[HeadOfMax]

So I bought a crx today. its an 89 Si. The odo says 88000, but I do not know if that is right. the title does not have a mileage on it. It drove really well all the way home, which was about 20 miles. I took it out later in the evening to get gas, but I really just wanted to drive it. I got gas and drove about a few blocks and it dies while I am driving. WTF right? The battery light was on the dash earlier, but the lights were bright so I did not think it was a problem. The car right now will crank really strong, but not turn over. one other thing....it smelled like rotten eggs just before it died.

I am hoping it is not the timing belt. I think it could be the distributor, I did not feel like taking things apart as it was and is late. Is there anything else I should check tomorrow besides spark and fuel?

As far as I know the car is stock. the engine looked really clean, I mean it was dirty but not from fluids. All the gaskets looked good, even underneath the car.

Any ideas?

 

[drnknmnky13]

I would put money on the distributor. But I would also check the main relay. When you turn the car to on do you hear a click.. then 2 seconds later (when the check engine light goes out) another click?

You could buy a new igniter and coil for like 110 or a new distributor with both for like 150. Personally I went with the latter.

Good luck and welcome to the community. These little cars rock when they run

 

[HeadOfMax]

these cars do kick a$$ a friend of mine has a completely stock 91 dx I believe (1.5 with the rear wiper) and has had it for 4 years without major problems.

I guess I will not be driving the car for a few weeks, I don't really have much more money to spend on it having just bought it. oh well it can sit until the next check.

BTW: How hard is it to do the dist?

 

[drnknmnky13]

It's really easy. 3 bolts to take the cap off. 3 bolts to take the whole dizzy off. One screw to undo the rotor and move it over. Then put it all back together. Takes less than 10 minutes. The only hard part is 2 of the bolts I need a unversal joint to get to (too small of a space for a regular length ratchet or driver, yet too cramped for a stubby). And the 2 connectors can be a pain in the azz if they haven't been off before.

Ebay is your friend for CRX parts.

 

[HeadOfMax]

are the distributors interchangeable between the Si and non Si? (1.5 and 1.6 I think)......?

 

[bobski]

The Si (1.6 multi-point fuel injection) and HF (1.5 multi-point fuel injection) distributors are interchangable, but not the DX (1.5 DPFI dual-point fuel injection). The two distributors are pretty easy to tell apart. The MPFI distributors have two round electrical connectors - a smaller one with 2 wires and a larger one with 7. The DPFI distributor has the same smaller round 2 wire connector, but with a square 5 wire connector.

 

[HeadOfMax]

ok...that means I can not swap it with my friends to see if it is the problem.

damn. that would have been too easy.

 

[rex2nr]

Where are you located?

 

[Ti Rider]

Rotten egg smell? That's usually a sign of a bad catalytic converter. Besides the distributor a bad/plugged cat would also give the symptoms you describe. Test your distributor - pull a plug (hint do it the dark it'll be easier to see), have a friend turn the key, see if you have spark jumping to the electrode. If you don't - bad distributor. If you do more than likely you have a bad cat. Here's temporary fix - take the cat out, take a long piece of steel pipe, knockout the honeycomb cat material. It's illegal to run a gutted cat on street car but for a temporary fix it'll work. Your exhaust will still stink like rotten eggs. www.summitracing.com sells an inexpensive high flow cat.

 

[ludesrv]

Notice your sig says 1500 CRX...it's not a 1500. It's just CRX Si. It would be a 1600 if it did have it too.

 

[HeadOfMax]

I'm in chicago. i thought I heard somewhere that the rotten egg smell was the cat. That would cause it not to run? How about not start?

I will mess with it after work. I wish I had a garage, it is kinda cold here...

EDIT:

Is this what I am looking for? OBD1 he says.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Crx-...tegoryZ33690QQihZ008QQitemZ180075504432QQrdZ1

 

[bobski]

No. '88-91 Civics and CRXs are OBD-0. '92-95 Civics use OBD-1. The two standards have different distributor sensor pulse patterns... Not interchangable.
Also, you'll notice that connector is square and has 5 wires going into it. I don't know where that guy got an OBD-1 DPFI distributor (maybe he's just confused), but it won't work with an MPFI setup.
You need one like this.

 

[rex2nr]

if you were closer I'd let you try one of my spares

 

[Ti Rider]

Here's the distributor you're looking for from a good company plus a good price. DistributorKing

And yes, a plugged cat can cause your car to die and not restart. Your engine is basically a giant airpump so you've got a way for air to get in but not out.

Oh and if yo pull a spark plug to check for spark make sure you pull the fuse for the fuel pump so the engine doesn't try to run on three cylinders...

 

[HeadOfMax]

okay....so after work im gonna check for spark at the distributor and possibly pull the cat and punch it through....The cat is probably welded on right? So I will need a sawzall and exhaust clamps....Good thing I have a 18V DeWalt Sawzall and the keys to a hardware store huh?

 

[Ti Rider]

okay....so after work im gonna check for spark at the distributor and possibly pull the cat and punch it through....The cat is probably welded on right? So I will need a sawzall and exhaust clamps....Good thing I have a 18V DeWalt Sawzall and the keys to a hardware store huh?

No, it bolts in. Soak the bolts in PB Blaster and it should just come right out.

 

[drnknmnky13]

okay....so after work im gonna check for spark at the distributor and possibly pull the cat and punch it through....The cat is probably welded on right? So I will need a sawzall and exhaust clamps....Good thing I have a 18V DeWalt Sawzall and the keys to a hardware store huh?

No, it bolts in. Soak the bolts in PB Blaster and it should just come right out.

Ohhhhh that's good to know. I think next weekend might have me replacing exhaust parts

 

[Ragnaarok]

Notice your sig says 1500 CRX...it's not a 1500. It's just CRX Si. It would be a 1600 if it did have it too.

He's going off what the dmv records say. My '90 Si carfax says "Civic 1500 CRX Si" as well on the documents. It's weird, but true. And on my insurance the car is a "civic 1500" again, weird.

but in the real world it's an Si and runs great, so I don't care what a piece of paper says.

 

[ludesrv]

Notice your sig says 1500 CRX...it's not a 1500. It's just CRX Si. It would be a 1600 if it did have it too.

He's going off what the dmv records say. My '90 Si carfax says "Civic 1500 CRX Si" as well on the documents. It's weird, but true. And on my insurance the car is a "civic 1500" again, weird.

but in the real world it's an Si and runs great, so I don't care what a piece of paper says.

Really? Mine says Civic CCVC or something like that lol. My insurance has it registered as 'Civic 3dr Base'. Wonder why they kept the 1500...from the old 1500S maybe?

 

[HeadOfMax]

Sweet. Well I am prepared for that too....18V DeWalt impact...hehehe