DIY Tuneup, now won't start

[chrism665]

Hey all,

I have a 1989 Prelude SI. I've owned the car for a little over 4 years/50k miles and it has NEVER let me down by failing to start or having any kind of serious problems, until yesterday by my own fault. Firstly, I am a bit of an amateur, still learning stuff so cut me some slack. So yesterday I went to work doing a basic tuneup on my prelude: new spark plugs, wires, rotor, cap, PCV, clean/lube the K&N, and clean the throttle body.

First, I manually turned the crank via the bolt next to the driver side wheel until the dizzy rotor's screw was in a position I could remove it with. The screw was stripped and I went about drilling and impact screwing it out. I replaced the rotor, found out the replacement cap wasn't OEM/didn't fit and put old one back on, put on new wires, gapped and inserted new plugs. In the meantime I sprayed some Throttle Body/Carb cleaner around the inside of the TB, removed the K&N filter and proceeded to clean/rinse/lube it before reinstalling.

Now my engine won't start. There is definitely spark, as I took out all 4 plugs and saw the sparks fly, and going in correct firing order (4-2-1-3 for B20A5 looking from the front of the car). Removing the plugs, you can smell a rich gasoline odor and you can see there is fuel accumulating on the plug. It sounds like it cranks just the way it used to, maybe even stronger, but it just doesn't want to fire.

I'm sitting here really confused as to what could have changed to make things not work. Maybe I got the timing all screwed up when I turned the crank? Or somehow the TB cleaner or air filter lube got in the engine and did something bad? My prelude would always fire right up before, so I am doubtful it is something like say the ECU going dead on me. The LED self diagnostic isn't blinking anything, either. Any suggestions anyone? Help would be appreciated =)

[VIPER1988]

when was the timing belt last replaced. the service interval is 60-70k miles if i remember correct. if the belt was old and stretched it may have jumped a few teeth.

[bryan42688]

try taking your rotor off and turning it 180 degrees if you put i on 180 degrees off its firing at the wrong time also make sure you didnt blow any fuses is ita stick shift have you tried to pop start it?

[nswst8]

My concern is your drilling/impact of the dizzy shaft. I would check for spark at the plugs. Dizzy input shaft is usually offset so you cannot install it 180 out.

Check for spark.

[Legend_master]

You might check you main fuel pump relay as well. If its anything like the 3g then that could be a likely problem.

[nswst8]

You might check you main fuel pump relay as well. If its anything like the 3g then that could be a likely problem.

He states that he does smell fuel, I'd still check spark first.

[bryan42688]

where there are only 3 things to make a car run fuel air and gas , and he did say that he replace the rotor so he could have put that on 180 degrees out of wack!!!

[2drSE-i]

Just so you know, the firing order is 1-3-4-2, so that is probably your problem.

[nswst8]

where there are only 3 things to make a car run fuel air and gas , and he did say that he replace the rotor so he could have put that on 180 degrees out of wack!!!

Set screw would prevent rotor button from being 180 degrees out.

[chrism665]

1.

when was the timing belt last replaced. the service interval is 60-70k miles if i remember correct. if the belt was old and stretched it may have jumped a few teeth.

That could be a legitimate cause I suppose. It's probably been 60-70k. I'll check it out.

2. I don't see how the rotor could have gotten 180 deg off, seeing how I put the replacement rotor on exactly as the other one came off, and nothing was moving it in the meantime. Theres only one hole for the retaining screw so I don't think you can put it any other way.. I am thinking its a 360 thing.

3. I did check for spark, it was one of the first things I did and there is indeed spark on all 4 plugs.

4. I thought about the main fuel relay but I definitely smell fuel on the plugs and just before the tuneup it was firing up just fine. I'll still see about testing it.

5.

Just so you know, the firing order is 1-3-4-2, so that is probably your problem.

The firing order is correct I believe.. from my perspective (going from top to bottom) I am going 4-2-1-3 as you could see from the following photo:
econtent.autozone.com:24991/znetrgs/repair_guide_content/en_us/images//0900c152/80/05/f3/a7//medium/0900c1528005f3a7.gif

When I have tried putting 1-3-4-2 from that perspective you can definitely tell its out of order because the whole thing sounds screwed.


Thanks for the responses everyone. I just got off work so I am gonna get started on it now. If anyone has any other ideas/thoughts, please post them =) Thanks!

[Dr_Snooz]

Random disconnected thoughts: If you are smelling lots of gas, it could be flooded. Is it trying to fire or just spinning freely? Usually when you do something minor (like a tune up) and the car doesn't start, it's because you forgot to hook something up again or you disconnected something accidentally. If you're getting both fuel and spark, then you're probably a lot closer to starting than you realize. The only missing ingredient there would be air. You didn't leave a shop rag in the intake or anything, right? Post pics of your distributor repair if you can.

[lostforawhile]

1.

That could be a legitimate cause I suppose. It's probably been 60-70k. I'll check it out.

2. I don't see how the rotor could have gotten 180 deg off, seeing how I put the replacement rotor on exactly as the other one came off, and nothing was moving it in the meantime. Theres only one hole for the retaining screw so I don't think you can put it any other way.. I am thinking its a 360 thing.

3. I did check for spark, it was one of the first things I did and there is indeed spark on all 4 plugs.

4. I thought about the main fuel relay but I definitely smell fuel on the plugs and just before the tuneup it was firing up just fine. I'll still see about testing it.

5.

The firing order is correct I believe.. from my perspective (going from top to bottom) I am going 4-2-1-3 as you could see from the following photo:
econtent.autozone.com:24991/znetrgs/repair_guide_content/en_us/images//0900c152/80/05/f3/a7//medium/0900c1528005f3a7.gif

When I have tried putting 1-3-4-2 from that perspective you can definitely tell its out of order because the whole thing sounds screwed.
#1 cylinder is the one near the power steering pump, this sounds like the plug wires are wrong, you didn't go by the numbers on the cap did you? put the engine at top dead center, pull the cap and see if the rotor is pointing at the number one spark plug position.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I just got off work so I am gonna get started on it now. If anyone has any other ideas/thoughts, please post them =) Thanks!

[lostforawhile]

1.

That could be a legitimate cause I suppose. It's probably been 60-70k. I'll check it out.

2. I don't see how the rotor could have gotten 180 deg off, seeing how I put the replacement rotor on exactly as the other one came off, and nothing was moving it in the meantime. Theres only one hole for the retaining screw so I don't think you can put it any other way.. I am thinking its a 360 thing.

3. I did check for spark, it was one of the first things I did and there is indeed spark on all 4 plugs.

4. I thought about the main fuel relay but I definitely smell fuel on the plugs and just before the tuneup it was firing up just fine. I'll still see about testing it.

5.

The firing order is correct I believe.. from my perspective (going from top to bottom) I am going 4-2-1-3 as you could see from the following photo:
econtent.autozone.com:24991/znetrgs/repair_guide_content/en_us/images//0900c152/80/05/f3/a7//medium/0900c1528005f3a7.gif

When I have tried putting 1-3-4-2 from that perspective you can definitely tell its out of order because the whole thing sounds screwed.


Thanks for the responses everyone. I just got off work so I am gonna get started on it now. If anyone has any other ideas/thoughts, please post them =) Thanks!

#1 cylinder is the one near the power steering pump, this sounds like the plug wires are wrong, you didn't go by the numbers on the cap did you? put the engine at top dead center, pull the cap and see if the rotor is pointing at the number one spark plug position.