civic DX, and I can't figure out what's wrong. I bought
it 2 years old with 50,000 Miles on it. It now has 138, 000 Miles on it, and
won't start. I checked and cleaned the rotors and plugs, and all 4 plugs send
spark. After I cleaned them with alcohol, and confirmed they sparked, I took
one out to check if fuel was getting all the way to the plug, and it smelled
like gas. I was told that the only thing left is the timing belt, but visual
inspection showed no signs of damage. Is the timing belt definitely need to
be changed to make the engine start, or could it be something else?

"pagutierr" <u25206@uwe> wrote in news:64a2d801ca18d@uwe:

> I have a 2000 Honda Civic DX, and I can't figure out what's wrong. I
> bought it 2 years old with 50,000 Miles on it. It now has 138, 000
> Miles on it, and won't start. I checked and cleaned the rotors and
> plugs, and all 4 plugs send spark. After I cleaned them with alcohol,
> and confirmed they sparked, I took one out to check if fuel was
> getting all the way to the plug, and it smelled like gas. I was told
> that the only thing left is the timing belt, but visual inspection
> showed no signs of damage. Is the timing belt definitely need to be
> changed to make the engine start, or could it be something else?
>


Check for spark again. This time properly.
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/startproblems.html

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

>Check for spark again. This time properly.

>
I took out the plugs, hooked them to the cables, grounded it to the block and
watched a spark jump across the gap. Is this improper to verify that there is
a spark present?

pagutierr wrote:
>
> I have a 2000 Honda Civic DX, and I can't figure out what's wrong. I bought
> it 2 years old with 50,000 Miles on it. It now has 138, 000 Miles on it, and
> won't start. I checked and cleaned the rotors and plugs, and all 4 plugs send
> spark. After I cleaned them with alcohol, and confirmed they sparked, I took
> one out to check if fuel was getting all the way to the plug, and it smelled
> like gas. I was told that the only thing left is the timing belt, but visual
> inspection showed no signs of damage. Is the timing belt definitely need to
> be changed to make the engine start, or could it be something else?

---------------------------------------

It happened on a Monday morning, or in the AM, right? It's got a
dribbling injector and it's totally flooded. The manual tells you to
hold the 'pedal-to-the-metal' and crank it for up to 15 seconds at a
time. It will start with a stumble and a puff of black smoke.

Use techron twice a year to keep the injectors clean. I used Gasohol on
our Odyssey and it cured the exact same problem.

'Curly'

"pagutierr" <u25206@uwe> wrote in news:64a3e7f40d690@uwe:

>>Check for spark again. This time properly.
>
>>
> I took out the plugs, hooked them to the cables, grounded it to the
> block and watched a spark jump across the gap. Is this improper to
> verify that there is a spark present?
>


That's fine. So long as the current always has somewhere proper to go, you
will not cause damage.

Some questions:
1) What immediately preced this problem? Did it happen out of the blue, or
was some kind of work performed recently?
2) Is the timing belt original?
3) Have you checked ignition timing with a timing light?
4) Have you tried cranking the engine around (COUNTER clockwise) by hand so
you can inspect the timing belt teeth all around?

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/