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View Full Version : Car shuts off again but not like before please help!



ahmad89
02-19-2007, 07:22 PM
I was driving home and about 20 minutes i get off the highway and i come to a light, when i was stopped the oil light was flickering again, so i shifted into neutral and when the light turned green i shifted into D4 and then press the gas a lil bit to go, when i pressed the gas the car just shut off. When I tried to start it again it wouldnt turn over it just made that sound when you try to start the car. I got help from a cool guy and push it to a nearby gas station i waited about 10-15 minutes for my brother to get there, when he tried to start it, it took a lil while like 4 seconds then it was stuttering i told him to put some gas and the car turned on. We both think this is ignition related, maybe a wire or something got too hot and wouldnt spark or something iono thats what i think.
Please help!

russiankid
02-19-2007, 07:37 PM
Check your rotor and cap.

ahmad89
02-19-2007, 08:03 PM
i'll do that when i get a chance what should i be looking for? i know on the rotor discoloration but would should the rotor look like? what am i looking for in the cap?

russiankid
02-19-2007, 08:09 PM
If you haven't replaced the cap, then just go ahead and replace the rotor and cap. They are both fairly cheap. Mainly the cap shouldn't have any cracks, nor should the pins be worn out to much. My suggestion don't just check it, replace it.

ahmad89
02-19-2007, 08:13 PM
i'll look up the prices and go from there. i will check it out when i have a chance.

A20A1
02-19-2007, 08:22 PM
Check the negative and positive battery cables and ground wires.

Did you check the oil level? I know the light flickers when the car is having trouble that is electrical but it's still good to check.

ahmad89
02-19-2007, 08:25 PM
i checked the oil before i left and i noticed it went lower a little bit but it was still a little above the 2nd dot or hole. i cant find all the ground wires and the battery cables seem fine just the covers for them are kinda ripped but the actualy wires is good.

ahmad89
02-21-2007, 07:23 AM
Im driving my moms car from now on until she needs it, i will buy the cap and rotor friday and replace it. Thx russian for helping me on finding the parts.:cool:

Blkblurr
02-21-2007, 07:58 AM
Is your car injected or carbed?

russiankid
02-21-2007, 08:57 AM
Is your car injected or carbed?
His car is carbed.

Blkblurr
02-21-2007, 09:14 AM
I would check your fuel filters and fuel pump for flow and pressure. Does the power to your dash shut off when this happens? If so it could be your ignition switch contact block.

shepherd79
02-21-2007, 09:33 AM
he already replaced all the fuel filters and fuel pump or at least that is what he said.
i think there is ignition or ground problem somewhere.

ahmad89
02-21-2007, 10:48 AM
i changed pump and the filters, when the car shuts off, i still have power, the lights are dim though, im going to buy the cap and rotor this weekend and change it. My dad drove the car yesterday and nothing happened to him but he only drove it for about 10 min. I think something is getting too hot or something and fails until it cools down. Thats a wild guess.

ahmad89
02-23-2007, 10:57 AM
When i was checking my coolant and oil i noticed that the distributor cap had a small gap between the cap and the part that connects to the engine. I think thats the reason but i will take before and after pics.

ahmad89
02-23-2007, 02:01 PM
well today i bought the parts and my brother and my dad dont want me to install the parts unless me and my bro are going to do it, which is retarded cause my bro has never taken a dist. cap off ever and i have.

A20A1
02-23-2007, 03:44 PM
I have a thread on distributors... lots of pictures.

Also the gap between the distributor cap and the distributor body is for a gasket that helps seal out contaminents.

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53918
pics are there

.
.
..

ahmad89
02-23-2007, 11:04 PM
thx man i didnt even know it had a gasket do you have to have one? mine didnt come with one. It just came with the cap and two screws, i will take pics of the parts i bought and pics of my current dist.

shepherd79
02-24-2007, 05:46 AM
the only place you can buy the distributor gasket is a dealer. I never seen them in auto parts stores.

russiankid
02-24-2007, 07:59 AM
thx man i didnt even know it had a gasket do you have to have one? mine didnt come with one. It just came with the cap and two screws, i will take pics of the parts i bought and pics of my current dist.
You should still have the original still on the distributor. Just make sure it doesn't have any tears or cracks on it.

ahmad89
02-24-2007, 09:56 AM
ok ill look for it though i didnt see a gasket when i took off my cap once, or i didnt notice it. I dont think i'll be taking pics but i'll try.

shepherd79
02-24-2007, 10:00 AM
the gasket will look like O-ring that was molded to fit around distributor.

ahmad89
02-24-2007, 12:28 PM
There wasn't a gasket so i just put it on without one, i took pics of the progress so bare with me im on a really slow connection here at work its less than 56k.
I will post pics when i get home.

ahmad89
02-24-2007, 07:46 PM
Heres the parts i got and me installing them.
http://www.superhonda.com/photopost/data/2/new_parts.jpg
http://www.superhonda.com/photopost/data/2/stock_cap_inside.jpg
http://www.superhonda.com/photopost/data/2/stock_cap_rotor.jpg
http://www.superhonda.com/photopost/data/2/new_rotor.jpg

russiankid
02-24-2007, 08:03 PM
Yea that cap looks pretty worn. How does it run now?

ahmad89
02-24-2007, 08:44 PM
runs the same after i put it on it started right up but its like that when the car has been sitting for awhile.

ahmad89
02-24-2007, 08:58 PM
Do you guys know what would make a car harder to start after its been driven? Like this morning car started right up as soon as i turned the key it turned on, then when i got to work i went back out to the store it took awhile to turn on. What would cause this?

shepherd79
02-25-2007, 08:05 AM
your distributor is shot my friend.
you need a new one.
you can see the red dust inside. I am sure the ignitor is shot too.
go to a junk yard and get a new one.

LX-incredible
02-25-2007, 09:39 AM
Do you guys know what would make a car harder to start after its been driven? Like this morning car started right up as soon as i turned the key it turned on, then when i got to work i went back out to the store it took awhile to turn on. What would cause this?
Sounds like the choke is not opening properly=running too rich when warm, check it's operation.
That's how the inside of mine looked when the advance springs broke which caused the weights to grind on the inside of the distributor. Get another one and try to stay away from A1 Cardone.:thumbdn:

ahmad89
02-25-2007, 11:02 AM
thx both of you i will look into replacing the distributor and ignitor. Thank you.

HondaBoy
02-25-2007, 12:01 PM
hmm, vacuum line anyone? check those for leakage.

ahmad89
02-25-2007, 12:04 PM
i dont think a vacuum leak would do this but i did check them and they see fine.

HondaBoy
02-25-2007, 12:12 PM
well, it did that same crap when mine had all the many vacuum lines still. it was real finiky. but anyway, worth a check and cheap to fix.

ahmad89
02-25-2007, 02:42 PM
i checked them twice, thx for the info though. :) I need to check some junkyards for a distributor and ignitor but i dont have time and i gotta let my dad know. Thank you very much for your help everyone this is my frist stop when i have a problem with my car.

Blkblurr
02-26-2007, 07:40 AM
When you said your lights were dim, what lights were you talking about? The dash lights?

A20A1
02-26-2007, 01:38 PM
...go to a junk yard and get a new one.


:lol: I just love how we tell people that... I dunno if it's ironic but it is odd.

HondaBoy
02-26-2007, 04:26 PM
^ its usually true though. junk yard is the way to go. cheap and easy. be sure to replace the O ring while your at it if you take the distributor out. those like to leak down the side of the engine onto the tranny. not good if you have a manual.

ahmad89
02-27-2007, 10:49 AM
Dont have time to go to a junkyard if anyone here is parting out their 89 DX and their distributor is in good working condition, please let me know. Thanks.

A20A1
02-28-2007, 12:39 AM
Are you cheesetits on Super Honda?

I'll see what dizzys I have laying around, but no guarantee I'll find one.

ahmad89
02-28-2007, 10:42 AM
Are you cheesetits on Super Honda?

I'll see what dizzys I have laying around, but no guarantee I'll find one.
lol how did you find out i was cheesetits? i just made that name to mess around with some people on there.
I dizzy? is that short for distributor?

A20A1
02-28-2007, 11:05 AM
yes, it's the short version :)


I just as easily could have followed the link of the images you posted here, but I actually saw them on SH in the image gallery so I wanted to see if you guys were the same.

ahmad89
02-28-2007, 11:26 AM
what pictures?

A20A1
02-28-2007, 11:31 AM
your distributor

2oodoor
02-28-2007, 12:05 PM
lol how did you find out i was cheesetits? i just made that name to mess around with some people on there.
I dizzy? is that short for distributor?

ahmad89, did you look under your cap to make sure you did not get coolant under there when you changed out the thermostat, or did you ever change out the thermostat like advised?

ahmad89
02-28-2007, 02:40 PM
ahmad89, did you look under your cap to make sure you did not get coolant under there when you changed out the thermostat, or did you ever change out the thermostat like advised?
i didnt change the thermostat it seems to be fine but if anything happens radiator and cooling system, i'll do it but for now its fine, the car is running like a champ just this one issue where its hard to start after been driving and is turned off for a little bit. I've been told it seems like a main relay issue, how can i check this?

A20A1
02-28-2007, 05:59 PM
I don't think we have a main relay... Thats an EFI problem, not carbed.

ahmad89
02-28-2007, 06:38 PM
oh lol

russiankid
02-28-2007, 07:19 PM
Hard start ups when hot or w/e could be from bad timing or possible the spark plugs.

ahmad89
02-28-2007, 07:51 PM
Spark plugs are still pretty new i changed them before new years and the wires later so that cant be it, the timing i got done when i changed my belt which was about a month or less ago. Is there a way to test the alternator?

2oodoor
03-01-2007, 05:09 AM
Are you cheesetits on Super Honda?

.
Interesting......

Ahmad89, dude, you have done nothing to your car to resolve the same issues you have been inquiring about for the past two months?
Are you just "messing" with us too?

your hard to start hot problem could be the car is running hot, timing off, or possibly a mild hydrolock condition. I do not know why everyone insists it is electrical, since it starts up fine cold, well as you say it does anyway.
Odds are your charging system is fine if the battery is charged up for cold cranking.

EDIT, I stand corrected, there is a chance the electronics in the distributor could fail hot and not show a problem cold. But with the combination of other problems you describe in ALL of your posts, my first guess would not be the distributor.

ahmad89
03-01-2007, 10:49 AM
The car is running fine this is the only problem i have, i am not messing with any of you i really appreciate and take your adivce but i dont really have the time nor money to do major fixes. I have someone who has a distributor im trying to get more info from him about it im going to ask him where he got it from and what car it came from. When i get that info i will ask you guys to help me figure out if it will fit my car since i dont know anything about it. Now i dont have any temperature issues and my thermostat is fine so no need to change it yet. I just need to pinpoint this warm start issue. i would appreciate that you help instead of accusing me or whatever about "messing" with you all, i dont do that to helpful people, you guys have been nothing but helpful and i thank you for you that many times but i need to get this issue fixed.

2oodoor
03-01-2007, 11:06 AM
chill ahmad, I was just running that up the flagpole. If I really thought that I would not have followed with sincere advisement.:) :) :)

I would be interested to see the voltage drop when you crank it warm, anyway, it is good your car makes you from point a to point b in this winter weather.

im waiting on my SH cookies to see what 'cheesetits' has to say......heh heh
there did seem to be some good articles there, just a few anyway

ahmad89
03-01-2007, 11:30 AM
lol im not mad just tired of people keep doing that crap, i havnt posted anything on SHO in a long time.